When people find out I do pet photography, I get mixed reactions. Usually? Big smiles. Other times? Polite but not-quite-convinced nods.
What I can predict, however, is the next comment. More often than not, that person will look at me like they're confessing a big, big secret: "I would love to do that but my dog is too _____" (barky, wild, uncooperative, untrained, etc, etc.)
I'm here to tell you: I do not care.
What happens 95% of the time? Your dog will not be perfectly behaved. Your dog will probably bark, pretend he doesn't like you, refuse to look at the camera, adopt the most obscenely adorable but also dramatic facial expression straight out of Sarah McLachlan's "In The Arms of an Angel" music video. She may put on her best impression of a leaping salmon, pretend she is a sled dog training for Iditarod, or practice some really neat zooms at the end of the leash while you look on in confusion because she should, in fact, be quite tired after the 10km walk you gave her earlier to prevent exactly this.
Again, I'm here to tell you: I do not care. I promise. Dogs will be dogs. Even the best trained, or most mellow dogs, seem to be jazzed up on photo day. Why? I don't know exactly, but I wonder if it's because they are so darn good at reading us, and our nerves!
My point is: do not let what you think might happen deter you from having photos done of you & your best one! Do not stress (isn't it easy for me to say that!?). Do not think your dog has to be a robot in order to partake in a JEP session. Guaranteed, I've worked with the whole spectrum; from Dog Model to never been on a leash or out of their own yard.
& GUESS WHAT, my friend? We always get the shot.
Thanks to Meri & Bowie for demonstrating that yes, there are bloopers, and no, there is no such thing as perfection.
Between you & me though, I think all of these moments are perfection, but maybe not in the Webster version of the word. But, perfect, because our dogs are who they are, and that's why we adore them.
Love, your pet photographer.