How To Include Your Dog In Your Engagement Photos

The Ultimate Guide To Bringing Your Dog To Your Engagement Session

Welcome to this photographer’s guide to including your dog in your engagement photos! As a dog owner that happens to be a wedding and engagement photographer, I understand two very crucial concepts:

1) You want to include your beloved companion in your session.

2) The one time your dog is not a perfect angel sent straight from heaven is when the cameras are out.

Let’s look at some steps you can take to prep your dog, and yourselves, so that your engagement session goes without a hitch!

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Teach a “Focus” Command

In the weeks before your engagement session, you’ll want to set yourself up for success! Getting your dog to look in the correct direction, especially at a camera, can be a super difficult task. The dog likely hasn’t met the photographer before, and the size and shape of a large professional camera pointed at them could be a bit stress-inducing for the pup. Quite often, if the dog does end up looking at the camera, you’ll see them with an averted gaze, ears pinned back, scratching, or licking their lips - all signs of minor stress and the dog attempting to calm the situation

Ideally, every dog will look at and focus on their owners when their name is called. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case. We humans tend to say our dogs’ names frequently, and they become conditioned to that sound and can learn that it doesn’t always mean something important! That’s why a “Focus” command is a great tool to have! It’s a cue that you can use that the dog is expected to regularly complete and it’s rewarded frequently, too. This way, you can use the phrase during the session if the photographer wants the dog to look at you, or the photographer can use the command when it’s time for the dog to look at the camera.

Here’s how to teach a focus command. During the dog’s regularly scheduled mealtimes, when they’re expecting food, ditch the bowl a few times per week. Instead, use their regular food and put it in a training pouch or similar slobber-proof container. Just make sure it’s easy to access the food and deliver it rapidly!

If you’ve done any formal training with your dog in the past, you’re probably familiar with the concept of a verbal marker and a reward. In dog training, a “marker” is an indicator to the dog that, in that exact moment, they’ve done something correctly. The “reward” is anything that the dog enjoys - food in this case. You’ll be speaking the verbal marker at the exact moment your dog does what you want, so choose a word that’s easy to say excitedly! Most people, including myself, choose the word “Yes!”

So, for your first session, grab your food, put your dog on a lightweight leash and simple collar, and find a quiet place in the house to do your first session. I like to sit in a chair when teaching this!

1. Sit down and keep the leash in one hand

2. Your dog may be confused at first and may try and walk away or sniff around, that’s okay! Just let that happen. You want to get those problem-solving juices flowing.

3. Keep an eye on the dog, but don’t say a single word. Just gently keep them in your vicinity with the leash.

4. The exact moment your dog looks at you in the eyes, calmly (but in a fun voice) say “Yes!” and deliver food to the dog. This is the first win!

5. Do this 3-4 more times, each time immediately marking (Yes) and rewarding simply when the dog looks at you.

6. On the last repetition, let the dog have the rest of the food after the final successful eye contact. You can dump the rest of the food on the floor as a huge jackpot, or simply continue feeding the remainder of the food by hand.

That’s your first session! Do this multiple times a week (or for every meal if you’re determined and the dog is motivated) in many rooms in the house. You may find your dog freely offering eye contact throughout the day. If this happens, keep treats nearby so you can always mark (Yes!) and reward that good behavior!

Now, to add the actual command! Now that the dog has the concept of, “eye contact is AWESOME” down to a science, it’s time to layer your command over that behavior. The steps are very similar to your first session:

1. Quiet room, leash in hand, sitting calmly on a chair. Let’s say your dog’s name is Moose for this example. 🤣

2. Wait for your dog to stop paying attention to you. A slight glance away or sniffing the ground is enough!

3. When they aren’t making eye contact with you, say “Moose, Focus!” Don’t say anything else and do not repeat the command. The moment they make eye contact, say your marker word and reward heavily!

4. Similar to phase 1 above, repeat only a few more times for your first session. They should catch on super quick if you’ve laid a solid foundation! The string of events will always be: “Focus!” > Dog makes eye contact > Say marker word > Deliver reward. You’re taking something that the dog is already familiar with, eye contact, and saying, “Hey. I like when you do that. Can you do that after I say this specific word?”

