Can I Bring my Dog?

I've been asked this before--"Can I bring my dog to our photoshoot!" And my kneejerk answer is "OMG, Yes! Please do! Can I pet your dog?" But once I settle down about my new best friend (your dog). I need to set some ground rules for pets during photo sessions.

1.) Are dogs allowed there?

If a dog is not allowed someplace (say a store or event center), then no, you cannot bring your dog. (Big sadz)

2.) Is your dog well-mannered? Will he try to eat my camera? I do love a good game of keep away, but I also need to use the equipment. Loss of limbs due to an over-aggressive or frightened pupper is not on my to-do list, ever.

3.) Did we clear it beforehand? If a dog is going to be present at a shoot, I want to know ahead of time. There's a certain head space I need to be in. I'm also going to dress a bit differently. I'm not going to be wearing light colored clothing because I'm going to get muddy. You may be asking, "But Calli, why would you get muddy?" Because dogs, like toddlers are low to the ground. I might need to lay down to get the perfect shot. And even the best behaved dogs get excited sometimes and jump.

4.) Come prepared. If you're bringing your fur baby to our photoshoot, it's best if you bring along A.) Treats or favorite noisy toys. I will use these items to gain your dog's trust. Many dogs are highly motivated by treats. When I offer a smell of my hand and a treat, they're going to be more likely to cooperate. B) Bring an extra person. Sometimes animals just aren't feeling photos and that's 100% OK. We might be in a new place with new smells and they'd rather sniff things out. So having an extra person on hand to keep the dog occupied so I can grab photos of the humans is key. C) Exercise your pup A LOT before the photos. A tired pup is going to be more cooperative than a dog that is needing a run. That's where that extra person becomes imperative. If you don't have time to take the dog for a long walk before the photoshoot, your friend may be able to exercise pup on location while I grab photos of the other family members.

Are you ready to see some of my favorite doggo photos?

Landin brought his husky-mix, Apollo, to his senior pictures. We were in Historic Valley Junction on a Saturday evening and Apollo did amazing! Landin's mom, April, was present to take the leash from Landin when I was only photographing Landin.

Katie and Christian requested that their ten year old shih tzu, Lily, to their engagement session. Katie had her senior pictures taken with Lily, so this was such a special request. Lily is a tiny little thing and it was chilly the evening of our session. Christian wrapped Lily up in his jacket. Ahh. Katie's friend, Madison, came to their session and helped with Lily. Madison was a huge help and it was apparent she loved her role as puppy snuggler!

The lion tamer photoshoot may be one of my very favorite sessions to date. I partnered with Ashley, the designer behind Rowan's Heart for this fun stylized shoot. Ashley's seven year old, daughter, Rowan, was the lion tamer. Ashley made Rowan's costume. Riggs, their three year old goldendoodle made the best lion. Riggs is huge and super amazing. I'm hoping my own doodle, Gordy, will grow up to have Riggs's calm temperament.

Here's my Bernadoodle puppy, Gordon Bombarky! Gordy is still a puppy so getting photos of him is extremely hard. We are working on the stay command. I love dressing Gordy in bandanas and telling him how handsome he is.