When I have couples who ask me, “Can we bring our dog to our engagement session?“ the answer will ALWAYS be a YES! I love animals and dogs espeically. We have a Siberian Husky at home and he was our first baby before our human babies ever came into the picture. I remember when we were taking family photos together before our first was born and we wanted to include Blaze because he’s part of our family of course!
As long as the location is pup-friendly (and I have a list of pup-friendly locations!) I’m all for including your dog in your engagement photos! There is a little more to keep in mind when including your fur baby so that we can make sure we have a great time including them and get some great photos! Check out my 5 tips for including your pup in your engagement session!
1: Give Your Pup A Bath!
A day before your engagement session, get your pup bathed so their coat is nice and shiny! If your dog is anything like mine, he loves to get his paws dirty! But Blaze looks like a brand new husky when he’s freshly groomed. So even a nice brushing/blowout, a bath will do wonders for your pup!
2: Bring a neutral color leash and color
It might not be something you notice until you get your photos back when you see that the light blue dress you wore and your fiance’s navy outfit completely clashes with your dog’s camo orange leash and collar, complete with reflector pieces! Uh oh. Let’s fix that before photos and bring along a neutral color leash and color for your fur baby! Your sweet pup is already the star of the show (and you both of course!), her bright neon leash shouldn’t be. Black, gray, white, navy are great neutral colors for your pup to be sporting so it’s not a distraction in the images.
3: bring treats
Blaze is VERY food motivated. He will do every single trick he knows and will sit still for his treats. If your dog is like Blaze, I recommend bringing their favorite treats! I like to hold their treat above my camera so they look in the direction of my camera and they’re more happy to cooperate if they’re getting treats and praises every so often. If they’re not very food motivated, bring their favorite squeak toy! Same concept, I’ll hold the toy close to my camera and they’ll look over to see their favorite toy!
4: bring an assistant
This might be one of the more important tips I have. Bring an assistant that your pup is familiar and happy with to your session! I love including your pup in your photos but they won’t be in every photo with you and I like to have you both posing and interacting together, undistracted. So when you bring a friend with you, they’ll be able to watch your pup and keep them happy or cool while you’re both with me taking more photos!
5: stay cool
I know it’s hard to relax when your dog wants to go sniff every tree, might start barking at a squirrel they see or are just so excited they can’t sit still. But trust me, the candid natural moments of your dog out and about, happy with be with you both, are just so fun! It might not be perfect but it will be fun. For your pup, they’re having the BEST DAY EVER exploring with you and it’s totally okay if your pup is just a little rambucous. I’ve been there, with my own dog and toddler and it doesn’t faze me at all. The fun candid moments are the ones you’ll laugh at and love! So stay cool, relax and enjoy the time together!
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Dogs are the best and I love love LOVE getting to include them in my #mjmpcouples’ engagement photos! It’s always a fun time and you get to capture this moment in time where it’s you, your love and your sweet fur baby.
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