5. This is THE most important step out of all the other steps. For this to really take hold, you need to do these sessions at a variety of locations, times of day, and - importantly - with different people. With your partner, your friends, your parents, coworkers, etc… We need to get the dog to understand that when someone says “Moose, Focus!” that they are to lock eyes with that person to unlock delicious rewards.

6. If you want to really amp up your dog’s attention, vary the rate of your rewards and the type of reward, once the concept is nailed down. Once in a while, wait a few seconds until you give your marker, and only give the marker and reward if they HOLD that eye contact. Reward sometimes with a single piece of food, and sometimes with a whopping handful. Sometimes they get a piece of chicken, other times a normal piece of food. Have fun with it! Just make sure that the dog, and you, have fun and that you keep the training sessions relatively short (under 15 minutes in the beginning).

At the end of this process, your dog should be able to Focus on your eyes, and other peoples’ eyes, on command in a few different locations. If you’re consistent and your dog is decently motivated, this should really only take 2-3 weeks to build a really solid Focus command!

Choose A Familiar Location

We got the hard, and most important part, out of the way! Now, it’s time to plan your engagement session. With all my clients, I always ask if there are specific locations that they like or that are special to them. If you’re wanting to include your dog in your engagement session, take your dog’s familiar locations into account.

Try and pick a location that they’ve been to before, but one that doesn’t always mean extreme stimulation. For instance, a small park that you go on calm walks in regularly is a great place, but the dog park or their favorite fetch spot is less than ideal. Dogs are great at pattern recognition, and if they recognize that they’re at the dog park or a spot where they regularly do high-intensity exercise, it’ll be really difficult to maintain their focus during the session. Excitement and stress hormones will start coursing through their veins before you even get out of the car!

In short, try to pick a spot that they’ve been to before, but not one that’s associated with crazy intense activities. The back corner of a park, a wooded trail, or a historic city neighborhood are all fantastic potential choices!

Exercise Your Dog Beforehand

If your dog hasn’t gotten much physical or mental stimulation on the day of the shoot, it’s a great idea to knock off that top layer of energy with something fun and engaging. Be careful, though, as you don’t want to overwork the dog! An overtired pup is just as difficult to work with as an understimulated pup. They’re literally just toddlers with big pointy teeth and tails - you can’t convince me otherwise!

If you need ideas for what to do with your dog that’ll calm them physically and mentally, here are some things I love doing with my two herding-breed dogs!

1. Structured walking - I love going on a “structured walk” with my dog. This requires your dog to be able to walk on a loose leash, but it’s so worth it. Throughout the walk, I encourage the dog to engage and disengage with me at various times. We stop and sit, we climb on obstacles, I tell them to “Go Sniff!” or “Go Potty!”, and we just generally explore and play together while keeping their focus on me and how fun I am. This concept will translate well when it comes time for the session

2. Trick training - Using their regular mealtimes to go over their tricks is a great activity. Even if it’s just sit, focus, and lie down, the repetition and mixing up the order of commands is super mentally exhausting. Split the meal between you and your partner and trade-off calling the dog between the two of you for a super exhausting way to practice their recall.

3. Tug - This is my absolute favorite game by an unfathomable amount. Sage, my oldest dog, loves tug and has a really great bite, so we play this regularly! Switching between tugging, dropping the toy, and completing commands is extremely rewarding for her!

Sage, our first dog! She’s half Blue Heeler, half Border Collie, so she’s got the drive to play!

Glacier, our younger pup. Half Blue Heeler, half Aussie Shepherd. He’s less drivey and more cuddly!

Choose The Right Reward

The dog’s favorite treats are an easy win to bring to the session, but food is not the only thing you can use to motivate your dog! Any command that is rewarded with a piece of food or a treat can also be rewarded with a toy or even just a gentle touch. If your dog is unlikely to take food from your hand during the session, but may opt for a toy, bring both just in case!

For toys, I recommend something that they, of course, love playing with, but that isn’t associated with playing fetch. As mentioned before, a fetch toy will more than likely amp the dog up way too much. Additionally, fetch is an outwardly rewarding game, meaning that the reward is sent away from the owner for the dog to chase after. It’s not the game you want to play when you want photos of you and your dog together!

