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Tips for your Pet’s photo shoot

By Julie Ewing July 31, 2018August 1, 2018 2 min read 4084 views

Your Pet’s photo shoot!

This blog is full of useful tips to ensure you and your Pet achieve the most out of your pet’s photo shoot.

A personalised photo session by one of Melbourne’s Best portrait photographers, you and your pet/s are going be stars!

What makes your Pet/s really special?

Is it one of their quirky personality traits, or the unconditional bond shared between the two of you.

Every pet is unique, just like people!

They are loved like they are children and we have been told by some even more so!! (lol)

To ensure you and your pet’s unique relationship is captured, we suggest you to invest a bit of time thinking about the photo shoot before hand.

Don’t worry it’s not too much homework (just a little).

Of course the session isn’t just all about your pet/s. Having photos taken of yourself, your fur babies and your family will make your shoot even more special. We love to celebrate the relationships between Pets and their People.

Ensuring yourselves and your pet/s look the best possible goes without saying!

5 Questions to think about before your PAWtrait’s Pet’s Photo shoot?

By taking the time to answer the following 5 simple questions it will ensure you get the most out of your Pet’s photo session!

We found those that took the time to prepare got more out of the photo session, than those who just turned up without really thinking about what they really wanted and what makes their pet so special.

Shoot participants

Is there anyone else you would like included in the shoot?

If you have spoken to us already it is likely we have asked you this question.

It is an important question, one very easy to dismiss quickly, due to this we’d like to explain why we believe it’s so important!

It is not every day that you get the opportunity to be photographed by a one of Australia’s best professional portrait photographer, so to make the most of it we like you to invite those closest to you to be involved.

Have you just got engaged?

Want an update of the children for the wall?

Been meaning to have family portrait?

Pet’s are a large part of our lives and they are our family. So why not do it all at once!

If reading this has changed your initial answer to when you spoke to us, please call us to discuss these details.

Pet maintenance required before the shoot

Does my pet need any special maintenance before the shoot?

Your pet may need to have a brush, be washed, trimmed or clipped, this will enhance getting the best end result.

Try to have all your pets preparation done at least a day or two before.

We don’t want your pet too exhausted to smile during the photo session.

Clothing and hair styling

What about the clothing and hair styling for the rest of the family?

You and your family:

Having children’s hair trimmed before the shoot is likely to be on your to do list.

Do this at least a week before the shoot is advisable. With children’s hair cuts we find that sometimes a new cut needs a few days to settle in.

Ladies may like to go to the hair dressers prior to the photo session, we suggest that if you are doing this closer to the shoot date maybe hold off on that dramatic new cut and go with the wash and blow wave option from your trusted local hairdresser instead.

We suggest doing makeup yourself as you usually would, all purchased images are retouched by our in-house experts.

Please have your hair and make up done prior to arriving at the shoot, we find you will look and feel fantastic and be more relaxed during your session.

If you never wear make-up, then al-la natural is perfect also… we want you to be yourself!

Clothing suggestions:

Wear clothes you feel great in! It is that easy. If you love to dress up we can do a fabulously “fancy” portrait for you, if you are casual, trendy, classic or eclectic, we can do something PAWsome to suit your style. Choose colours that don’t blend with your pets colouring, for eg. try to avoid all black if your dog is black. If there is more than one person being photographed with your pet/s, choose clothing for everyone that co-ordinates well and looks great together, avoiding a mix-match of patterns and colours is advisable. “Keep it simple” is a great motto to go by. As we are often in Parks and feet will be in the shot, consider shoe choice and sock colours, footwear you can easily walk in, that you like the look of and will be happy with in your photos.

What you need to bring?

Personalising the shoot – What do you need to bring?

Definitely yourselves and your pet!

We understand that every pet is different, they all have unique personality traits.

Take the time to think about what make your pet unique, and how can we incorporate this into the shoot to make it extra special.

Some people bring special outfits, others special toys that show off unique skills or tricks their pets have mastered.

Does your dog fetch you the Newspaper or a beer from the fridge?

Able to retrieve special items on request?

Is their a certain household item your pet likes to sleep/squeeze itself into?

Clothing Basket, undersized cardboard boxes.

Does your pet love water, frisbees, a soccer super star?

Or do they love being carried around in your handbag?

This list could go on and on.

So any props/outfits that may add to the pet’s photo shoot, please bring those along, we are open to all ideas and happy to discuss and design something extraordinary for you!

We do ask if your pet has a favourite toy, or likes special treats to bring these along.

If small children are also involved in this shoot we ask that you bring a small healthy snack and a drink for them just in case.We find that if a child is hungry or thirsty, they are not at their best.

If out on location please arrive ready to be photographed. If we are photographing at the studio, we do have facilities for you and your family to get changed if need be.

Please note Pet’s Photo sessions usually take between 45 mins – 1.5 hours. We find for pets and younger children (under 6), short and sweet is best, ideally under 1 hour.

We make this shoot as fun and as memorable as possible so there will be laughter and silliness!

Think of the end result

What would you love to have out of this shoot? It’s important to take the time to consider what would you love to get out of your pet’s photo shoot. It more than just a chance to give something back to charity it’s the perfect opportunity to create something that you will treasure for ever. It may be an Album, a collection of professional prints, a large wall portrait to hang in your home?

If you love the idea of a special pet’s photo for your wall, think where in your home you are likely to place it, what colour tones suits your home decor best?

Do you find yourself attracted to the more clean, classic images, those a bit more contemporary in style or prefer a rustic outdoors backdrop?

Or are you known more for your eccentric tastes and want to go with a fully themed shoot filled of lots of quirky props. Whatever you would like, please discuss your these with us, we are here to help and provide you with something to treasure.

Soccer star! PAWtraits Pet Photography, Melbourne — Soccer Super Star, he could bend it better than Beckham!!

Rottweiler - PAWtraits, Pet photography Melbourne — Adding a touch of colour can make your images really pop!

Chihuahua - PAWtraits Pet Photography Melbourne — Blues and reds are always a wonderful contrast in colour! We loved this woman’s heels and had to feature them!

Guinea Pigs - PAWtraits, Pet Photography Melbourne — These two are so adorable and they were so perfectly behaved when they visited our studio!

Beach Dogs - PAWtraits - Pet Photography Melbourne — Are your pets full of energy? The beach or a large park may suit them best. Let us catch them doing what they love! In this case running full speed at us!

We have had so much fun creating the first Three Pet Books and have multiple requests for the next edition, so we couldn’t not. With lots of NEW ideas we can’t wait to get started, we are just waiting to meet you and your furry, feathered or scaly family members so get in contact today!