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 as well as the breed. Really young pups(6 to 8 weeks old) are pretty easy if you can keep them awake. They do want to sleep a lot! They’re like photographing newborns. They sleep a lot! We’ve actually had to prop some pups up as they keep slumping down wanting to go to sleep. Very little activity while awake makes them want to go to sleep again.
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 not 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. Some breeds are easier to deal with. A recent session with a nearly one year old Newfoundland proved to be pretty easy. Lots of slobber but he more or less followed his owners commands. The Rhodesian Ridgeback puppy in the middle above was pretty easy as he was so young. He was old enough to stay awake but not so old that he wanted to race around the studio.
The key lies in training either formal or informal. Once a puppy has had some training then they will begin to listen a bit more to commands. Our good friends at All Breed Rescue have wonderful training classes for puppies and their owners.
If you want more of a one on one arrangement where the trainer comes to you we highly recommend Linda Brennen of Your Canine Coach. She volunteers her time each year for our annual fundraiser for All Breed. With the right training your dog will be able to be a super companion for life.
Having a wonderful portrait of your puppy is like having one of your young child. We have clients who come periodically to have portraits of the various stages of life of their dog. Have a puppy you’d like photographed? Call 719.475.0160 and we’ll walk you through the process.