Dogs will be dogs. I actually want them to be dogs at our photo shoot. I want them to be themselves. That’s the point, really.

When a dog mom or dog dad schedules a photo shoot, my goal is to capture the dog’s personality. Whatever that is.

I always say something like this at the beginning of every photo session: “Your dog doesn’t have to act perfectly. Let’s let her be a dog during the shoot.”

I want them to know she doesn’t have to act like the most well trained dog ever.

When photographing puppies, it’s usually pretty easy to see their personalities. I usually get a few outtakes that sum up the dog’s personality and with patience, we are able to get nice portraits too.

This is Faye and when this happened, I knew I should keep snapping photos.

Faye showed her personality and this turned out to be one of her mom’s favorite photos.

Most puppies don’t have a lot of training yet. And that’s okay. Faye was all puppy at the photo shoot. She didn’t stand still for long. She was very interested in everything going on around us.

Faye won’t act like this forever. She’ll grow out of her puppy stage. Capturing these moments that won’t last forever are why I’m creating a new “puppy package.” The details will be announced soon.

She was also on leash the entire photo shoot. There was no way she could be off leash. I edited her leash and her identification tag out of her photos using Photoshop.

If I’d taken video at the photo shoot and you saw what went on behind the scenes and if you only saw the photo above, you might not think I could get a nice, posed photo of her.

But this happened.

She only sat still for a few seconds but that’s all I needed. I’m also sharing the before and after so you can see how I edited the leash out.

Photographing any dog takes a lot of patience. Photographing puppies takes a ton.

I think many times the dog mom or dog dad doesn’t think I’m getting any decent photos if their dog isn’t really posing.

It only takes a split second for me to get the shot. A split second and a lot of patience from the pet parents.

It’s so worth it, right? I mean look at how cute she is and I know she zonked out for at least a little while afterwards too.

I love creating these memories for pet parents because we all know they don’t stay little for long.

If you have a puppy and don’t think he could be photographed, reach out and let’s chat. Anyone who follows me on Instagram knows that I love photographing puppies and I’d love to photograph yours.

This is a blog circle and next up is Jo Lyons Photography, Barrington Coast Dog and Animal Photographer. Be sure to click the link at the bottom of each post and you’ll make your way around the circle. This week’s topic is “photographer’s choice” so you’ll get to see a variety. Enjoy.