Make 2022 The Year For Professional Photographs With Your Pet
It's the first week of January and we're contemplating, have already made or are trying to stick to our New Year's Resolutions. I'm going to add one more to your list - you should resolve to be photographed WITH your dog in 2022.
If you love your dog(s), or cat for that matter, as much as I do mine, I can't think of anything more important to have and cherish after they're no longer with us and I speak from experience. I don't regret much, but I do regret that we never had our first dog, Penny (and the Penny Whistle Photography namesake), professionally photographed.
The image below is literally the best picture I have of her. It was taken with a point and shoot camera, is over exposed, has terrible composition and boasts the digital date in the lower right corner. I cringe to look at it now almost 15 years later as a professional photographer, but it's all I have.
After we lost her, I vowed that was not going to happen again. Now I never miss an opportunity to cajole my husband (not a fan of being in front of the lens, but who has also seen the light on this topic) to agree to hire one of my Dallas-based photographer friends to photograph our family every year or two.
So you're only going to see one of my pictures in this post, the one directly below, the rest are pictures of my family taken by another professional photographer and read about three big reasons I think you should make 2022 the year that you should have a photo shoot with your dog this year.
(click on any image to view full screen)
1) Because Not Every Picture Of You And Your Dog Should Be a Selfie
With the advent of the "reverse" camera on smart phones a few years ago, you might think "I have plenty of pictures of me with me with my dog". Uh huh. And your extended arm is in every single one of them. Or your head looks gigantic because it was closest to the camera or you managed to take a rather unflattering picture of yourself from a bad angle that will never see the light of day.
What you can't capture yourself with an outstretched arm and a thumb searching for the "take" button, is an honest moment between you and your pet. You nuzzling your face deep into their neck fur like you always do, or kissing them or just looking at them with love filled eyes. You, lost in the moment, contemplating their unconditional and how they changed your life forever. Selfies are fun and they have their place, but I don't think anyone is hanging that on their wall.
If you need more proof of why every picture of you and your dog shouldn't be a selfie, check out this attempt at taking my own family Christmas card picture.
2) Because Photographs Were Meant To Be Printed And Enjoyed Everyday
Back to the picture of Penny above. As mentioned, it was taken on a point and shoot camera and apart from it just being an average snapshot, the file resolution isn't sufficient to print with any quality or size. Luckily an artist friend of mine gifted me a wonderful drawing of her when he learned that she had passed away, so we have that hanging in our home.
Pictures are meant to be printed and enjoyed. Every day. There are two kinds of people in the world; those who have suffered a digital failure and loss of data and those that will. Today's flash drives could be tomorrow's BetaMax or BluRay disc. Technology is fleeting, always racing forward and perennially prone to failure. An album is something to hold in your hands and look at often, enjoying all the expressions we captured of your pet during their session. A story print hangs on the wall and tells the story of your dog or cat. It lives with you, even after your pet is gone.
3) Because Tomorrow Is Not Guaranteed
I hate to even say it because I feel like I may be a jinx, but it is the truth, for all of us. Tomorrow is not guaranteed. I've had a few clients contact me for a session with their senior dog, but want to wait a few weeks, or months, for - insert reason here - warmer weather, greener grass, a better groom on the dog etc. and then sometime before the scheduled session I receive the dreaded email letting me that now Fido has crossed the rainbow bridge and the client regrets that they waited. I've said it before but it bears repeating; I've never had a client regret having a photo shoot with their pet, only that they waited too long to do.
2021 seemed to be an especially hard year for the passing of pets among my group of friends. I was afraid to look at Facebook because it felt like my feed was filled with only sad news. I cried over the beautiful tributes written for beloved pets. Some were lost suddenly and for others, the time had come to relieve their pain.
We faced that very decision with our own Dingo in 2021. He fought valiantly against his cancer diagnosis, but one day we realized that we were teetering a little too close to the line of more good days over bad. I read once "better one day too soon than one day too late and allow your dog to suffer or lose their dignity" and I've never forgotten that. When Dingo was diagnosed in 2020, after calling the oncologist, the second call I made was to my friend Sylvia for updated family photographs seen here. He was still feeling good and looked happy and healthy, just how we wanted to remember him. They brought my husband and I much comfort in the weeks and months after we lost him and a print of Dingo and and I sits on my desk where I can look at it every day.
Tracy Allard of Penny Whistle Photography is a Certified Professional Photographer with the organization Professional Photographers of America; a designation held by fewer than 2,000 photographers nationwide and a hallmark of consistency, technical skill, artistry and professionalism. Tracy is now taking reservations for spring Texas bluebonnet sessions, contact her to be on the notification list when they're in bloom!
Penny Whistle specializes in both on-location and studio photography providing pet, equine, family, couples & engagement and high school senior portraits as well as corporate headshots and commercial photography services in her studio located in historic downtown Carrollton as well as on location in Coppell, Grapevine, Southlake, Flower Mound and surrounding communities in Dallas – Fort Worth, Texas.
5 Comments
Jan 9, 2022, 1:25:48 PM
Darlene - Love the picture of you and your beautiful family! What a great memory! Sorry for your loss. Thanks for sharing Penny, your inspiration! And your holiday card - priceless! (thanks for sending!)
Jan 8, 2022, 2:12:54 PM
Tracy Allard - Haha, I have to admit that I played the "this is really important to ME" card (and then promised that I'd keep it short and sweet).
Jan 7, 2022, 2:11:39 PM
Terri - All these are perfect reasons to be photographed with your dog. that last one of the "family" is a great memory I am sure!
Jan 7, 2022, 1:40:01 PM
Elaine - The family portrait is beautiful! Loved everything you said and the way you said it. It was great to see Penny.
Jan 7, 2022, 9:46:02 AM
Angela Schneider - Do you have any tips on how to (gently) cajole a stubborn husband into getting pet portraits done? Because I'm stuck.