Should you include your dog in Family Photos?

Your dog is part of the family. So why is the dog never in the family photos?

I hear this all the time. The kids have had their school portraits, there might be a nice shot on the wall from a holiday, but the dog who sleeps on the end of the bed and greets everyone at the door is nowhere to be seen. For a lot of the families I photograph, that feels wrong. If the dog is family, the dog belongs in the photo.

I've been including dogs in sessions for 23 years. It isn't an add-on or a novelty. It's one of my favourite parts of the job. So if you've been putting off family photos because you aren't sure how the dog will cope, let me talk you through it.

Will my dog behave?

This is the question I get more than any other. The honest answer is that dogs don't need to behave. They need to be themselves. I'm not after a stiff, sitting-to-attention shot where everyone including the dog is frozen. I'm after the real thing. The dog leaning into your youngest. The dog looking up at you. The dog doing a lap of the studio because there's a new smell to investigate.

My studio is a big 175sqm space with room for a dog to move. Dogs are allowed to sniff around, settle in and get comfortable before we start. When a dog feels relaxed, the photos look relaxed. That's the whole trick.

A few simple things that help

A few small things just make the session run smoother. Take your dog for a walk beforehand so they burn off some energy.

If your dog gets groomed, book it in for the week before rather than the day before, so their coat has a little time to grow back.

And bring some treats along. I actually prefer to work without them, because dogs can get a bit fixated on the treats, but they're there as a backup if things aren't going to plan.

You don't need to train your dog for anything beforehand. I'll just work around them, help them feel comfortable and gently guide them into the shots.

And if your dog gets nervous, let me know before the session. I've worked with anxious dogs and senior dogs and everything in between, so I'm comfortable with whatever the day brings.

Why it matters more than you think

Here's the part people don't always say out loud. Dogs don't live as long as we want them to. The family photo with the dog in it becomes one of the photos you'd never part with, because one day that dog won't be there and you'll be so glad you have it.

I photograph a lot of families who come back years later, and the sessions with the old dog in them are the ones they talk about most. That's not something you can redo. This is the dog you have right now, at this age, with these kids at these ages. That combination exists once.

‍What the photos actually look like‍ ‍

Warm. Natural. A bit chaotic in the best way. Your dog isn't squeezed into the corner of one shot at the end. Your dog is in the family portrait, on laps, in the middle of the cuddle pile, wherever they naturally end up. Because that's where they are in real life.

If you'd rather be outdoors, I do outdoor sessions too, which some dogs love because there's more room to run. You can see how those work on my outdoor sessions page.

Ready to get your dog in the picture?

‍If you have a dog who is family and a wall that is missing them, let's sort it out. I'll handle the chaos. You just show up with the family, the dog and the treats.‍ ‍

Book your session here or get in touch if you have questions about bringing your dog along. I'm always happy to talk it through.

‍ ‍

Kate x

Can You Bring Your Dog to a Family Photo Shoot?

Yes, you can bring your dog to a family photo session in Sydney, and at my studio the dog is part of the family, not an add-on or a problem to manage. I'm Kate Buechner, I've photographed roughly 2,500 Sydney families over 23 years, and about a third of my sessions have a dog in them. If you've been wondering whether your dog can come, this post tells you exactly how it works and why it goes better than you think.

So, can the dog actually come?

Short answer, yes, and I'd encourage it. If the dog is part of your family, the dog belongs in the photos. About 30 per cent of the families I photograph bring a dog, so this is normal here, not a special request I have to think twice about.

The reason it works comes down to the space. My studio in Gordon is a 175sqm room with three big arch windows, and it's set up to feel like a home, not a clinic. That size matters more than people realise. It means I can take your dog off the lead and let them actually be a dog. There's room to move, room to sniff about, room to settle. A small studio can't do that, which is why a lot of photographers quietly steer you away from bringing the dog at all.

So the question isn't really "will you allow my dog". It's "is your space set up for it". Mine is, and it's been set up for it for years.

But my dog won't behave. They'll never sit still for photos.

This is the worry I hear most, and I understand it. You picture your dog ignoring every command, bolting around the room, refusing to look at the camera while you stand there apologising. It almost never goes that way.

Here's what actually happens. The dog comes in, has a good sniff around, usually jumps straight up on the bed or the lounge, and within a few minutes settles right down. I never start shooting the second you walk in. I give the dog time to get used to the space first, because a relaxed dog photographs beautifully and a rushed one doesn't. By the time I begin, your dog isn't on edge anymore. They're at home.

It helps that I love dogs. I've got my own miniature dachshund, Lollie, so working with dogs isn't a service I tolerate, it's something I look forward to. Dogs read that. They sense when someone's comfortable with them, and they relax accordingly. The takeaway here is simple. You don't need a perfectly trained dog. You need a space and a photographer that work with the dog you've actually got.

How do you even get the dog in the photo?

The other worry, right behind behaviour. People imagine the dog will be off in a corner while the family poses, and they'll end up with photos that don't include the one they came for.

What really happens is the dog usually steals the show. I tend to put the dog right in the centre of the family, and nine times out of ten they love being the centre of attention. You'd be amazed how many of my favourite family images come down to a dog doing a head tilt at exactly the right moment. It's the best thing ever, and it's the frame the whole family ends up wanting on the wall.

One thing I do that not everyone does, I'll also photograph your dog on their own. Not just tucked into the family group, but proper portraits of the dog by themselves, so you've got something beautiful of them to keep. Dogs don't stay with us as long as we'd like, and a real portrait of yours, the way you actually see them, is worth having. That's the bit families tell me later they're most glad they got.

What you'll walk away with

When a dog comes to a session here, you don't get a stiff family line-up with a dog awkwardly bolted on the end. You get your family as you actually are, dog included, relaxed and real, plus a few portraits of the dog on their own that you'll be glad you have down the track. That's the whole point of how I work. Real families, real moments, dog very much welcome.

Whether your family is two people and a puppy or a full house of kids and a dog who thinks they're a kid too, that's worth photographing exactly as it is right now. If you've got a dog you want in the frame, have a look at my Dogs and Their Families gallery or send me a message and let's talk about a session.

Kate x