Squeaky toys or tug toys are the perfect choice to bring to your session, as they’re still a great reward for the dog but don’t indicate that a big long game of “run away and come back” is going to take place. 😉

Arrive 15 Minutes Early

When you’re loading up to drive to your first location, plan to arrive a few minutes early, between 15 and 30 minutes, ideally. When you get there, keep the dog on leash.

Find a quiet place in a lower-traffic area close to the parking lot where you can sit and let your dog decompress. If they’re anything like my dogs, a good sniff check is needed right after getting out of the car to assess the situation and familiarize themselves with the environment. A park bench is perfect for this! Sit down and just let the dog decompress after getting out of the car.

For my clients, I’m typically arriving at the session locations 30 minutes early anyways. This allows their dogs time to sniff me out and for me to establish myself as something that’s really no big deal! After a few minutes of hanging out, the dog is typically bored of me or on to something more interesting, which is the perfect time to begin the session!

Keep Gear To a Minimum

Even if you normally walk your dog in a bright harness, jacket, booties, collar, and a big leash, I encourage you to keep your dogs’ gear to a minimum! A collar, a 6-ft black or different dark-color leash, and a cute bandana (if that’s your jam) are all that you really need.

If you’re on private property and can trust your dogs off-leash, that’s a great opportunity to get some photos of the dogs just playing and being dogs! However, if our session is in a public area, we have to abide by the local leash laws. In this case, it’ll be much easier to hide a simple dark-colored leash behind the dog for posed photos, and it won’t be distracting for photos of you two walking the dog.

Have An Exit Strategy

If you’re anything like my couples, you’ll want a majority of the session to be about capturing you and your partner. I recommend we limit the dog-inclusive photos to maybe the first 20 minutes of the photoshoot. After that, it’s best to either safely contain the dog for the rest of the photos or get a family member to take the dog home. Here are some strategies that I recommend for getting your dog safely off-location so you two can enjoy the rest of the session…. UNLEASHED! Get it?…….

1. Drop the dog off at your home: If the first location for your session is less than 5 minutes from your home, it’s pretty simple to just take the pup back to its stomping grounds! This will also give you the opportunity to change clothes, should you want to do an outfit change.

2. Contain your dog in your car: This is a great option, but only under certain circumstances. If your dog is ok being contained in the car away from you and you know they won’t hurt themselves when alone, that’s great! The other stipulation is that you all should stay within eyesight of the vehicle and the air conditioning should probably be left on, especially in the spring and summer. If your session and location can check all those boxes, this could be a great option!

3. Get a friend or family member to take the dog home: This is the most popular option! Convince a friend or family member to take the dog to your house or their house for the remaining session time. Typically, pizza or alcohol is a suitable method of compensation here!

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Even if you’re only able to manage a couple of these tips, I assure you, after having done well over 100 of these engagement sessions, you’ll have a far more enjoyable time with your dog during the shoot! If you’re engaged and still need some amazing photos, let’s chat! I’d love to get to know you two (or three)!

A Year In Review | My Favorite Images Of 2021

Have a wedding in 2022 or beyond? Let’s do the thing!

Lafayette Park St. Louis Micro Wedding

Need some photos of your own? Let’s be friends!

Kentucky Lake Backyard Wedding | Maddie + Bill

Getting married? Need some photos? We can help!

Tower Grove Park Wedding | Amanda + Alex

Need some wedding photos of your own? Let me know!

Kabekona Hills Wedding - Chelsea + Mitchell

Edwardsville, Illinois Wedding | Paige + Tim

Need awesome wedding photos?

A Wedding at the Hangar | Brianne and Loren

Brianne and Loren got married at The Hangar Wedding + Event Venue in Greenville, Illinois. Though it’s nestled in the middle of the rural country just outside of Greenville, The Hangar is a venue that packs a massive amount of style and function! In fact, my wife and I were going to get married here, but the 2020 lockdowns had other plans for us. Since we’d originally spoken with the owners, they have poured SO much blood, sweat, and tears into this venue to improve it, and it shows! I’m stoked that I’ll be shooting at the Hangar for a few more upcoming weddings next year!

