I get some version of this question in almost every consultation call. “So… what actually happens? Like, what do we do?”

It’s a fair question. Most people have never done a pet photography session before, and let’s face it, there isn’t exactly a script for it the way there is for a wedding or a family portrait. So I want to walk you through it, start to finish, so you know exactly what you’re signing up for before you ever book.

First, we chat on the phone. You tell me all the amazing things you love about your dog, any challenges they may have and we design the perfect session just for THEM. This is also the perfect time to start envisioning how and where you want your images to live in your home.

The Day of the Session

We start with hello, not with the camera. I don’t pull out my camera the second we meet. The first few minutes are just… meeting each other. Me getting a feel for your pup, your pup getting a feel for me, you getting a chance to relax a little before anything official starts. This part matters more than people think. A dog who’s had two minutes to sniff me and decide I’m fun is a completely different dog than one I’m pointing a lens at cold.

If your dog is nervous, reactive, or what you might describe as “a lot,” this is exactly the part of the process my training background is built for. I’m reading your dog the whole time, and making sure I’m making them comfortable – not just composing a shot.

We move, a lot

A session usually isn’t one spot and done. We’ll typically work through several different areas within a location, open field, tree line, water’s edge, wherever the light and the landscape are doing something beautiful. Partly that’s for variety in your final images. Partly it’s because dogs get more comfortable as they move and explore, so the best moments often show up after we’ve already walked a while and everyone’s settled in.

Sixty to ninety minutes is the typical window, though I’m always watching your dog rather than the clock. If your pup needs a break, we take one. If your pup is having the time of their life and could go longer, we let that happen too.

Nothing is forced

I’ll ask your dog to hang out in a general area, maybe sit, maybe lie down, but we’re not forcing anything or expecting show-ring precision. The goal is your dog being themselves. If they’d rather sniff a log for thirty seconds before they settle, that’s not wasted time, that’s often exactly where the best image comes from.

This is also where I’ll gently say: your dog does not need to be “good at this” for this to work. I’ve never met a dog I couldn’t work with, and if I sense mid-session that something isn’t working, I’ll change the plan on the spot. Different spot, different pace, different approach entirely if needed. That’s on me to figure out, not on your dog to overcome.

You’re part of it too, if you want to be

Some clients want to be in every image. Some would rather stay just out of frame and let it be all about the dog. Both are completely fine, and if you’re someone who feels a little self-conscious in front of a camera, you are nowhere close to the first person to tell me that. We ease into it. No pressure, no posed-stiff moments, just genuine interaction with your dog while I capture what’s actually happening between you.

Then comes the big reveal

After the session, I go through everything and put together a curated gallery. A week or so later, we hop on a Zoom call together for your ordering appointment, where you see your images for the first time and figure out how you want them living in your home. Almost every client tells me the same thing at this point: it’s harder than they expected to narrow it down, because there are more good ones than they thought there’d be.
That means I did my job!

And then it lives on your wall, not your camera roll

This is the part I love most, and also the part people don’t expect going in. At that ordering appointment, we’re not just picking a few favorites to sit in a digital folder somewhere. We’re deciding where this portrait actually lives in your home. Over the couch. In the hallway you walk through every morning. On the wall across from your favorite chair.

I’ve had clients tell me, months later, that they still catch themselves smiling every time they walk past their artwork. That’s not an accident, and it’s not just something people say to be nice. When your dog’s portrait is something you actually see every day, instead of buried a few thousand photos deep on your phone, it changes your relationship to it entirely. It stops being a photo you took once and becomes something you get to feel, over and over, for years.

That’s the whole reason I build my business around artwork instead of a folder of files. Your dog deserves more than forgotten images on your hard drive. They deserve a wall (or an album or a folio box, or maybe a collection…).

If any of this sounds like something you and your pup would love, you can take a look at my Inquiry Guide and then fill out my contact form at DonnaKelliher.com. I’ll be in touch within 24 hours and we’ll figure out together if we’re a good fit.