Engagement Shoot with a Dog

Check pintirst they have SOOO many suggestions on there!! theres so much about dog shoots!

View quoted message Those photos are beautiful! We have realized that we probably won’t have anyone to come and hold her, as our shoot is happening at 7:45am on a Friday, so it’s unlikely anyone will be available with work and such. Instead, we have been practicing tying her to the fence in the park and walking away (but staying in her sight) and seeing if she freaks out 😂 we figured that way we can just tie her up somewhere very close to us, but out of shot, for the photos that she doesn’t need to be in. Fingers crossed that works out! Lol

Yes, definitely have someone with you! We didn't bring anyone along to hold our pupper and this is what happened lol. Also, if your pup is a shedder, bring a lint roller!

Definitely bring someone to take her when she’s not needed for photos, and treats. We got the photos where she is looking by having my FH’s grandmother stand behind our photographer with treats

Definitely bring someone along to handle your dog so that you can get some pictures with just the two of you! That's my biggest regret, but nobody was available to help us on the day of our photos. Our dog is in 99% of our photos, and while she's adorable, we are fussing and fawning over her (instead of each other) in most of the pictures, so they don't really look like engagement photos, but more like family portraits. Oh well, lesson learned! She's coming to our wedding, but we will only include her in a couple of posed photos. You really want your love for each other to shine - not your love for your dog!

View quoted message Our ceremony is taking place in FH's parent's back yard, so it'll be outdoors so it'll be nice not to have to worry about him peeing anywhere! Even if we didn't have an outdoor wedding we would've only chosen a venue that would allow him to be there. But I won't be surprised if he jumps on me during the ceremony, I'm his favourite, so to get him to come down the aisle I think he'll have to come after once I'm at the alter. We're going to try and practice to get him to walk down the aisle but I have a feeling he'll full out sprint and jump into my arms lol. But it'll make for a funny story and I'm sure would entertain the guests, so no worries really. Just hopefully it'll be dry so he'll have clean paws! 😅

View quoted message That’s adorable that your dog will be your ring bearer!! Are you having an outdoor wedding, or did you find a venue that allows dogs? We would love to have our dog in the wedding but logistically I don’t think it would work, I feel like she would end up peeing somewhere she shouldn’t or jumping on one of us during the ceremony! Lol

I would recommend an extra human to hold them when they aren't on camera. Also back a squeaky toy or ball so the person can stand behind the photographer to make the dog look at the camera.
Favorite treats should be in everyone's pockets to keep the dog focused and reward his good behavior!
It's probably a good idea to get a decently long walk in before so they aren't too hyper, and if there's a time when you only want couple photos the spare human could wander off for a mini walk. I'd also ask your photographer, they may have tips and tricks, or may want to ask their photographer friends for tips.

FH and I also have a very clingy fur baby lol❤️ we didn't have an engagement photo shoot, but we'll definitely have him in our wedding photos since he's our ring bearer. I'd suggest making sure you have someone else there that she's comfortable with so she doesn't get too anxious and they can keep an eye on her while you two go off and do some solo shots. Have treats on hand or her favourite toy so you can get her looking where the photographer needs her to. As for specific shots, we plan on letting him roam where he pleases so we can just get genuine shots and not have them too structured which might get frustrating. But one shot that I definitely want is our hands over one another's with dog's paw on top.