Dogs, gather round. Today Asa and I are presenting the class Won’t Look Wednesday Dog Photography 101. These tried and true methods have worked for us in avoiding making eye contact with the camera when posing for a photo.

Now I know what you’re thinking, “We don’t need a class. Not looking at the camera is easy.” And you’re right, it is easy. But sometimes the photographer will like the pose. So the key is to pose in a way that is not pleasing to the camera. Take for example, this photo. Although it does fulfill the Won’t Look Wednesday criteria, it still a good photo of us. Therefore, looking in the same direction away from the camera isn’t always ideal. In our opinion, this is a Won’t Look Wednesday fail. Proof is that of all the photos used in this post, this is the one our photographer chose as the featured image!

Another trick the photographer will use is to claim they were trying to capture that precise pose for “artistic” purposes. Here we again made the mistake of posing in a way that can be used on social media if paired with a clever caption.

Therefore, it is important to be alert, and not to get tricked into some pose that your human will want to share. Try doing something awkward, like having your leash randomly wrapped around you. Or stick your tongue out just enough that it is noticeable, but not enough to qualify for a Tongue Out Tuesday photo. Although in this example there is some debate on whether an annoyed side-eye counts as not looking.

In this photo we are demonstrating our two favorite methods for ignoring the camera. Here Asa is pretending that bit of seaweed is the most fascinating thing he’s ever sniffed on a beach. While I demonstrate the vacant, deep thoughts, anything is better than this, stare.

Sometimes the photographer will try to break your concentration by taking you for a short walk, or repositioning you. Don’t fall for it! This is where it helps if you are posing as a team. For example, we like to make the photographer feel guilty for interrupting a very important conversation.

Now we’ve reached the point in the modeling session where the photographer will try to throw you completely off guard by suddenly taking you to an entirely new place. But as always, the traditional “Divide and Conquer” pose is the perfect Won’t Look Wednesday way to go.