Sometimes when you’re shooting a puppy (even one as giant as Orson), you work with what you can and just lean into the simplicity of A Cute Puppy doing Cute Puppy Things. I fell in love with the diptych above, and it even features Orson’s favorite stick.
Using a tripod and a remote shutter makes shooting puppies much easier, as fun as it can be to just go barreling into a litter of puppies spraying & praying. It’s great to have my hands free to reward and engage, especially when I don’t have an extra set of hands around.
You can’t shoot without some high value treats, either, but luckily both of my recent foster puppies have been highly food motivated so I’ve been able to just use kibble. Toys and play are a great reward for puppies, too–plus they’re calorie free and can help burn off energy while you’re shooting. A tired puppy is an easy to photograph puppy!
