Hello, it’s me Bad to the Blonde. My kids have fur. Being a dog mom is bad ass. Cheers to my first dog blog! Here is how to style perfect pet family pictures in 5 steps with your dogs in the comfort of your own home!
Hiring a pet photographer
I had to hire a local Phoenix pet photographer with an Instagram feed who was just right for the job (and there is more to come). I was so stressed about how my dogs would react (because when people come over they are also crazy) and if the photos would even turn out in my home. Araya Photography out of Phoenix sent me pictures above my expectations. She got expressions out of my dogs that I wish I could get with my iPhone in very little time and she knew just when we had all had enough. She did such a good job shooting my fur tribe while I drank wine in a dog mom t-shirt. I think the dogs enjoyed the pet photography session as much as we both did.
Stay home
I like wine. I like clothes with wine. I am a t-shirt and jeans kind-of girl especially when a top knot, glass of wine and my dogs are involved. And this my friends, is how to style and get simple, real pet family pictures. It’s super easy with little style and a simple theme – and your style and theme can be the same thing!
If you have dogs, I highly recommend you find a pet photographer near you and take advantage of their talents and your dogs personalities, as well as your own. You don’t even have to leave your home and I highly recommend you stay – pun intended! Just remember, good things don’t last forever, I mean furever, so capture those moments in a special, comfortable place where you where you often have them. One of my dogs won’t come on my bed and the other one will. So my bedroom was not an option. Every night we cuddle on the couch together while I enjoy my daily glass of wine so this seemed fitting. The dog park the place for pet family pictures for me because I own a Siberian husky who loves to run…she also can’t ever be off leash unless she’s safely fenced in. And Reese, well, he always rolls around in the grass on his back. All of it is really cute but the park was not the perfect location for us. We are off the leash there.
We love our dogs. We live with our dogs. These pet family pictures with my dogs are priceless. We all had our moments to shine. Some of us more than others.
Choosing a theme
The key to a solid pet family pictures is doing it in the comfort of your own home and styling it accordingly. Choose a simple theme consisting of one or two things – the dogs don’t count but they should relate. Keep the set simple – you’ll see how I did this in dog blogs to come. My living room was pretty neutral and we removed a few bright yellow throw pillows but that was it. Rachel of Araya Photography wanted to keep it simple and not change to much of our natural environment, and now I see why. No fluff. Just fur. No crazy throw pillows to distract you from the emotions I want you to see, and for me to remember, in the pictures. (No blankets either because dog hair is always every where in my house and we can’t have nice, clean things.)
All I needed to capture what brings me the most joy in my life right now was my dog and a glass of wine. I didn’t even wear any jewelry. Nor did the dogs – we took their collars off. Dogs and wine are a pretty easy theme, just saying. Pick the theme based on your clothing and vice versa. It should be simple, straight-forward and cohesive with the dog theme.
I love this classic wine verbiage t-shirt from Fur Tribe. It’s soft and comfy, and the maroon, burgundy color complements a solid glass of red and pet family pictures! I saw it and had to have it, and then I had to do a photoshoot with it. A cute sayings on a t-shirt and is a great start to creating a theme for your pet family photos. (This tee is a must for every wine drinking, dog loving, dog mom.) Find some cute bandanas, too, if the prints will match your theme. In this case, I left them off because I couldn’t find wine dog bandanas to match. I also don’t give my dogs wine so I poured myself enough for three.
Get groomed
Surprisingly, very few treats were involved. My treat, however, was wine, and quite a lot of it and I didn’t hold back. I also treated myself to a blow out at the local blow dry bar and splurged on makeup, too. I didn’t want have to stress about looking pretty and perfect for our pet family pictures and I always do when I don’t have someone else doing my hair and makeup before a shoot. (I am pretty decent at doing my own hair and makeup, too, but still, it’s more fun to get a little glam. Plus, selfies before and after. Duh.)
The dogs also got a quick brush prior but that’s it. I do recommend getting your dogs groomed prior to your shoot if their type of breed requires a trim or if they could use a bath. Nokona, the Siberian husky, doesn’t like to be brushed and she’s naturally pretty clean. Reese, my mix, loves to be brushed and that was enough for him. So that covers that! Everyone looked their best!
Furever Family
Life doesn’t have to be complicated nor do your pet family pictures but it sure as hell should be full of enjoyable, real moments, and show love of all things pictured whole heartedly.
Cheers to your perfect pet family photos and an easy family pet photoshoot. I hope the moments captured in those photos will be irreplaceable like mine are. Full of love. Full of fur. And a great glass of wine. Being a dog mom is one of the best, most bad ass things in the modern world. Cheers, to that!
(We could use a dog dad though, hehe.)
OUTFIT DETAILS:
DOG AND WINE VERBIAGE T-SHIRT FROM FURTRIBE, DESTRUCTED JEANS FROM EXPRESS
Be classy, be sassy and a bit dog-mom bad assy.
XOXO
Nice article. Thanks for the tips.
You’re so welcome! When I have tired to do pictures before with my fur tribe, they just never turned out. Araya Photography did such a good job and kept us in our own home.