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11:05pm

Tips for your photos

I've been voting in the Pet Wars and I've come up with some tips for those of you who are taking photos to enter this fun game. The following are my thoughts/guidelines and are in no particular order.

1. Don't mess with your photos. I hate it when people add designs, borders, words, or crop/paste photos.

2. I love to look at pet photos. I'm not so fond of looking at photos of peoples' boy/girl friends, etc. I tend to vote for photos where there are no people included.

3. I don't mind if you post a photo of your pet that was taken by a professional, but don't steal other peoples' photos. I can't tell you how many times I've come across stock-photos from other websites, or even famous photos of well-known animals being passed off as someone's pet.

4. Don't post people. It's a pet website, and the photos are to show off your pets, not your coworkers, friends, relatives, etc.

5. Fill in your information! I love to read about peoples' pets. Where did you get your pet? Why did you choose the name you did? I tend to vote for pets that have a little information written up about them on their page.

6. Label your pets! If there's more than one pet in your photo, make sure to link your photo in your photos section. Click on "edit photo" and select the other pets that are in the photo. This will automatically link the photo to the other pets as well, and will make it easier for visitors to know which pet is which.

7. Don't dress your pet up. I know some people think it's cute to put their pet in a costume, but I don't. I want to see your pet - not a costume.

8. Please put ID tags on your pets! I am far more likely to vote for a photo of a cat/dog that is wearing an ID tag. It shows that you are responsible and love your pet enough to make sure he or she has tags on.

9. Please don't post photos where there are bars between the camera and the pet. It makes it difficult to see your pet, and shows me that you didn't bother to take the time to actually open a cage door or let your pet out of a cage/crate/kennel to take a photo. If that means your pet has to be on a leash, so be it.

10. Remember that everyone will have their breed/color preferences. If your pet doesn't get a lot of votes, it might not be because of a bad photo. It might just be that whoever is voting at that time just doesn't prefer the breed that your pet is.

Thank you for reading, and remember - above all, have fun and love your pets!