My parents are the proud owners of a very sweet, very cuddly, very unphotogenic dog.
Lilly is a darling little English Springer Spaniel who wants nothing more than to snuggle up next to you every single second of every single day. But what she does not want is to have her photo taken.
The minute a camera comes out and is pointed in her general direction, she will run in the opposite direction. Most of the photographic evidence I have of this dog’s existence is of a blurred, black and white dog-shaped object. If she did not show a blatant, almost fearful aversion to all cameras, I would think that she was teasing us. She has a knack for turning her head at the exact moment the shutter clicks. It’s quite frustrating, to say the least.
It’s a terrible shame, because Lilly is quite a pretty dog. But for some reason I have yet to figure out, she takes an extreme dislike to all cameras. I just don’t get it. Every other dog I know is interested in cameras. I have plenty of photos of our old dog that are blurry, but those came out so because she was running towards the camera, not away. Heck, even my jerky cat likes checking out the camera. The only explanation I have is that maybe Lilly thinks having her photo taken will take a bit away from her soul.
In all the years I have known this dog, I have gotten only a handful of photos of her that are actually clear. Of course, in those photos, she has a terribly worried expression on her face. An outsider might think that she was being threatened, or that we were beating her into submission in between shots.
I was lucky enough to capture a photo of Lilly yesterday in which she was sitting still enough that the photo actually came out clearly. Of course, the strange squinting expression on her face turned what would have been the best photo of my parents’ dog into yet another oddity.
Do you know of any other weird pets that don’t like having their photos taken? Is Lilly just some strange creature unlike all others, doomed to photograph badly?
Melodic Insomniac 
Apr 20, 2009 @ 21:30:33
Love the last picture of the squinting Lilly! Priceless! 🙂
Apr 22, 2009 @ 11:49:14
I love the squinting photo, too! 🙂 I actually think it’s really adorable.
And you’re not alone… my dog proves quite elusive most of the time! He just can’t stop moving for more than two seconds so we can get a decent shot of him. The only way I’ve found to actually steady him long enough to take a photo is to take one of his squeaky toys, pretend like I’m going to throw it and then hide it under my body or something. Or get him to sit on a picnic table and distract him with belly rubs while I try to shoot my camera one-handed. Yeah, it’s always an adventure!
Apr 22, 2009 @ 15:06:42
She is so beautiful. She looks just like my dog Leah that I had when I was a kid. I have come to realize that not all animals are photogenic (Jolie, my cat, always looks squinty) but sometimes there not so perfect pictures come out more adorable. I have the most random pictures of my cats that are far from perfect but usually end up being my favorite.
Apr 25, 2009 @ 11:33:33
I’m thinking her eyes are very sensitive to the flash and it hurts her, so she’s learned from flash photography to not like having her picture taken. And since she’s a dog, she doesn’t know when a flash will or won’t go off, so she avoids all pictures.
Has a vet ever examined her eyes with this problem being pointed out to them? Might be worth asking about the next time she goes in for shots.
She looks very sweet, though!
Apr 27, 2009 @ 11:45:18
I also love that last photo. What a darling little thing.