Holiday Pet Portraits: Behind the Scenes

How do we get dogs (and some cats) to sit pretty and give us their best puppy eyes?

It takes treats. A LOT of treats. And toys. And a photographer rolling around on the ground.

We've done several sets of Halloween and Winter Holidays sessions over the past 2 seasons. As much as we love getting an adorable look for the camera, we make sure the pups are comfortable with being in the studio space, and are not under stress. When the fur-clients arrive, we make sure they get to sniff around the space, and give them lots of positive encouragement. We give plenty of treats and pets, and have a short playtime with them to keep them excited and comfortable in their new surroundings. Then, we walk them over to the backdrops and let them have some treats while asking them to sit where they need to for the photos. We offer toys and ask the parents to offer encouragement while we start photographing their handsome pets.

If the pet looks to be uncomfortable or in distress, we stop immediately, and see if petting, parent's hugs, and more encouragement relieve some of that stress. So far, when we've offered some free range playtime, the pups have relaxed and chosen to sit on the backdrops themselves!

Here are a few behind-the-scenes photos, in addition to some of the keepers from the sessions.

A special thank you to our kind hosts for pet portraits for 2 years running: Jameson & Thompson Picture Framers in Jamaica Plain https://www.jamesonandthompson.com/.