I’m a total fur-baby fan!
At the moment, our house is without a treasured tail-wagger, but I know that LOVE.
Anyway, I wanted to say that I get why you want to bring your beagle bestie with you on your family session – or even on your wedding day (oh yeah, it’s been done)!
But, I also wanted to say that I’ve learned a few lessons about pets on sessions. And, because I want you to get the most value from your time with me and my camera, I’ve put together some great tips on how to incorporate furry family members into your images.
Know that your fur-ever friend might steal the show
That’s right. Some animals love to be the centre of attention. It can be hard to get them to focus, so be prepared for lots of action. The next two points might help though.
Bring treats
Treats work. Especially if you’ve trained them using a reward system. But also treats can help calm the animal and give them a chance to get close to you. For example, if you want to bring your horse, and apple or two would be fab.
Bring friends
As it happens, you’ll want to have a few images without your pet. So, bring a friend that knows how to puppy-wrangle, distract a cat or hold a lizard (Wait. What?! Okay, let’s stick to furry friends for now).
Make them part of your announcement
The most adorable couple once asked to make their horse part of their Save the Date announcement. I was totally on board. You’ll have to check out the pics below to see how that all worked out. Watch out, it’s adorbs.
Be ready to get messy
Light fur on a dark suit jacket, or dark fur on a wedding dress, is just the beginning. There are lots of ways that having a pet on set can get messy (I’ll spare you the details of the worst-case scenarios). Keep on documenting is my mantra, but it might be nice to be prepared with a few wipes, boots for the barnyard or a lint roller. Just saying. It’s messy!
Hope this made you see that I am more than ok with having your furry friends join your next session! If you have any questions, I’m happy to answer them. Simply, contact me.
