“Can pets come to my session?” And the short answer is YES! I absolutely love when clients include their pets in their photography session! After all, your pet is part of the family! In this blog post I am going to share my tips on how to have the best experience with your pet at your session! Moose Jaw, Sask has some wonderful parks that are pet friendly! Today I want to share some tips for bringing your pet to your family or couples photo session!

If you want to bring your pet to your next photo session, plea remember to tell your photographer that you are bringing a pet so they can find a pet friendly location.

Here are 6 tips for tips for bringing a pet to a family or couples photo session

Pre Session Pet Workout

If you can get to the location (or one close by) and let your pet burn some energy, this will help them be a bit more calm for the actual session. From my experience, when pets first come, they are pretty hyper and just want to explore. So come a few minutes early to burn some of their energy off!

Pet’s Photos First

We are going to do the photos with the pet first. This means bring someone that can watch your pet after we are done with them or even take them home. This is helpful so the pet doesn’t get anxious are start to bark at strangers that pass by or have the risk of them running off and wasting precious photo time.

Bring a Leash

Bringing a leash his will help you keep your pet close to you and where you want him or her in the photos. The color of the leash should be a neutral color – black or brown is best. The thickness of the leash is best if it is thinner. Remember to take off the poop bag carrier if it’s attached to the leash. (Poop bags look terrible in photos!)

Bring your pets favourite toy

Bring their favourite toy. This will help to get your pets attention. And if it can be a noisy one, the better for capturing their attention in a new space. And this leads into number 4…

Bring your pets favourite treats

Bring treats. Treats are great bribery tools for your pet. It will help to keep your pet focused on the camera if need be. Smaller treats that are easy to handle and fast to consume are the best!

Give your pet a bath!

Clean them. So be sure to give your pet a bath and a brush before your session. Either take them to the groomers so they are clean and brushed and ready to go. And don’t forget to clean your pet’s eye to ensure they are clean too. We have taken our dog to Pet Valu and use their tubs – it’s awesome!

Now you are ready to bring your pet to your next session!

Now you know that you can bring a pet to a session, now to figure out what to wear! I have got your covered! Check out this blog post about “What to Wear in the the Fall for Photos”.