Take More Photos WITH Your Dog: Poses for Pictures with Your Best Friend
As a professional dog photographer, I’ve taken my fair share of super awkward “dog and their human” photos. From awkward poses to strange angles…not every photo works, especially when you are shooting something as unpredictable as a dog!
But in my time photographing dogs and their humans, I’ve also discovered some poses and prompts that almost always create a beautiful photo that really showcases the relationship between human and dog.
I would love to photograph you and your dog! If you’re located in Colorado, check out my portfolio and send me an email and we can get you on my schedule for a photo session.
If you aren’t located in Colorado, I still want to help you get photos of you and your dog that show off your relationship. Whether you show this post to your local photographer as pose and prompt inspiration, or just have a friend snap some of these poses with an iPhone, you will have more photos, and more memories, together with your pup.
Why is taking photos WITH your dog so important?
Photos of your dog are adorable. We all know that. There’s not much cuter than a dog having fun, and the silly faces are extra adorable!
But photos with your dog are extra special. The bond between human and canine is deep and unique. And tragically, dogs have much shorter lifespans than we do, so that bond will undoubtedly turn into memories.
But we are lucky to live in a period of time when camera technology is advanced enough to capture beautiful moments in striking sharpness and realism. While the paintings a few centuries back were nice, nothing preserves every detail, every bit of a relationship, the way a modern camera does!
I am so glad I took so many photos with my dogs, photos that stir wonderful memories of beautiful relationships with the loves of my life. (Yes, dogs are our true soul mates and you can’t convince me otherwise!)
If you don’t have enough photos together with your dog, I suggest you book a session with me, or try out these so you too have plenty of photos of the bond between you and your dog:
Over the Shoulder
As the saying goes, the eyes are the windows to the soul! Something about capturing eye contact really showcases the depth of a relationship. A photo taken of your dog’s face from over your shoulder emphasizes how deep your connection with your dog is!
Snuggles
If your dog enjoys sitting on you, giving face licks, and getting scritches, try having your photographer capture this moment. Showing off the love between you and your dog is the goal for taking photos with your dog, so ordinary moments of love are the perfect scenes to capture.
Belly Rub Bliss
Many dogs love belly rubs and they make fun faces when they are getting them! Try experimenting with different photo angles while scratching your dog’s tummy to show off how fun and playful your relationship is!
Playing Together
Does your dog love to play tug? Frisbee? Fetch? Play is a cornerstone of many human and dog relationships, so it’s only appropriate to capture that in photos of you and your pup! Tug of war is a great opportunity to take photos of your dog’s enthusiasm and strength. Throwing the ball for your dog shows your cooperation. And pictures of any kind of play will show off just how much fun you have together!
Jumping Together
Normally we don’t want our dogs jumping up on us, but photoshoots are the exception! Sometimes the best photos are when your dog is being naughty. Encourage your dog to jump on you or just jump up and down with you. Try holding a treat above their head or jumping around yourself. I guarantee photos of you jumping around together will be super cute!
Incorporate Your Shared Activities
Do you and your dog love to hike? Go for walks around the neighborhood? Play agility in the backyard? Make a list of the things you and your dog love to do together before your photo session, and then make sure to capture these activities. Posed photos in beautiful locations are nice, but try to capture candids. Photos that actually show you doing the activity with your dog will always tell more of a story and make for a more interesting and dynamic picture!
Tricks
Does your dog know any fun tricks? Do they shake hands, hop on your shoulder for a selfie, prop themselves up on your knee, stand between your legs, jump over your arm? There are so many “partner” style tricks that dogs do, and these can make for some beautiful and fun photos of you and your pup!
