Bringing your dog to your photo session

One decision matters more than every other piece of advice about photographing dogs: bring a second person whose only job is the dog. Not a parent who is also in the photographs. A dedicated human. Everything else here is detail.

The handler

Here is the problem. The dog is in some frames and not others. Somebody has to hold it, walk it out of shot, bring it back, keep its attention, and deal with it when it decides to eat something. If that person is also in the photographs, every transition costs a minute and the dog spends most of the session unmanaged.

So: a friend, a grandparent, an older cousin, a neighbor. Somebody who likes the dog and does not need to be in the pictures. They stand just outside the frame with treats, and they are the difference between a session with a dog in it and a session about a dog.

If that is genuinely impossible, we plan around it: dog frames first, all together, then the dog goes back to the car or to a tied-off spot in the shade for the rest. That works. It is just less flexible.

With a dog and a toddler in the same session, a second adult stops being helpful and becomes necessary. Those two need separate handlers. See also the toddler session guide.

The leash question

Everybody asks whether the leash can come off. Two separate answers.

Legally and practically: Philadelphia parks generally require dogs to be leashed, and the parks where I work are public spaces with cyclists, children and other dogs in them. I am not going to encourage anyone to break a leash rule for a photograph, and an off-leash dog near a trail is a genuine risk to the dog.

Photographically: a leash is much less of a problem than people think. A slack leash running down out of frame is barely visible. A thin leash against a simple background can often be removed cleanly in editing. A thick leash across a busy background, crossing the dog’s body, generally cannot be removed convincingly, and I would rather tell you that than promise it.

Two practical improvements. Use a thin, plain leash in a color that is not neon — a slim leather or rope leash photographs far better than a wide nylon one with branding on it. And swap a bulky harness for a simple collar for the frames where the dog is the focus.

Honestly though: a leash in the photograph is not a flaw. It is how you walk your dog. Photographs of a family with a dog on a leash look like a family with a dog.

What to do before the session

• Exercise the dog first. The most useful thing on this list. A long walk beforehand turns an overexcited dog into a calm one. An unexercised dog will spend the session pulling and will not settle at all.
• Bring high-value treats, better than the everyday ones. Whatever your dog will do anything for.
• Bring a favorite toy, particularly a squeaky one. A squeak behind the camera produces the head tilt and the ears up, which is the shot everyone wants. It works about three times, so save it.
• Groom a few days ahead, not the same day. Some dogs are subdued and miserable straight after a grooming appointment.
• Water and a bowl.
• Bags, obviously.
• Wipe the eyes and mouth before we start, and check the paws if it is muddy. Small things that save editing.

Black dogs, white dogs and exposure

A real technical constraint worth knowing, because it affects where I put you.

A black dog and a light-skinned person in the same frame is a wide brightness range. Expose for the faces and the dog becomes a shape with no detail in it. Expose for the dog and the people are too bright. In hard midday sun the gap is wider than a camera can hold at once.

The fix is soft, even light. Overcast days are excellent for black dogs. Open shade works. Direct sun is the hardest case. If your dog is black or very dark, an overcast day is a good day rather than a compromise.

White and very light dogs have the opposite problem: in bright sun they blow out and lose all their fur texture. Same solution.

The other genuine technical issue is that dogs move faster than children and rarely hold still, so dog photographs need a faster shutter and therefore more light. Which is another argument for shooting in the open rather than under deep canopy.

Where dogs are actually allowed

This is the thing to check before choosing a location, and it varies a lot.

Generally fine, on a leash: Philadelphia public parks, including Fairmount Park and the Wissahickon, where dogs are a normal part of trail life. City squares. Riverfront paths and most state park land.

Frequently not allowed: botanic gardens and arboretums. Curated horticultural sites commonly prohibit dogs entirely, or restrict them to certain areas, because of the planting.

Worth checking individually: historic sites and any privately managed space.

The safest default with a dog is a public park or trail. If you have your heart set on a garden, that is a phone call before booking rather than a surprise on the day.

Heat and the welfare limit

Dogs manage heat far worse than we do, and the ones with flat faces — pugs, French bulldogs, boxers, bulldogs — manage it very badly indeed. A summer afternoon session is genuinely unsafe for those breeds, not just uncomfortable.

In summer that means morning or late evening only, shade, water, and a session that ends when the dog has had enough rather than when I have the shot. Sidewalks also hold heat long after the air has cooled and can burn paws.

In winter the limits are gentler but real, especially for short-coated and small dogs.

I will call a stop if a dog is struggling. That is not me being precious about it; a panting, distressed dog does not photograph well anyway, so the interests line up.

What to realistically expect

Set the bar in the right place and you will be delighted rather than disappointed.

A dog will hold a sit for about three frames. Then it moves. So we work in short bursts: set up, sit, three or four frames, release, reward, repeat. Trying to hold a pose longer just teaches the dog that the situation is tedious.

Everyone looking at once is unlikely. With two adults, two children and a dog, the odds of all five looking good simultaneously are poor. We will get it, it just takes more attempts, and this is worth knowing so nobody gets tense about it.

The best dog photographs are usually not posed. The dog leaning into someone’s leg, the dog being hugged too tightly by a four-year-old, the dog looking up at its person. Those come from letting the dog be a dog while I stay out of the way.

Plan for the dog to be in half the session, not all of it. That is usually the right amount, and it takes the pressure off.

For what it is worth, this studio is named after a dog. Bring yours. A family session that includes the dog is a more honest picture of the household than one that leaves it in the car, and engagement sessions are no different.