Lifestyle, Pets

Tips For Taking Photos With Your Kid & Dog

People are always completing me on the adorable photos I am always posting of my youngest daughter and her sidekick Duke. I imagine when people see these photos they immediately assume they are the most photogenic duo, when in fact there is a lot that goes on behind the scenes to catch these beautiful moments. While my daughter and dog have an incredible bond, it can take a bit of work to get them to both sit still for a moment and pose for some photos. Today I am going to share with you some tips on how to take photos with your kid and dog!

Tips For Taking Photos With Your Kid & Dog

These two are easily distracted and because of their incredible bond, they always seem to get distracted together (example in the image above where they are both fixated on a tiny little plant they found in the yard, haha!) Kids and dogs have something really big in common… they are both highly food motivated. If I am planning on doing a photo shoot of the two of them together, I always make sure there are snacks for my daughter and the dog. Snacks are going to get them to settle down and actually sit. I recommend just giving them a little bit to snack on and once they finish up the snacks, get a few dozen photos in until they start to get rambunctious. Refill there snack bowl with a few more treats to settle them back down. If you are having a hard time getting them to actually look at the camera, shake the bag of dog food! My ALWAYS looks directly at me when I shake a bag of food, haha.

I just love capturing the two of them together, their bond is such a beautiful thing to witness. On my daughter’s second birthday we adopted Duke from our local pet shelter as a gift, he was just 8 weeks old at the time. Watching them grow together this past year and a half has been so amazing and I love looking back at all of their photos. The two of them are literally inseparable the entire day. We have three children and at the end of the day, he goes in Addie’s room at night to sleep on her floor.

Tips For Taking Photos With Your Kid & Dog

I tell people all of the time that it amazes me that Duke is always very calm around Addie, he is so incredibly gently with her. Yet with my older children he will rough house with them like any young dog would. Even when we bring Duke for a walk he will walk very slow with Addie (when she golds the leash) so she can keep up with him, but with my older kids he will tug at the leash. I just can’t get over the fact that he is smart enough to understand that he has to be gentle with Addie because she is so small… dogs are simply amazing!

Now that you have heard a little about my adorable tot and her favorite dog in the world, I have one last bit of advice when it comes to photographing the.

My number one tip: You can’t force your child and dog to take a good photo, you simply have to catch their genuine interactions together. Some of the best photos I have ever taken of the two of them is when I just allow them to play and be themselves. When I am no longer posing them in the position I want or placing them in front of the beautiful tree that I know would look great in the background… they suddenly become more relaxed and in turn, the photos come out much better.

Tips For Taking Photos With Your Kid & Dog

I hope you enjoyed these photos as much as I did, is there anything cuter than my girl and her pup?

4 thoughts on “Tips For Taking Photos With Your Kid & Dog

  1. Getting your child and dog looking at the camera at the same time has always been a challenge for me. Cookies for both held above the camera by a helper usually helps.

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