Photos with your Dog
The idea for this blog post may or may not have come from wanting to blog the first photos I took of Athena. Although I worked in a kennel in college and I’ve had plenty of people bring dogs to their sessions, I don’t have any experience in actual pet photography, so taking pictures of Athena was a new challenge for me. If you want to include your dog in your photos, here are a few tips!
Have realistic expectations. Most of the pictures will either have your dog sitting, standing, or walking. The pictures you saw on Pinterest where the dog is posing with your or holding a sign might not be feasible for a puppy or for an easily excited dog.
These photos were taken when Athena was 8 weeks old and we’d only had her for a few days. She was really excited to be out in an open area, and I was lucky to even have a few pictures of her sitting still.
Bring a helper. There will be photos that don’t include your dog, and there aren’t always places in sight to tie a leash. Your dog might not want to stick around the entire time either, so your helper can take the dog home.
Keep the dog on the leash. This might even be a rule for certain locations. Having your dog on a leash minimizes the chance of running into a dangerous situation or an unpleasant encounter with another human or animal in the area. I know Athena isn’t on a leash in some of these photos—there was absolutely nobody around and we were far away from the woods or the road, so she couldn’t run anywhere unsafe before we could catch her.
Choose a time and place where you would be unlikely to encounter other people or animals. For example, a session at Clemson on a weekday in June would be safer than the Friday before the homecoming game. This ties back into #3: the dog is less likely to be distracted or have an unpleasant interaction with someone. Even if your dog is friendly, whoever your dog approaches might not be.
Bring doggy bags. Nothing ruins the moment like realizing what you just stepped in. It’s something Athena likes to eat right now, which means I have to get it out of her mouth with my hands, and it drives me crazy! As new puppy owners, we’re also learning about how not picking up after your dog can spread all kinds of awful things to other animals. Keep the ground clean for us and for whoever comes through afterward.
Bring water. Athena is really good about drinking water, but if she can’t get to her bowl, she gets squirmy and whiny. Keep your dog comfortable!
Check yourselves and your dog for ticks afterwards. A tip I learned from the kennel is to keep a Dixie cup of rubbing alcohol next to you and drop the ticks into it as you pull them off. Otherwise, they could run away and you risk having them come back to you.
Dogs, as well as any animal who’s close to your heart, are always welcome as long as they’re supervised and they won’t harm anyone or anything. I’ve had one session with a chicken and one with a snake, and I’m up for pretty much anything else! Click here to contact me about setting up a session!
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Vintage Portraits with Lauren at Furman
Who else loves all things vintage? I love the clothes, the music, the hair and makeup, the movies, and any combination of them all. I chose my wedding dress because it reminded me of Grace Kelly’s dress in Rear Window, and I used a picture of Audrey Hepburn in Sabrina for my makeup. Lauren posted on Instagram about how much she loves Old Hollywood, and I don’t know a lot of people who are as enthusiastic about that as I am. She specifically mentioned Singin’ in the Rain, which happens to be one of my favorite movies of all time. We just had to pick the perfect vintage outfits and go hang on lamp posts like Gene Kelly. I love spinny dresses and black and white, but Lauren paired it with yellow pumps and a dark pink scarf (which we almost forgot to use).
We set a date to go to Furman and it happened to have cooled off quite a bit after a long stretch of unbearable heat. Lauren had never been to Furman’s campus before, but I had shot there a few times and knew it had so many beautiful spots to offer. From the fountains to the lake to the gazebo in the rose garden, it did not disappoint. The sun gave the prettiest glow in all the right places too!
At the last minute, I thought it would be cool to bring my grandpa’s camera. It would just be a prop because I don’t have the right film for it right now, but looking through it makes everything look like old film photos. I looked up his cameras that I had to figure out which one would have been around in the 50s. I found out that this one happens to be the same model that Colin Creevey has in Harry Potter!
We had so much fun with these photos and we hope you love them too! Check out Lauren’s photography and art at Art à la Lauren. Also, if you’re interested in dressing up like Old Hollywood stars and taking pictures, I’m so down, so let’s set a date.
