I’ve always wanted to incorporate pet portraits into my regular sessions, and finally had an opportunity to photograph a lively bunch of dogs in Canterbury. Meet Duke, Moose, and Kayla. Pet photography is a lot of work, no joke, but if you’ve never seen your pet like this before, and if they’re your furbabies, isn’t it so worth it? Be sure to check out my Pets portfolio on my Galleries page to see more!
Here are a few things I learned about doing a session with dogs (which makes them surprisingly similar to a two-year-old session for a child):
1. Make sure the dogs are well exercised beforehand, or else plan to spend the first 30+ minutes or so letting them run buckwild to expend their energy.
2. Have plenty of treats on hand for bribery and rewards.
3. Have no expectations for staying clean. If the dogs are having fun, then you and they are likely to be dirty. And that’s perfectly OK, and desirable.
4. Let the dogs do things that are fun for them. They’ll have the best reactions when they get to run, chase, and play as they normally would. If by chance they happen to be up for “sit and be pretty” at some point then that’s just a bonus.
(See? Exactly like a 2-year old session). And every bit as exhausting.
Contact me if you’d like to schedule an outdoor portrait session for your pets, or if you’d like to incorporate your dogs into your family’s portrait session.