Brianne and Loren are the heroes of today’s story, and they deserve every bit of that title (though they’d never admit it). They are some of the kindest, most laid-back people that I’ve ever had a chance to photograph. Let’s be honest, their wedding was at the end of August. It was HOT. Even still, they showed up and celebrated with massive smiles throughout the day, and you could just tell they were joyfully soaking in all the love they received from their guests. After their engagement session earlier this year, I knew this wedding was going to be a good one. Spoiler alert… It was. Do your finger stretches, cuz this one’s jam-packed with images!

Venue: The Hangar

Hair+Makeup: Joseph Mathew Salon

Catering: Fire and Smoke

Cake and Treats: The Sugar Shop

Florals: The Brick House

DJ: 5Twenty-nine Entertainment

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Silver Oaks Chateau Wedding | Akia and Darren

It was a true joy to be back shooting a wedding at the lovely Silver Oaks Chateau, with the dream team - Akia and Darren. From start to finish, this day was full of so many amazing little moments! For this wedding my team and I were covering both photo and video, and we were never at a loss for beautiful things to capture!

Some of my favorites:

• That dress! 😍 (and her hair accessories, of course)

• Their first “touch” - High risk, HUGE reward!

• Tears at the ceremony

• Giggles during the first dance

• A freakin’ great party

• and, of course, they smashed their creative portrait session(s), even though the rain tried to say something about it.

After their sub-zero (literally) February engagement session, I know Akia and Darren were going to be such a cool couple to photograph on their wedding day. The team of vendors (down below) was a joy to work with, too! I could shoot one of these every day and not get tired of them.

Vendors:

Venue - Silver Oaks Chateau

Catering - Ces and Judy’s

Dress - Clarice’s Bridal

Reception Dress - Lulu’s

Makeup - Beauty by Reecey

Hair - Yaestylez

DJ - Andrew Jones

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Bold, vibrant, and non-traditional wedding visuals for laid-back couples that reject the mundane. Does that sound like you?

Downtown Peoria, Illinois Engagement Session | Kylie + Carson

Kylie and Carson’s little family is so supremely sweet, and I’m beyond stoked to have the privilege of covering photo and video for their wedding in 2022. Their morning downtown Peoria engagement session was a last-minute addition that I’m so happy we were able to fit in!

The light and the humans in my camera were absolute magic. Peep some of my favorites!

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Need some photos of your own? I can help with that.

Cozy Wedding in Peoria, Illinois | Kaitlyn + Trey

I’m so honored that I got to shoot Kaitlyn and Trey’s lovely Peoria, Illinois wedding. We started at the Mark Twain hotel, a Peoria staple, where Kaitlyn and her party got ready. We then visited Trey’s grandma’s home for the ceremony, and moved on to the gorgeous Waterhouse event space in the downtown MAXAM building for the reception.

Kaitlyn and Trey are such a good hang, and amazing folks. Together, they own 460° Pizza so, if you’re in the Peoria area, go show them some love!

As always, stretch that scrolling finger to see some of my favorites below!

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Kankakee Valley Boat Club Wedding | Miranda + Kyle

This beautiful, joy-filled wedding day took place up in Kankakee, Illinois at the Kankakee Valley Boat Club. The entire wedding day was centered around the gorgeous Kankakee River. The homes of friends and family where they got ready were set just on the river, and the venue for the ceremony and reception offered a wonderful view as well. Miranda and Kyle were so much fun to hang out with and photograph! This wedding was also a morning event, and it’s the best kind of weird to leave for a wedding at 5AM and to get home before dinner. More morning weddings, please!

Check out some of my faves below!

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How To Look Natural In Wedding and Engagement Photos

The Basics of Natural Posing In Wedding and Engagement Photos

You'll hear a lot of photographers talk about how they capture "candid" moments, and most of the images they share are of couples holding hands and walking, or laughing while snuggling in the woods. Here's the truth: That's not candid, because the couple knew the photo was being taken. All those photos are POSED! So, posing doesn't have to be rigid or awkward. It can be fun, comfortable, natural, creative, or all of the above!

