Bringing friends to your senior portrait session can be a delightful experience, but we understand that the summer before senior year is incredibly busy. With work, college research, and spending time with loved ones, coordinating a session with all your friends can be challenging. However, this doesn’t mean you have to go solo. We absolutely love when seniors bring their pets to sessions; the photos always turn out beautifully. We’ve had seniors pose with a variety of pets, including snakes, horses, dogs, cats, and turtles. You can bring your pet to our animal-friendly studio, which has ample indoor space and a large green area outside, or we can come to you. For location ideas, check out our earlier blog post.
Now, let’s address some common questions about bringing pets to your session.
1. Should I Bring My Pet?
We’ve seen a wide range of animals at our studio, and we work hard to accommodate each one. For larger animals like horses, on-location sessions are ideal since they may not be comfortable or safe to transport. Some dogs might get stressed indoors but thrive outside, so we can take outdoor pictures at our studio. If your dog is energetic, consider a long walk before the session to help them relax. Small animals like snakes or turtles are easy to transport and photograph. Dogs and cats might need some coaxing with treats or toys, while smaller pets can be held. We aim to make the session fun and stress-free for both you and your pet.
2. Poses and Solo Pictures
The focus of your senior pictures is you, but we’ll also pose you with your pet. The poses depend on your pet’s temperament. For instance, large dogs may not like to be held, so you might sit with them instead. While some seniors and pets look directly at the camera, others may gaze off into the distance or at each other, creating a variety of delightful images. We’ll ensure we capture both solo shots of you and pictures with your pet, so you have plenty of options to choose from. Just focus on enjoying your time in front of the camera.
3. Yearbook Photo
While it would be wonderful for every yearbook picture to include pets, most schools advise against it. However, pet pictures can still be used in yearbook sections where parents leave messages for their seniors. These photos are also perfect for social media and framed displays. In fact, we have a pet portrait from a senior session framed in our office. Feel free to come in and see it when you take your pictures.
At C3, we love animals—our boss even brings his dogs to the office on quiet days—and we’re excited to help you capture memories with your pets. Our studio is both comfortable and professional, and we look forward to meeting all the upcoming seniors and their furry, scaly, or feathered friends.