How to Include Your Pet in Family Photos
A few months ago, our family lost a pet. He had been our companion for almost fourteen years. I knew he couldn’t live forever, and he had had a few emergency vet visits and near misses over his latter years, so I thought I would be prepared when his time came. But, if you’ve ever lost a pet, you know that nothing will actually prepare you to say good-bye. It’s remarkable to me the place these creatures hold in our lives. For example, as our Jack boy aged, his anxiety and health issues became more severe and complicated. This exacerbated a host of “problems” in our lives: lack of sleep whenever there was a thunderstorm, boarding and vet bills, messes to clean, etc. Yet, I truly feel that although these things in some ways made our lives more stressful, his presence simply made our lives better.
I think its natural when a pet dies, to have some guilt. I should have done this differently or better. I should have had more patience. I should have given him more walks. That sort of thing. But near the top of my list of regrets is that although I have many pictures of Jack, and even several I carefully planned, shot and edited ones, I don’t really have nice family photos that included him. I know all the reasons for this. They were legitimate. But gosh, how I wish I had just somehow made it work to get a nice, annual family photo that included our Jack boy. As a photographer, the thought that I never did, really makes me kind of ashamed.
So, knowing those obstacles that prevented me from taking our family photos which included my dog, I want to give others some tips about how to overcome those obstacles, so that one day, perhaps after your pet has crossed over the rainbow bridge, you will have a beautiful memory captured in a photo to always look back on.
1. Hire a professional. The number one reason why I never included our family pet in our annual photos was because I always took our own family photos with a tripod. It’s difficult enough to capture humans this way, but adding a non-human into the mix, especially when certain members of the family (ahem) are already impatient with the whole family photo concept, makes this task seem impossible. Professional photographers have experience working with children and pets and will understand how to take meaningful, story-telling candids. This leads me to my next point, which I think is crucial.
2. Forget the cheesy grins. Um. . . you know how we have been trained to pose for pictures facing the photographer with one . . two. . . three. . . cheese (!) smiles. Don’t ask your pet to do that. They don’t understand. Sure, as a photographer, if you want me to, I will try. I will make goofy kissy noises, say whatever to try to get your dog to look at the camera. Whatever. But heres’ the thing, the one, two, three, cheese poses really just make everyone tense. Your dog will sense that. They’re behavior will reflect it. And honestly even if I get your dog to look at the camera, his expression will be the same one he gives you when you say “treat” or “walk” and the whole photo can come off as well, cheesy. Instead, let your photographer capture you playing fetch with your dog, rubbing his belly or patting his head. Let him be a dog.
3. Choose your location carefully. As a photographer, for liability reasons, I won’t agree to take pictures of your pet off leash unless we are in an enclosed area, even if he is voice trained. I can and have taken pictures of families with their pets on a leash and I can honestly say those photos turned out really nice. But if you really want the freedom to play with your pet as described in point two, consider your location carefully. If you want to include Fido, consider your own home or backyard. Also, consider your local dog park, and procure the proper permits to use it, if necessary. I personally scouted several dog parks in my area as potential photo locations. My favorite local spot in terms of lighting and scenery was the Urbana Dog Park. I would love to photograph and family there sometime!
4. Finally, RELAX! Don’t think of your photo shoot as a task to perform, think of it as a chance to capture a memory of your favorite day. Sure, you might be wearing nicer clothes, you may take more time with your hair and makeup that day, but in the end, let your photographer worry about angles, and lighting. Just enjoy your family — including your fur babies — and let me do the rest!!