Yes, we love photographing a man or woman's best friend:)

We did a slightly different portrait shoot for a client (Jonathan) about 2 weeks ago. Jonathan also requested that we photograph his pet, a beautiful male greyhound dog named "OM."

Today, we'll look at a few images from this photo shoot and discuss some of the tricks and tips we used to keep the pets in the frame.

When Jonathan arrived at the studio, he asked for a few headshot portraits of himself and OM.

He let us make suggestions for lighting and background.

Pet Portrait studio photography

TIP #1: What should you do if you have a nervous animal?

• It's critical to have a relaxed animal for these types of canine portrait sessions.
• When OM walked into our Sunnyvale studio, it was a little nervous.
• It couldn't sit still.
• We asked Jonathan to take OM for a 10-minute walk in our neighbor's yard.
• It allowed the dog to unwind.

Pet Portrait studio photography

TIP #2 : Be relatively quiet, and don’t force yourself on the pet. 

• It is critical to keep distractions to a minimum, such as moving light all over the place or changing the setup too frequently. It may frighten the animal.
• People should not be yelling at the pet.
• The animal will relax if you and everyone else in the room relax.
• So, keep your cool and take your time.
• To make the pet feel at ease, rather than forcing him to come to you, simply go to him. It is critical to get down to its level: sit on the floor and remember to shoot from its eye level or below.

Pet Portrait studio photography

TIP #3: What should you do if your dog is afraid of studio strobe lights?

• We believe that cats will be terrified by the strobe lights.
• In general, a dog will be terrified of everything in the studio: the photographer, the space, the lighting, the action...
• We were fortunate with OM because it was extremely cooperative. You have to wait for really tough dogs. We usually take a step back and ask his master to interact with him and loosen up the dog.

Pet Portrait studio photography

Pet Portrait studio photography

TIP #4 : Treat or not treat

• It is preferable if the animal is motivated by food. Every time the lights go out, you can give a treat.
• We use a trick in which we do not always give the treat. We hold the treat in our hands and approach the dog, allowing them to sniff it. We get its attention and take a picture.
• We give the treat after a few shots. We discovered that treat-motivated dogs completely disregard the strobe lights in favor of the treats.
• Non-treat motivated dogs, on the other hand, remain fearful because they are too scared to care about the food.

Pet Portrait studio photography

TIP #5. Surprise the pet

• Pets are notorious for their inability to remain still.
• Allow them to play quietly and, when you're ready to shoot, have the owner or someone whistle or call its name.
• This trick will catch his attention and surprise him. However, keep in mind that you will only have 2 or 3 seconds to capture the shot.

Pet Portrait studio photography

TIP #6: The “stay” command

• This is a no-brainer tip, but involving the owner is critical. You'd be surprised how many pet owners expect the photographer to handle their pet.
• So we usually involve our clients and instruct them to calmly pet and soothe their dogs once they're in the desired position.
• Once the pet has calmed down and has become accustomed to sitting/laying, the owner will move away at the last second, and we will ensure that we are quick on the shutter in order to capture the shot.
• The more obedience a dog understands (particularly the "stay" command), the better and easier the photographer's job becomes.
• We wanted Jonathan and OM to lay down together in the photos below. To keep it still, we asked Jonathan to wrap his arm around his pet and control the dog's head angle with his hand.

Pet Portrait studio photography	Pet Portrait studio photography
Pet Portrait studio photography	Pet Portrait studio photography
Pet Portrait studio photography	Pet Portrait studio photography

if you are interesting to have your pet in our studio, feel free to check our price and booking for glamour portrait.