Is Your Dog Ready for a Dog Photoshoot? Probably More Than You Think
You’ve been thinking about having professional photos taken for a while, but you keep putting it off. She’s shy, she’s anxious in new places, she doesn’t always listen when she’s nervous, and sitting perfectly for a photographer? Forget it. Not a chance!
So you tell yourself maybe she’s just not the kind of dog who could do a professional photoshoot. But there’s also that little voice reminding you that she’s getting older, and you know you’re going to want more than the thousands of photos sitting on your phone.
So you book the session.
When you arrive, she doesn’t immediately walk in and pose beautifully. She needs a little time. She sniffs the studio, stays close to you, takes a few treats, and we don’t ask much of her at first. Slowly, she starts to settle.
Then I see it. That expression you know so well. The little head tilt. The eyes. The personality that is completely her. And that’s when we start creating the photographs you were convinced she would never be able to do.
By the end of the session, you’re looking at her thinking, I can’t believe she did that.
I hear some version of this all the time. The truth is, your dog doesn’t need to arrive at my studio knowing how to be photographed. That’s my job!
Your dog does not need to be perfectly trained
One of the biggest misconceptions about professional dog photography is that the dogs you see in my photographs must be incredibly well trained. Some are. Many aren’t.
Your dog doesn’t need to know a long list of commands, hold a perfect stay or stare into my camera on cue. I work with what your dog gives me and use patience, timing, treats, sounds and a few tricks I’ve learned after photographing a lot of very different personalities.
What you see in the finished photograph is a fraction of a second. Sometimes that’s all I need.
What if your dog won’t sit still?
That’s probably one of the most common worries I hear, but a dog photoshoot isn’t an hour of your dog sitting perfectly in one spot while I take photographs. We work in small moments.
Your dog might sit for a few seconds, and I photograph it. They get up, and we reset. They need a break, and we take one. They decide the treat in my hand is suddenly the most important thing in the universe, and we work with that too.
Your dog is allowed to be a dog.
What if your dog is shy, nervous or anxious?
This is where experience matters. Some dogs march into my studio ready to investigate everything. Others need time to decide that this strange woman with a camera and a pocket full of treats can be trusted.
There is no prize for getting started quickly. If your dog needs time to sniff, stay close to you or simply watch what’s happening before we begin, that’s what we do. The session adapts to the dog — not the other way around.
What if my dog is reactive to other dogs?
Having a dog who reacts to other dogs doesn’t mean they can’t have a beautiful dog photoshoot. It does mean that choosing a photographer who understands this and plans for it is especially important.
Ask your photographer how they handle reactive dogs before you book. Only one family should be in the studio at a time, and there should be a plan for making sure your dog isn’t unexpectedly meeting another dog as you’re arriving or leaving.
At my studio, sessions are private and precautions can be planned ahead of time. If your dog needs extra space, I’ll give you specific instructions for arriving and entering the studio, and I’ll make sure the coast is clear when it’s time for you to leave. There’s no waiting room full of unfamiliar dogs and no expectation that your dog needs to interact with anyone else’s pet.
The more I know about your dog beforehand, the better I can prepare the environment for them. A reactive dog isn’t a “bad” dog or a dog that can’t be photographed. They simply need a session that’s planned with their needs in mind.
What if your dog needs to stay on leash?
That’s completely fine. Safety always comes first, and your dog can remain on leash whenever necessary.
In many photographs, I can remove the leash during the editing process. So when you look through my portfolio and wonder how all of those dogs are sitting perfectly without a leash, don’t assume that’s necessarily what happened behind the scenes. Sometimes there’s a little Photoshop magic involved.
Should you be in the photographs too?
Yes — even if you think you only want photographs of your dog.
You don’t have to love having your photograph taken, and you don’t have to know how to pose. I’ll guide you through all of it. My goal is to create something you’ll cherish forever — something worthy of hanging on your wall that shows the relationship you share with your dog.
What you wear can make a big difference in how the final artwork comes together, so make sure your photographer helps you plan your clothing and coordinate everything before your session. This is something I do with every client so that the final portraits feel beautiful, timeless and right for their home.
If you’re not sure what to wear or how to prepare, you can download my free session preparation guide below.
How should you prepare for your dog’s photoshoot?
You don’t need to spend weeks training your dog or practising poses before a photoshoot. But preparation matters — and it should start before you ever walk into the studio.
Make sure the photographer you choose takes the time to speak with you and plan your session beforehand. If I don’t know your dog, I don’t know what makes them comfortable, what gets their attention, what they’re afraid of, what motivates them or what makes them them. And if we haven’t talked about what you hope to capture, I don’t know which photographs are going to mean the most to you.
Before every session, I take the time to get to know both you and your dog. We talk about their personality, quirks, favourite treats and toys, any fears or sensitivities, and the little things you love most about them. If you’re going to be in the photographs too, we’ll also plan your clothing so that everything works beautifully together.
That planning allows me to walk into the session already knowing how I want to approach your dog — rather than trying to figure everything out once they’re standing in front of my camera.
The goal isn’t to prepare your dog to be a model. It’s to prepare the photographer to photograph your dog.
And when that preparation is done well, we have a much better chance of creating photographs that don’t just look beautiful, but actually feel like your dog — the expressions, personality and relationship you want to remember.
I’ve created a free preparation guide to help you know what to expect, what to wear and how to get ready for your own dog photoshoot.
DOWNLOAD MY FREE SESSION PREPARATION GUIDE
The photograph doesn’t show you everything that happened to create it
When you see one of my finished dog portraits, you see the expression. You don’t see the treat I’m holding, the funny noise I just made, the dog who stood up two seconds later or the break we took five minutes earlier. And you definitely don’t see me making a fool of myself behind the camera trying to get that look.
You just see your dog.
And that’s exactly the point.
Your dog doesn’t need to be ready. I need to be ready for your dog.
If you’ve been putting off professional photographs because your dog is too energetic, too shy, too anxious, too stubborn or simply “not the kind of dog who would sit for photos,” don’t let that be the reason you wait — especially if that little voice is already telling you that time is moving faster than you’d like.
They don’t have to be perfect. They just have to be them.
And I’ll take care of the rest.
Ready to create something you’ll always have?
Champagne Photography Studio is located in Port Perry, Ontario, welcoming dogs and their people from Durham Region, Toronto and across the GTA.
If you’re coming from Toronto or the surrounding area, yes, it may mean a little drive — but I promise, your dog is worth it. Your session is thoughtfully planned around you and your dog, from preparing for the experience to creating beautiful portraits and artwork you’ll cherish for years to come.
If you’ve been thinking about a professional dog photoshoot, I’d love to hear about your dog.