What If My Dog Won’t Sit Still for a Photoshoot?

“There is absolutely no way my dog is going to sit still for you.”

I hear some version of that all the time.

Sometimes it’s:

“Honestly, he’s completely mad.”

Or:

“She’s fine at home, but as soon as we get somewhere new she’ll go crazy.”

And occasionally:

“You’ve got no chance of getting all of us looking at the camera at the same time!”

That’s absolutely fine.

In fact, I’d much rather photograph your dog being themselves than spend an hour trying to turn them into the world’s best-behaved show dog.

I’ve been photographing families, children and dogs for more than 25 years at Two Front Teeth Photography in Cheltenham, and one thing I’ve learned is that personality is far more interesting than perfect behavior.

Your dog does not have to sit still

If your dog needs ten minutes to sniff every corner of the studio before they even acknowledge me, that’s fine.

If they’re more interested in my treats than my camera, that’s fine too.

And if they come charging across the studio after a ball, that can actually give me a brilliant photograph.

We have treats, toys and plenty of patience. Some dogs settle very quickly. Others don’t.

We work with whichever dog turns up.

I always allow plenty of time and quite often we end up getting some crazy shots at the start and then as the dog calms down a little bit we might get some slightly more sedentary shots but this is why we do what we do we want to get their personalities across. We want to get them looking a little bit crazy if that’s what they like and then we want to get them looking a little as well.

My own dog is a perfect example

I’ve got a Cockapoo called Pippa.

When I brought her into the studio to photograph her, she went completely bonkers.

She was racing around the place with a ball in her mouth and clearly hadn’t read the bit where she was supposed to sit nicely and have her portrait taken.

One of the photographs from that session is now hanging in the kitchen.

I also have one hanging in the viewing room here in Cheltenham, so feel free to ask me about it if you come in

Pippa has her back legs on the floor, both front legs completely off the ground and a ball in her mouth.

She looks slightly crazy.

Which, to be fair, is exactly what she is.

And that’s why I love the photograph.

It sums her up.

If I’d spent the entire session trying to make Pippa sit perfectly still and look nicely at the camera, I might have created a very neat photograph.

But it wouldn’t have been her.

For me, that’s what a good dog photograph should do.

It should make you look at it and say:

“That is so him.”

Or:

“That is exactly what she’s like.”

Actually, I quite like dogs that move

A dog running towards you can be fantastic.

A child laughing because the dog has completely ignored everyone can be fantastic.

A dog chasing a ball, tilting their head, jumping around or leaning into their owner can tell you much more about them than a perfectly controlled sit-and-stay photograph.

Of course, I’ll still try to get the calmer portraits too.

But I don’t think a dog photoshoot should be judged by how many photographs we manage to get with the dog staring straight down the camera.

Sometimes the photograph where everything has gone slightly wrong is the one everybody ends up loving. I recently did a photo shoot of three small dogs. We got some fantastic individual ones but the group shot was to say the least hard work one of the shops though we got every single dog just flew off in a different direction but the shot looked amazing and it was the best one of the bunch.

It isn’t really just about the dog

This is an important one.

When people hear dog photography, they sometimes imagine an hour of photographs of their dog sitting on their own.

We can absolutely do those.

But quite often I think of it more as family photography that includes your dog.

Because for most of the people who come to us, the dog isn’t just the dog.

They’re part of the family.

So I want to photograph those relationships as well.

Your dog with you.

Your dog with your partner.

The children with the dog.

Everybody together.

Sometimes the most valuable photograph from the whole shoot is not actually the best portrait of the dog.

It might be the way your child is cuddling them.

It might be the dog leaning against somebody they follow everywhere.

It might be everyone laughing because the dog has decided not to cooperate.

Those are often the pictures that mean more as the years go by.

I know as adults we never loved seeing pictures of ourselves but as I say when people come in we all love photos ourselves 20 years after the picture was taken and this is all about memories. I think if you can bring yourself to jump in a few pictures one day in the future, you’ll be really glad and something I hear over and over again is oh my gosh that’s quite nice when they look at their own Picture I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the outcome!

Can we bring the children too?

Absolutely.

In fact, I’d encourage it if your dog is an important part of family life.

Children and dogs together can produce some wonderful photographs because you already have a relationship to work with.

I’m not expecting your child to sit perfectly still either.

Sometimes I’ll get them playing with the dog.

Sometimes giving them a treat.

Sometimes having a cuddle.

Sometimes I’ll simply let them interact and see what happens.

Trying too hard to create the “perfect” family photograph can actually take all the personality out of it.

I’d rather create something that looks like your family.

What if my dog is really excitable?

That doesn’t worry me.

A photography studio is somewhere new.

There are different smells, different sounds and lots of things to investigate.

Some dogs need a little while to settle.

So we give them that time.

I’d much rather spend the first few minutes letting your dog have a good look around than immediately trying to put them somewhere and telling them to stay.

You can also bring:

• Their favourite treats
• A favourite toy or ball
• Their usual lead
• Anything familiar that helps them relax

And if they can’t eat certain treats, just tell us beforehand.

What if my dog needs to stay on the lead?

That’s fine too.

We always work around the dog in front of us.

If your dog is nervous, elderly, excitable or needs to remain on a lead for safety, just let us know.

There is no point upsetting a dog just to get a photograph.

The whole idea is that the session should be enjoyable for them as well.

I did a photo shoot fairly recently and the dog had to be on the lead the whole time and we must retouch the leader of each and every shot. We can’t always do it perfectly but we often can get pretty close to perfection.

“But I don’t know what photographs I want.”

Good.

You don’t need to.

That’s my job.

Most families don’t walk into the studio with a list of poses and a detailed plan. And I don’t expect them to.

We’ll usually create a mixture. Your dog on their own.

The whole family. Children and dog together.

Smaller combinations. Funny moments.Quieter moments.

And hopefully, somewhere along the way, the occasional photograph where everyone happens to look in the same direction.

You just need to turn up with your family and your dog.

We’ll work the rest out together.

The photographs don’t need to be perfect

For me, the aim isn’t to prove that you own a perfectly trained dog.

It’s to create something that reminds you what life with them actually felt like.

Their expressions.

Their quirks.

Their relationship with your children.

The way they look at you.

The things they do that drive you mad but you know you’d miss terribly if they stopped doing them.

Dogs change.

Children change.

Families change.

And that is really why these photographs matter.

So if you’ve been putting off having photographs taken because you’re worried that your dog is too excitable, too unpredictable or simply won’t sit still, please don’t.

They might actually give us the best photograph of the whole session.

When you do come in for your photo session, have a little think about what you want to end up with as well before you come back for the viewing because we do fantastic pictures to hang up on the wall or you might want lots of digital images to dish around the family, I can run through all the options on the day and make sure you get exactly what you want out of the session.