How I prepare for your photo session

“Before anything else, preparation is the key to success.” -Alexander Graham Bell

Custom pet photography sessions don’t just happen. In order for them to be successful, there is a lot of preparation that takes place long before I press the shutter button on my camera.

For every session I photograph, I begin with a pre-session consultation, where all of the planning begins. You can read what this is and why I always schedule one HERE.

While I always provide assistance for my clients in helping them prepare for the session, I also go through a pre-prep process for myself. Curious to learn what I do to prepare for a photo session? Read on to find out!

Believe it or not, even though I love photographing, I get nervous before every session. What if the weather suddenly changes? What if the dogs are really really difficult to work with? What if I forget a piece of equipment I need? There’s so many things that can go wrong. But I’ve learned if I do everything I can to prepare in advance, the chances of the session not being successful is very slim.

So I created a checklist of things I need to do and pack in my camera bag. Starting with my gear, I make sure all of my batteries of full charged. I pack backup batteries just in case I have a malfunction. I insert a blank SD card into my camera and pack a second card in case I need it.

In my camera bag, I have my camera body, my lenses, lens wipes, and triggers for my lighting equipment. For my lighting gear, I pack my Alien Bee, my backup light, a light modifier, light stand, fully charged battery pack, and cord to connect to the light.

For the dogs I am photographing, I pack dog treats (as discussed during the pre-session consultation), tennis balls, squeaky toys, and a lanyard with all kinds of noise makers I use to get the dogs attention. In my car, I put a cooler of water for me as well as a cooler for the dogs to drink. Lastly, I have a wagon to put all the gear to make it easy to transport everything from my car to the location where the session is taking place.

In the days leading up to the session, I may scout the location again to see how the vegetation looks and make sure there are no unexpected closures since I mostly photograph in parks. I watch the weather carefully and make a backup plan in case of unfavorable conditions.

Finally, the night before the session, I make sure to get a good night’s sleep. Snuggles with my own pups before falling asleep always reminds me why what I do is so important.

If you’d like to learn more about getting professional photos with your furry family members, let’s chat. To learn how to prepare your dogs for a photo session with me, click HERE.