One thing you might be wondering, or not even aware of, is which eye should be in focus – most especially when we are taking a very close up photo of our dog where they are angled to the camera with one eye closer to the camera, and one maybe slightly further away, and we have a very narrow depth of field.
You’ll be learning more about depth of field, but it’s important to note that it’s normal (and in my opinion totally fine) if one eye is in focus, and the other isn’t.
If you’re working under these conditions, it’s very important to make sure that the eye closest to the camera (and usually the most visible) is the one that is in focus.
This isn’t apply if the dog is looking directly into the camera, as the eyes will be on the same plane of focus as each other, or if you’re working with a wide enough depth of field that both eyes are in focus.
It’s important when only one eye is in perfect focus.
So make sure your focus area is over the eye closest to the camera, and that you choose the photo where that eye is in focus.
Below is a rather subtle example. The key is to look at the fur around the eyes, and where it’s sharpest.
An extreme close crop of a similar image.