Of course, it's perfectly fine if every now and then you photograph your pet goofing around. A bigger problem would be if all of your shots came out, say, blurry and overexposed.

But just like we hire photographers to immortalize some of our most important events — such as weddings and birthday anniversaries — we can also book a professional to capture the pretty side of our pets. Or the bond we share with our animals.

"I started off as a wedding & portrait photographer and added pet photography to my business about 10 years ago after realizing there was a need for a specialist producing high-quality images of pets," Phil Lord, a UK-based photographer working around Lancashire, told Bored Panda. "I love animals and in photographing them I believe I had found my niche and dream job."

As with all subjects, there are challenges working with animals. Maybe even more so. Photographers can't have a conversation with them and explain precisely what they're going for.

"The trickiest part of the whole process for me personally is gaining the pets' trust and attention," Phil Lord said.

If the photographer could give pet owners a few pieces of advice to quickly take their images to another level, they would be to "use natural light and get down low and take the pictures from the pet's eye level. Above all, have patience!"