Tips for including the family dog in your newborn photoshoot

I love having dogs included in family & newborn photoshoots. After all, they are important members of the family too! Images including pets are really special!

Bringing your dog along might be something you are considering ahead of your newborn session.

If so, here are a few things worth keeping in mind beforehand.

1. Shoot location

Before bringing your dog, consider how they generally are in new places. When they visit someone else’s home, do they settle quite easily?

If not, perhaps the studio is not the best location for your session. The focus will be the baby, and if your dog needs lots of attention and has lots of energy, the session will become disrupted and difficult to complete comfortably.

Remember, I also offer at-home newborn sessions which might appeal if you have more than one pet, or your dog is a bit more restless and unlikely to sit quietly through the shoot.

An at-home shoot might also work well if you have other children too - bringing a toddler and a pet to the studio will certainly be a little bit too much for the space I have, so keep that in mind.

At-home sessions are laid back lifestyle shoots, using your home as the setting and can capture some really beautiful natural moments of all of you including all of your pets.

2. Keeping expectations realistic

Every dog is different and you know your pet’s temperament best.

As mentioned, the focus of the newborn session is your baby. Images with your dog are like icing on the cake - a wonderful bonus, but not my priority. It’s easy to get too focused on trying to get the perfect shot of tricky subjects and this can derail the session.

Rather, I approach it in a more open minded way - dogs will be dogs, after all! And don’t forget we are also working with a baby, so a lot is going to be unpredictable and out of our control.

If either subject is unsettled then the perfect shot is going to be less likely, but I promise we’ll get something that captures this time, and you will treasure it in the future!

3. Treats

Don’t forget the treats!

This helps them get into position and also rewards them as this can be a strange situation and we’re asking a lot!

4. Walkies!

If you have an energetic pup, make sure they have a good long walk before the session and arrive relaxed and ready to rest.

If they become too restless during the session I suggest one parent take them for a walk to nearby Victoria Gardens, or even put them in the car if they’re able to wait there and you get a space at the studio.

If this happens, it does mean that one parent has to miss some of the session.

5. Safety first

Again, you know your dog’s personality and energy levels, so anything we do with dog and baby needs to be safe. We want to avoid any unintended bumps or scratches, and often the dog will mainly be in the family shots, being held by a parent.

I will always try and get some lovely shots of your dog with baby, whether lying down together or just having a friendly sniff. The positioning will all depend on how the shoot is unfolding, size of the dog, etc. So again, it’s best to come without too many preconceived ideas of what the shots will be.

To book your newborn photoshoot or enquire about bringing your pet to a session with me, get in touch - I’d love to learn more.