Start with the stranger's-eye views
Most lost-dog photos fail because they are portraits of a beloved pet — asleep, in fancy light, half hidden by a person — rather than identification records. Photograph him standing squarely on plain ground in daylight and take a full side view from his left and another from his right, because markings are rarely symmetrical and a finder may only see one side of him. Add a straight-on front view with his head up and ears in their natural position, and a view from directly above showing the pattern of colour across his back, which is the angle people actually see when a loose dog passes them.
Close-ups of what makes him him
The details that settle ownership and confirm sightings are the ones only he has. Photograph unusual markings in close-up: a blaze that stops halfway, a patch over one eye, speckling on one leg, a white-tipped tail. Record scars, a bent or kinked tail, one odd-coloured eye, a missing or chipped tooth if he will comfortably show it, and the shape of any lumps or bare patches. Include his chest, belly and underside if his colouring differs there, since a dog found muddy or wet may be matched on the markings that stay visible.
Show his real size and build
Descriptions of size go wrong constantly, with the same dog reported as medium by one witness and large by another. Include one photo of him standing beside an adult, and one beside an ordinary reference such as a front door or a chair, so his height at the shoulder and his build are unmistakable. Take one short walking video if you can, because gait is surprisingly individual and helps someone compare a dog they have seen moving. Avoid wide-angle phone distortion by stepping back and zooming slightly, which keeps his proportions honest. For a long-coated dog, take one set brushed out as he normally looks and, if he is ever clipped short, a second set in that trim, because searchers may meet either version of him.
Keep the set current as he changes
An identification set ages. Puppies change shape and sometimes colour within months, clipped breeds look like different dogs before and after grooming, and older dogs grey around the muzzle and lose or gain condition. Refresh the core views after a major haircut, a significant weight change and at each birthday for a young dog, and take a deliberate before-and-after pair at grooming time. Store the set somewhere the whole family can reach quickly, not only on one person's phone, because the person who needs it in a crisis may not be the person who took it.
Pair the photos with the written details
Photographs work hardest alongside a short written record kept in the same place: his microchip number, collar and tag description, the distinguishing details in words, and your contact numbers. If he is ever missing, that package becomes your poster, your shelter description and your proof in one move, with no panicked searching through camera rolls. Kept on KinsLe's Verified QR ID Pet Profiles, the set lives on the very profile a finder opens when they scan his collar, so identification starts before you have even spoken.