Oftentimes, couples haven't had real, organic-feeling photos taken of them. It's hard to get out of the "look-at-the-camera-and-smile" mindset that we've been conditioned to do every time we see someone point a camera at us! So, let's briefly review some of the basic rules of getting "unposed" pictures during your session or wedding.

What do I do with my hands?

This one is often the first question that clients ask me at the beginning of the session, but they quickly learn that there are PLENTY of things you can do with those hands that look awesome in photos. The first step of every session is: Don't look directly into the camera unless I ask! 

The second step? Get close to your partner! Whether you're facing each other, one of you is behind the other, you're side-by-side, or any combination of those positions, get those arms around each other! Holding hands is a great first step, but make sure you're not standing 6 feet apart. When simply holding hands next to each other, snuggling up to an arm or gently pulling your partner close is a great move!

Pro Tip: It’s difficult to have your hands look gentle and natural when they’re stationary, so add some movement. While you’re standing there, feel free to gently pet, caress, or otherwise interact with your partner. It’ll look great and it almost always immerses you in the moment.

If you're facing each other, a good starting place is to "touch belly buttons." Not only is that entire idea kind of beautifully silly, but it's also a great reference for just how close you should be! Then, when you wrap your arms around each other, we need to find a happy middle ground. If your hands aren't wrapped far enough around, the photo may just look like an awkward middle school dance. However, if your arms are wrapped around your partner WAY too far, that position has the potential to bring on some hunched backs. So, get close to your partner, but keep it comfortable. Both of you should feel close enough to whisper to each other, but far enough to freely adjust your position and look at each other without going crosseyed!

Where do I look?

Unless directed otherwise, here are some guidelines:

• Staring directly into each others' eyes always looks intense. It's best to get your heads close together, nuzzle in, and stare somewhere close to your partner. Directing your eyes at their chin, shoulder, or elbow will give your eyelids a natural softness to them, and you won't look like you're in the middle of a life-changing staring contest! 

• Keep the eyes looking in a 6-foot radius around your partner unless otherwise told. Looking at them? Awesome. Looking at where the wedding dress lies on the floor? Beautiful! Looking past them at a bird in the sky? Less cool. 😂

• If your heads are really close together and you're nuzzlin' up a storm, just close your eyes! Let yourself be in that moment and give each other the freedom to laugh, smile, and otherwise relax! If your partner is hugging you from behind, you don't need to turn to look directly at them. As long as you're turning your head in their general direction, it'll look stunning!

Tips for Walking In Photos

I start almost every session off with some sort of motion-based prompt, just to warm up and get loose. In many cases, you two will be asked to walk back and forth in a beautiful spot of light! There are two simple tips for gorgeous and organic walking photos.

• Look at each other, not the camera. I'll rarely tell the couple to kiss for a photo, but I'll never tell you not to! So, of course, that's free game too.

• Bump hips! Not hard enough to knock your partner over, but enough to have fun! The "drunk" walk is a good one too, and it always makes for some lovely, genuine giggles as we warm-up for the session.

As always, you're gonna look awesome if you have fun, stay within your comfort zone, and communicate with your partner and me, the photographer! Guess what? My couples always look STUNNING! 👇

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Want to look awesome in your photos, but don’t want photos that look like everyone else’s? Let’s chat, and make cool stuff together!

An Intimate and Rainy Wedding at Allerton Park | Emily + Moses

I will never be sad if there is rain on a wedding day, especially at such a gorgeous place as Allerton Park and Retreat Center in Monticello, Illinois. Emily and Moses’ ceremony was at the Fu Dog Garden portion of the park, and the rain made the colors and textures of the beautiful space just POP. For the reception, we hopped on over to Decatur with a send-off at their family’s home. All in all, I couldn’t have asked for a better couple to have in front of my camera! Maybe next wedding, I’ll bring a couple of changes of socks….

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Need photos of your wedding? Let me know!

