My Dog Won't Be a Good Dog Model
Is this what you think: my dog won’t be a good dog model?
I hear this occasionally for people who are thinking about having their dog’s picture taken but they’re hesitant. Here’s an example of what happened not too long ago.
I was contacted by a woman who wanted photos of her dog but she was concerned about her dog because she is “quirky.”
This is where my ten years of dog walking experience really helps me. I asked her mom to elaborate on what she meant.
It turns out the Ginny is shy and sometimes fearful and she’s a mama’s girl. Her mom was afraid she’d have to hold her the entire session.
It just so happens that I have A LOT of experience because my dog Molly is the same. She isn’t comfortable in strange environments and she doesn’t like the camera pointed at her.
I talked to Ginny’s mom and offered her suggestions of things we could do and here are the results:
So, what did I do? I took my time. I have all the patience in the world when I am photographing dogs. I let Ginny’s mom know that and asked her to be patient too.
There were moments like in the last photo where Ginny wanted her mom’s attention and that was okay too.
We made the session fun for Ginny. Knowing what makes a dog happy is a way to get photos of a dog being herself. Maybe that’s being walked. Maybe it’s being held by mom. I gave Ginny those moments during our session and guess what? She rocked it!