What are my 7 must have poses that I try at each photo shoot? Here they are:

1. Close Up. When you think about your own dog, don’t you just love her face? I always take several of these types of photos.

2. Full Body. These are sometimes the easiest photos to take because I back away with my camera and just let the dog do her thing.

3. Profile. These are either close up head shots or full body.

4. Sitting / Standing / Laying Down. I take these from different angles. Usually down at the dogs level and sometimes looking down on the dog.

5. Action. Maybe my favorite photos to look at after the photo session because some of the faces the dogs make are hilarious!

6. Silly / Outtakes. I always share these type of photos with my clients. Technically they’re not “posed” shots but they are definitely must haves.

7. Photos with the Dog Mom / Dog Dad: Many clients say they don’t want their photo taken but when I can convince them to be in the photos, they always love them. I do too.

What I’ve learned after several years of doing this is each session is different because the dogs I photograph are different.

A dog’s temperament, energy level, and training all factor into what poses I can try.

I let the dogs dictate how the session goes. I always say this to the dog mom or dog dad at the beginning of the photo shoot:

“There is no pressure on your dog or on you. Let’s let him be himself. We’ll try a few poses and if he’s not understanding what we want or seems to be getting stressed, we’ll move on.”

This is important because I want the dog to be stress-free. I want to capture his personality at the photo shoot.

Getting your dog to pose is part of my job as a professional dog photographer. If your dog is food motivated, treats can help.

People say to me all the time, “my dog will never pose.” I always tell the story about a standard poodle I photographed that was way more interested in everything going on around her than posing for me. I reassured the dog mom that everything was fine and it was. Her final photos were gorgeous and you’d never know what was really going on behind the scenes which was that she rarely stood still for me than 2 seconds. LOL

Well-behaved, well trained dogs typically mean I can try more posed shots. But patience is really most important. Your dog doesn’t have to be expertly trained or need to be off leash in order for me to photograph her. That’s one of the reason why you hire a professional.

I don’t try all of these poses at each session. These “must haves” are all dog dependent especially the action shots.

For the dogs that like to run and jump, these are always fun.

This is a blog circle and I’m excited to read the other dog photographer’s Must Have poses. I’m guessing I’ll realize I left a few off my list and I’ll bet I get some ideas for my next photo shoot too! Next up is Tammy Snyder Photography, photographing dogs and the people they love in Southeastern PA and the surrounding tri-state area. Be sure to click the link at the bottom of each post to go through the entire circle. You’ll end up back here when you’re done. Happy Reading!