A Summer Wedding at The Cannery | Elizabeth + Nathan

There isn’t much better than an early summer wedding at The Cannery in Eureka, Illinois. This wedding was supposed to be a rainy one, but after getting pelted with heavy rainfall on my drive up there, we were blessed with a dry wedding day at a gorgeous venue with some stunning folks! Congrats to Liz and Nathan and a huge thank you to The Cannery! I couldn’t be more honored to have been given this opportunity to be a small part of this day.

Angie + Chuck - Wedding Photography in Pocahontas, Illinois

I had so much fun shooting this wedding in Pocahontas, Illinois! This venue is a gorgeous, private venue with all the features and special details you could want! I’ll do a full write-up of it soon, but for now, let’s chat about Angie and Chuck!

This story began as so many classic tales do… On Facebook marketplace with a slab of walnut lumber. I was looking to build a coffee table for my living room and stumbled upon this guy, CS Log Rescue, selling beautiful lumber not too far from where I live. So, I messaged him and went out to his shop to pick a new piece for my future table! As we were chatting, it came up that I was a photographer, and Chuck asks, “You do any weddings?”

Long story short, two months later was their wedding date, and we made it happen! Angie and Chuck are so sweet, full of joy, and were a pleasure to work with and have in front of my camera. I could not have dreamed of a better group of folks with which to spend my day photographing a wedding! See below for some of my favorites from that day at Loveland Estates!

Need your own wedding photos taken? Happy to help!

Josie + Cole - Highland, Illinois Wedding Photography

Make sure to do your finger stretches, because this one’s a scroller! A huge congrats to Josie and Cole, your wedding day was beautiful!
After their engagement session back in July, there was no way I couldn’t be stoked for this wedding. They are such a fun couple, and they’re family to a few of my past couples as well, so the wedding was chock full of familiar faces.
We started the day off by getting ready at The Sanctuary on Main in Troy, Illinois, which is also where the ceremony was held. The Sanctuary is a sweet ceremony venue, perfect for small to mid-sized weddings where aesthetic and comfort are key. Downstairs offers a secluded area in which to get ready, with ample seating and beautiful, natural light. The chapel upstairs boasts wonderfully tall ceilings, stained glass, and plenty of room for your guests.
After they did the whole “getting married” thing, we headed over to Highland Silver Lake Park for photos, and The Lindendale Park Ballroom for the reception (after saying hi to Grandma, of course). Legitimately, I can’t recall if I’ve ever laughed harder at the speeches than I did at the ones given at this reception. The room was full of so much love, laughter, and joy throughout the night, and it shows. Thanks so much for the honor of being a small part of your wedding day, Cole and Josie!

Also, while you’re at it, go ahead and check out and support them at their dance studio, Dance Network!

Scroll on down to see some of my favorites from the day.

Dress: White Traditions

Videography: Double Take Media

If you need wedding photos, I’m here for ya!

Becky + Michael - St. Louis, Missouri Engagement Session

What a lovely St. Louis engagement session with a lovely couple! Becky, Michael, and I ran around City Garden and the Mural Mile in St. Louis for a while and made some straight-up magic. We dodged a rowdy car show, chatted podcast, and swapped photos of our dogs.
Overall, a 10/10 evening! Check out some of my faves below!

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Macie + Blaine - Pere Marquette State Park Engagement Session

I’m obsessed with these beautiful people! Their Pere Marquette engagement session was all I wanted out of my Saturday evening. After a rainy weekend, the sun came out to play for Macie and Blaine’s photos. Needless to say, I’m very excited to get them in front of my lens on their wedding day!
They also have a dog named Pesci. How cute is that???

Pesci 2024. Scroll on down for some of my favorites from Macie and Blaine’s engagement session at Pere Marquette State Park!

Brianne + Loren - Southern Illinois Engagement Session

I’m overjoyed to share some of my favorite images from Brianne and Loren’s engagement session!

I’m really excited for their wedding coming up soon in August at The Hangar, so this engagement session was perfectly timed for them to get some photos before their big day and for us as photographer+couple to get to know each other!

Brianne and Loren are such sweet folks with, obviously, the cutest pups! I’m a sucker for a good hunting dog… We spent some time on their family’s farm land, and hopped around to another couple of cool spots around Gillespie for some late-evening photos. It was a blast!