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Do Your Dogs Like to Have Their Photo Taken? Tips & Tricks

Written by: Dogster Team

Last Updated on March 12, 2024 by Dogster Team

American Staffordshire Terrier dog communicates with a photographer and sniffs the camera lens

Do Your Dogs Like to Have Their Photo Taken? Tips & Tricks

Recently we had a wonderful professional photographer come to our house for a couple of hours for a photo shoot. We like to have this done every four or five years in order to have fresh images to include with articles, in my books, on my website and social media sites, as well as other media events that I attend. Photo shoots are always a lot of fun, but a lot more tiring than you would expect. I have to give it up to professional photographers, models and celebrities who make their living doing this on a regular basis.

This was the first professional photo shoot that our new pups, Dusty and Kramer, had experienced. We had a pretty good idea about how it would go, based on their previous reactions to us taking their pictures. As planned, Dusty stepped up and demanded her face-time on camera, while I spent most of the time trying to get Kramer to look directly at the camera instead of every other direction. He is very camera shy! It made me wonder whether other people’s dogs like having their photos taken.

Dusty, from the time she came into our lives, has always hammed it up in front of the camera. We believe it’s partly due to the fact that she was photographed and videotaped from the day she was born to the present day. Hardly a day goes by when a photo isn’t taken of her. She’s such a beautiful, fun, and sassy girl that it makes it easy to capture all of the interesting things that she does throughout the day.

During the professional photo shoot, Dusty didn’t let us down. From pictures of her giving us kisses, to allowing us to hold her in our arms for multiple photos, she cooperated perfectly. Each time she looked at the camera, she gave her best. She would pick up sticks and hold them in her mouth like she was smoking a cigar. She would even sit patiently by her brother Kramer, in order to share the moment with him on camera. She has the face for the camera, and she knows how to work it!

As for Kramer, I will give him big kudos for putting up with the whole thing. He has never been a big fan of the camera lens. He’ll let us take his picture, but only a few at a time. Even then, he tends to look the other way from the camera when he’s done. It doesn’t scare him and he won’t run and hide. It’s just that he doesn’t see the need for all the fuss over him. Unless there’s a treat involved, he could care less.

During the photo shoot, Kramer did better than expected once my wife talked to him and told him how much it would mean to her to have beautiful photos of him. He allowed us to hold him for longer than normal periods of time. He sat patiently in the yard and didn’t let a single squirrel or outside noise distract him from what we were doing. He even allowed his sister, Dusty, to cuddle up with him a time or two. The golden moments were when he looked directly into the camera. He has the most beautiful golden brown eyes that I’ve ever seen. He is a very handsome boy in a disheveled sort of way.

We’ve had other dogs like our Pomeranian, Neecie, who was terrified of the camera. All we had to do was pull the camera out of the drawer and she would run and hide. We often had to sneak the camera in the other room, turn it on and sneak around the corner for a picture. Of course, that was back in the old days: cameras made noise when you turned them on, and the flash made a buzzing noise while it warmed up between pictures.

Overall, the professional photo shoot was a huge success. We now have a lot of beautiful photos for articles, holiday cards and to place in several frames that are scattered throughout the house.

And, since the aging process never affects me (much), I won’t have to do another photo shoot for another five years. Wait a minute, put down that mirror!

Do your dogs like getting their photos taken? Share your stories and pictures on Dogster.

About Tim Link: All-American guy, loves to rock out to Queen while consuming pizza and Pinot Noir, prefers to associate with open minded people who love all critters, considered to be the literal voice for all animals – Author, writer, radio host, Reiki Master, Animal Communicator and consultant. www.wagging-tales.com

More by Tim Link:


Featured Image Credit: Anaite, Shutterstock

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