Get ready for Christmas early by planning your holiday photo with your pup now

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM - 2020/01/01: Miss Christmas seen on a rolls Royce while holding her cute dog.The 34th year of London's New Year's Day Parade starts on the first day of 2020 with thousands of performers from all over the world. As one of the world's greatest street spectacular, each year, dancers, acrobats, cheerleaders, marching bands, historic vehicles and more assemble at the heart of the capital for a colourful celebration. (Photo by Pietro Recchia/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM - 2020/01/01: Miss Christmas seen on a rolls Royce while holding her cute dog.The 34th year of London's New Year's Day Parade starts on the first day of 2020 with thousands of performers from all over the world. As one of the world's greatest street spectacular, each year, dancers, acrobats, cheerleaders, marching bands, historic vehicles and more assemble at the heart of the capital for a colourful celebration. (Photo by Pietro Recchia/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Since we are celebrating Christmas in July, we can’t help but think now is the time to start preparing for the real holidays. And that also means planning those holiday photo cards early, especially if you plan to include your pup in the picture (why wouldn’t you?!).

In the past, we have shared some tips for photographing our dogs and getting great shots, and while those tips still apply, when it comes to planning the holiday card, there are always more suggestions and ideas we can utilize for an epic Christmas card photoshoot with your pup.

With the help of the Chewy Blog, we have some more photography tips that will help get you and your pup ready to be the star of the Christmas cards this year.

Tips for the perfect Christmas cards starring you and your pup

One tip that we hear over and over again is less is more. You don’t need a lot to create a perfect photo with your dog, and this is also true when doing pictures for holiday cards.

It may be a picture for the holidays, but it is best to keep your background simple. You, your family, and the pup are all the stars of the show, so don’t let the background become a problem. That means that even if the perfect shot happens on the beach unexpectedly, that’s okay too.

If you are trying for a more staged picture, add a Christmas sweater or something festive that will let everyone know that this is your holiday shot. It can be the thing you need to make it a Christmas card worthy photo.

Be mindful of the lighting. And remember that your dog doesn’t like camera flashes, so if you can avoid using one, it is best to do that. So that means, you want good lighting for your photo (not too bright though). Don’t shoot in front of a window, that creates silhouettes that won’t be Christmas card worthy.

Finally, once you have your perfect picture for a holiday card, pull out all the stops and create a cute card with fun captions, perfect frames, and whatever else you need for Christmas magic.

Starting early means that you won’t be stressed in December. And if you happen to get it all done before even Halloween gets here, you know you are ready for Christmas 2021!

Do you create your own Christmas cards to send out? Do you include your pup in your holiday photo? How do you create the perfect holiday card with your pup? Let us know in the comments below.