Meet the Sessions: Digital Dog Session

Welcome to the meet and greet series of the sessions at About A Dog Photography!

You’ll get to meet each of the sessions – Digital Dog, Short & Sweet, Teenie Weenie, Shitty Weather and Puppy Series – and learn what makes each session unique. 

The first in the series is the Digital Dog Session!

What is the Digital Dog Session?

Featuring the longest amount of photography time (up to an hour and half) the Digital Dog Session is a causal paced, fun and long enough for ample portraits of your dog (or multiple dogs) plus family portraits without feeling like we are chaotically trying to squash them into the session. 

The session goes like this: 

• We meet at the picked location (you get to pick where we go! Can’t choose? We can sort it out together!)
• I meet your dog / dogs, giving him or her the appropriate amount of time and space to take me in. 
• Then we stroll! It may seem like I’m distracted as we walk – I’m actually scanning for the best places to ask your dog to “pose” in. 
• We pause, ask for a sit, a lay, a stand in place and look at the lady making mega goofy sounds. 
• Lots of treats, then we meander to the next spot – a clutch of grass, a wondering fence, a pathway of brick, piles of leaves, peeling paint on old barns, or any other point of color, light, texture that catches my eye and will make for EPIC portraits. 
• This process repeats for the duration of the session. Low key, fun and chill as we stroll. 
• Around the hour mark your dog might want to snuggle in for the evening – totally ok and normal! If your dog is showing that he or she is done with all the “posing”, walking, sniffing and action shots, then we will end your session and head back to the car. 
• We depart ways – me to start curating your gallery, you and your dog to head home and snooze the evening away. 

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In regards to “posing” –  it will always be an ask. Do you think your dog will sit/stand here? Put their feet up? Lay on the lumpy bumpy ground? If the answer is yes or probably then we will direct your dog to what we would like them to do. If it results in a stand vs or a lay vs stand, no worries we will work with it! We will ask once or twice and if we get a nope from your dog, we’ll adapt and carry on.

The aim is FUN! If the ask doesn’t mean fun for your dog, we won’t push them. 

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What kind of images will be captured during your session?

Headshots

– Shoulders and up of your dog’s head (classic like any portrait you have had done in your school days).

Full body portraits

– Portraits with your dog’s full body, in a sit, lay or stand. 

Action shots

– Your dog walking with you away and towards me, your dog running away and towards me (if you can hit me with a ball you get bonus points haha!), swimming, shaking off, carrying a stick – all ways your dog is in motion!

Details

– Whiskers, toes, noses, eyes, ears, tails, butt swirls, all the details that make your dog who they are!

Your bond

– From family portraits to your hand on their head, your hand and their paws, your dog at your feet and any other ways we can capture the bond you share with your dog. 

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What makes this a DIGITAL dog session? My dog isn’t a robot or techy dog!

The session is called Digital Dog due to the fact that the session INCLUDES digital images! In fact there are 5 digital images included in the Digital Dog Session! (Plus… you get a percentage off of any a la cart pieces of artwork you want to create – from acrylic blocks to canvases to prints on epic paper and more!)

The digital images included in your session are GINORMOUS! They can be used in any way you see fit, aside from selling them or saying you created it. Want your dog as a screensaver? Holiday cards? A blanket? Socks? Go for it! 

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Some other things you might be wondering:

Do we have to stick to one location?

Not at all! We can incorporate two locations into Digital Dog Session, though keep in mind the farther apart they are the shorter time we will have to stroll as drive time will eat up session time. 

Can we do the session in our backyard?

We sure can! If we do, please pick up poo and assorted random dismembered toys around your yard. Fences will become part of the backdrop as well (which means if you don’t love your chain link you may want to consider a different location than your yard). Your own yard is a great place for a session with older dogs who are less mobile or really young puppies. 

Why can’t we do pictures in the middle of the day?

We could…. if you want hard dark shadows, overly bright whites, crispy contrast and possible squinting dogs (people for sure squint in middle of the day light!). Backgrounds can be overly bright, and shade can be dappled, just not the ideal for stunning portraits of your dog. 

 

Instead if you want the dreamiest, warm, happy light then the timeframe of two hours before sunset is when the light will be the best. (It’s called golden hour due to this lovely golden light!). I favor evening golden hour as the light wanes into sunset vs the golden hour of the morning due to the color of the light and geez that sunrise can be EARLY!!!

Though…. depending on what we want to achieve we may have to consider different times of the day.

Looking to head to the lake, get a still stunning reflection and some lifting fog? Then we are going to need to be at the lake at sunrise (lakes in MN are typically calmest in the morning). The same rule applies for frost, dew and morning fog. If we want to experience it, we will need to arrive at sunrise. For sunrise golden hour will have 2 hours after the sun rises for the best light.

Wanting to do epic hiking through the woods and forests for your session? We will need to bump our time earlier in the evening especially the deeper we go inward. Trees tend to block a fair amount of light the deeper we go into the depths. 

And if you have the power to… order us up a cloudy day that breaks at sunset into puffy clouds that a bathed in stunning colors… shucks I can’t order that up either!

Does my dog need to be leashed? 

Yes! If we are somewhere other than your yard and your house, your dog will need to be leashed during the session. Leashes will always be edited out of your final images so your dog will look like an off leash superstar!

When is the best time to do a Digital Dog Session?

Today! Tomorrow!!! Anytime! The current time is always a great time to do a Digital Dog Session. If you want to wait, you have multiple seasons to consider. 

• Winter: crisp white snow, powdery snow for faces and kicking up with action. Can be cold for some dogs. 
• Later winter / early spring: browns, possibly snow, mud. Brown landscapes have loads of texture or we head to urban areas.
• Spring: mud to spring greens, comfortable temps that aren’t too hot (great for smoosh faced dogs). 
• Summer: greens, flowers, great temps though can be hot. Beaches & lakes are warm & inviting. Don’t forget bugs!
• Fall: cooler temps & fall leaf colors (until early/mid October)
• Late fall/early winter pre snow: brown landscape full of textures, cool temps, earlier golden hour

I can create stunning images of your dog no matter the season and amount of mud and browns that may be available. 

How do I book a Digital Dog Session?

Head to the online booking to see the available dates from April to November! Book your session online! This is the fastest way to book!

Texting or calling is the second fastest way to book a session – 320.428.0135 – while emailing () can be slower for response times. Skip sending pigeons – Blue will either chase or eat them… 

Let’s capture your dog with playful, vibrant and classic images in a Digital Dog Session!