Taking a photograph of your dog is almost as difficult as getting your toddler to sit still, take his finger out of his nose, and smile for the camera.

Just as babies tend to do, you dog will usually run playfully towards you as you hold the camera, often landing with its face on the lens. And painting your dog is even more difficult, unless you are a very fast sketch artist and can catch a pose to use as an outline for your painting.

There is an easier way to make a dog portrait. It makes use of a digital camera and ends up a work of art on canvas, to be framed and hung on your wall.

First, set your camera on 'sport' or 'action' if it's a simple one, or "burst", a setting that takes a series of photographs in a burst while the subject - this case, your dog - is in motion. Take a lot of photographs in one session and with the same background and you'll be sure to end up with at least a few great shots.

Then you can upload your best shot, the one that really captured your dog's character, to the website, the Paint Your Life online gallery's latest service, and they'll print your photograph onto canvas and ship it to you either framed or unframed.

The result is a dog photo that becomes a beautiful dog portrait - and you made it!

pet portraits