Puppies are fun to photograph. They’re awfully cute and most every pose looks great with them. Difficulties come in to play based on the age of the dog. Really young pups-those between 6 and 10 weeks—are pretty easy. They’re like photographing newborns. They sleep a lot! Very little activity while awake makes them want to go to sleep again. So prepping them for a photograph is just a matter of waking them up for a time.
The challenge comes when the pups grow a little older. Just like toddlers they are ready to race around from hereto there and back again. We had a young Golden Retriever in 4 or 5 years ago that could just not hold still. He dashed around wanting to eat everything in sight —whether or not it was food was a moot point for him! He just could seem to stay in one place more than a second or two. Working very fast is a must in these circumstances. Sometimes you just need to work with the dog enough to wear them out and then they’ll slow down a bit. Sometimes you need to have the “parents” leave the room to get them to focus on you for a moment or two to get the shot.
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