Your dog is pretty much your baby, you let them sleep in your bed, you keep their picture as your phone wallpaper, and couldn’t imagine you couldn’t imagine your life and your wedding without them.
But photographing your fur baby is never easy; getting them to make eye contact with the camera can be challenging, as anyone who has ever tried to Instagram their dog can attest.
But that’s not to say it can’t be done. I’ve done some research, and as an experienced videographer , with brides bringing their pets more and more every year, I’ve compiled some useful information with getting some of your pups to finally give some quality eye contact to the camera!
Bring treats!
This is an obvious one but still, couples forget! Bring treats! Bring treats! Have them smell the treat first, then bring towards the lens, they will look. This will only work the first few minutes of the shoot however, perhaps 10-20 minutes. So definitely try to bang these shots out early on in the shoot.
Bring them to a location they’re familiar with.
Try to choose a park they’ve been to, or you frequent with them. They will surely be more comfortable and at ease, minimizing them being fidgety and rambunctious. Maybe even try bringing them to that park a couple of times before the shoot.
Have a friend handle the dog for you.
Have a friend handle the dog for you.
A friend could certainly help quite a bit with your dog. They could prevent your clothes from getting dirty if the dog jumps on you allot, they could help bring them to other locations, hold the treats at the camera as mentioned earlier. I’ve been on several shoots where the bride and groom specifically brought their dog sitter just for that purpose.
Act Natural
Be cool, be calm, and act as normal as possible. Do things that you would normally do with your dog to keep them at ease.
Choose the right photographer.
Having a photographer that has experience with animals surely can’t hurt. Ask i f they have anything in their portfolio with pets. Not all photographers like working with animals, so be sure they at least enjoy it, and perhaps have pets of their own.
Don’t have them groomed right before.
Have them groomed at least 4-5 days beforehand. Otherwise they shed easier right out of the groomer.
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