“My dog will never sit still for that”. I hear it all too much! Little do those folks know; no dog sits still! 95% or more of the dog we work with are not trained. So getting an individual portrait may seem like a daunting task, and getting a group portrait may seem impossible. But the GOOD NEWS is: It’s not! We can do it.

Take a look at how I created this portrait of my daughter with our dogs (who are totally untrained and wont sit next to her btw).

The first step was to create the setting. I picked up this amazing trunk for a great deal at a local antiques store. What a good stroke of luck it matched a blanket that made the prefect Christmas colors.

Once I’ve got the setting in mind, I set up the camera and lights. I decide who I want to sit where and I shoot each separately. This may seem like an easy task but it has to be done perfectly or the final image wont merge properly and will look “off” or “photoshopped”.

Shooting the images is the easy part, then I take them in to photoshop and start the process of creating the final image from the 3. I shot well so it doesnt take long: a bit of masking to merge the files, retouching on the fur and eyes as well as the baby’s skin and it’s ready to go. The final step was adding texture and finessing colors. Personally, I LOVE adding texture to pieces. It gives it a nice fine art look that I love… and nothing’s finished until it’s printed with a frame, so the last step was to find a nice complimentary gold frame and voila! Aurelia’s first Christmas Portrait with the pups.

Overall I spent about 30 minutes setting up this shoot and another 30-45 minutes editing and finishing. A lot of work and heart goes in to each portrait we create and it’s alway more than the click of a button.

If’ you’ve been on the fence about a pet portrait session and thought “no my dogs wont do it” I hope you’ll reconsider! We have an unconditional guarantee that we’ll get amazing images of your dogs!  Click here and submit a request to learn more.