As Robert Burns said, the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry!
Nigel and I were supposed to be enjoying a long overdue holiday in Seville this week, but unfortunately he was unwell and tested positive for Covid the day before we were due to travel. He is on the mend now, but it meant we weren't able to go to Spain, and instead have spent a quiet week at home.
Although it's not what we planned, it's actually been quite nice to chill out, watch movies, cook food we wouldn't normally have time to do and just rest and recharge. It's definitely been a change from our normal hectic schedule!
If there's one thing that's consistent with photo shoots, it's that things don't go to plan (much like the aforementioned holiday!)
Your dog might be super consistent at sitting on cue, but you can guarantee that photoshoot day is the day he's going to forget to put his listening ears on. Or he might be super distracted by all the new stuff happening (that crazy lady with a black box-thing laying on the floor making silly noises is REALLY weird!)
Or it could be something you haven't even thought of that throws him off.
My sister's boy, Rem, is my STAR model. If I want a specific pose, he will rock it every time, no problem. He's the dog I go to if I want to try something and need a pooch who can hold a pose and focus in the face of all distractions. He's literally rock-solid.
Until the day we held a Mini Shoot Day for my sister's dog training clients in Aylesbury.
We had a gap of about 45 minutes in the middle of the day and were just going to whip through getting a portrait of each of her dogs as they're all reasonably good (and very used to posing for Auntie S). Debbie's husband, Sam, brought them up at the appropriate time and we decided to have each one in the barn individually to avoid distractions.
First up was Dave - her oldest black lab. He hasn't posed for me for a while, so it was a bit hit and miss, but he did ok.
Second was Fred - her golden retriever pup who was about 9 months at the time. Surprisingly, he was an absolute star and posed beautifully.
And last up was the star model, Rem. Well, by this time, Rem had watched both of his brothers disappear into the barn with Mum and Auntie S, and he couldn't understand why he was being kept apart from Mum (because Mum is THE BEST!). He got himself all worked up because he didn't understand what was happening, and by the time we got him into the barn, his listening ears were well and truly switched off!
If we'd thought about it, knowing he had a history of separation anxiety, we should have photographed him FIRST so that he didn't stress over Debbie disappearing into the barn without him. Lesson learned!
And bless him, with a bit of fuss and a few minutes chilling, it was all ok again, and in the end we got some lovely shots.
But it just goes to show how even with the best and most well-trained dog, the situation on the day can really change how they react, deal with distractions and all the new and strange experiences. It's why the most important thing on any photo shoot is to keep things calm and be patient with your dog, who really doesn't understand why 'today' is different to any other day of the week, with plenty of breaks and down-time to let them chill out and suss things out it their own time.
My over-riding belief is that the welfare of your dog is more important than any other aspect of your photoshoot experience, so I'll always work to ensure their safety and well-being through the session. Because no photograph is more important than your dog's well-being.
If this has struck a chord with you, comment and let me know what your biggest worry is about booking a photoshoot - I'd love to hear from you!
