Photographing Children and Pets - Together

Last Friday was the day for grandson Ben's eight month old photos. This was also the first month of Ben's modeling career for me to be concerned about containment. And what did I do? I added a pet to the pictures!

When they first arrived, Ben was bright eyed and smiling, ready to have his pictures taken.

I gave him a new toy truck which kept him occupied and in one place (sort of) for some great and colorful photos.

Normally I wouldn't use a black backdrop for children, but Courtney and I agreed he would wear bright colors. It worked and produced beautiful contrast.

Then I had the bright idea of adding our dog, Bella, to the pic's mix. From past experience, Courtney knew the photo shoot would be a workout for her just to wrangle Ben, but when you add a pet, it's best to have at least two assistants and lots of treats. While Bella is somewhat trained, getting her to sit, lay down, stay in the right position, face the camera, and keep her ears up, were a little too much to ask all at one time.
(Petsmart made a lot of money from me over the years. I think the dogs I took to training and Petsmart were in cahoots).

Bella is a sweetheart and loves little children. With Ron's help, she did stay and face the camera, but getting her ears up was just too much to ask. I'd suggest for those of you who want to try this, have another person stand behind you as you photograph. The one behind you should make either a clicking or squeaky noise to get the dog's ears to perk up. That person won't have their face covered by a camera and will be more interesting to the animal. If your dog is better trained, you've got it made. We just didn't have enough hands on Friday. Believe me, Bella does have ears. They stayed flat to her head as a way of saying, "The things a dog has to endure!"

Our other challenge was Ben's desire to head after our cat, Calvin. He spied the kitty sitting safely outside the studio on the stairs and off he went, just like the little engine that could, coming down the other side of the mountain - full speed ahead.

Courtney caught him up in her arms and tried to convince him that she and Bella were more fun. I don't think Ben was buying it.

I told Courtney that next time - just for kicks - we'd try to get the cat in the pictures. Her look of disbelief - said it all. I was kidding, but since I was able to do it once before, maybe we should give it a try. At least Calvin's ears are up. Stay tuned! BonnieKingPhotography.com