Including Your Pet in Your Newborn Session: What to Expect (and What to Know First)
Tips for Incorporating Pets Into Newborn Photography Shoots
You've got a brand new baby, a dog who's been your shadow for years, and a vision of everyone together in one frame. It sounds beautiful - and honestly, it can be. I've had sessions where the family pet added something to the images that I never could have planned for.
But I've also learned a few things the hard way about what makes those sessions work and what can quietly eat up your time when you're running on a newborn's schedule and everyone's patience is already stretched thin. If you're thinking about including your pet in your newborn session, I want to give you the honest version of what that looks like - not to talk you out of it, but so you walk in with realistic expectations and we can actually get the images you're imagining.
Here's Where I Actually Stand on This
I'll be straight with you: pets at newborn sessions aren't my first choice, especially when the session is centered around a brand new baby.
That's not because I don't love animals - I do. And I've had some genuinely wonderful sessions that included them. But a newborn session already has a lot of moving pieces. A hungry baby, a tired mom, a dad who's doing his best, maybe a toddler who's been great for exactly seventeen minutes. Adding a pet into that environment means one more variable, and when a pet is unpredictable or under-stimulated, it shifts my attention in a way that I don't love - because my attention should be on keeping your baby safe and capturing your family, not managing an excited dog who has decided right now is a great time to investigate everything.
That said - I've said yes, and I've been glad I did. The pet question isn't a hard no for me. It's a conversation, and it starts with some honest questions about your specific situation.
What I've Learned From Actual Sessions
I've had three sessions now that included pets - two dogs and, most recently, a session with two cats and a dog in the same room. Each one taught me something.
The first was a maternity session outdoors with two purebred boxers. I was honestly nervous going into it, but being outside made a huge difference. The dogs had room to move, dad was able to take them for a walk or step away when we needed solo shots of mom, and the whole thing flowed better than I expected. That session taught me that outdoor environments give everyone - including the pets - a little more grace.
The second was a newborn session where the dad really wanted his dog included. He'd had this dog since he was a teenager, and that mattered. But getting the dog into the frame and keeping him there was a struggle. He wasn't interested in sitting still, and what could have been a quick few frames ended up taking more time than it should have.
The third was the one I was most worried about - an in-home session with two cats and a dog. Cats are just different. You can't really direct them the way you can a dog, and I wasn't sure what we'd end up with. But that session ended up being one of my favorites. The pets added a layer to those images that felt completely true to that family. It worked because the family was prepared and realistic, and we weren't forcing anything.
What Clients Almost Always Underestimate
Sometimes pets slide right into the session and we get what we need in a few minutes. Other times - they're nervous, overly curious, or just not feeling cooperative that day. When that happens, we can spend a significant portion of your session just waiting for a moment that may or may not come.
And here's the thing about newborn sessions: your baby has a window. Your baby's patience, your patience, and honestly everyone else in the room has a window. Spending that time on pet wrangling means less time for everything else.
Not every pet is actually ready for this.
I wish more clients thought honestly about this before the session. Not in a judgmental way - just realistically. Can your dog follow basic commands? Are they calm around new sounds and people? Have they already had a chance to interact with the baby at home, and how has that gone? Are they friendly with strangers, or do they need time to warm up?
These aren't trick questions. They're the questions that help me figure out whether including your pet is going to add something meaningful to your gallery or create a situation that works against us both.
Cats are a different kind of unpredictable.
With dogs, there's usually some level of direction you can work with. Cats do what cats do. That can be magical - and it was, in my most recent session. But going in with a rigid expectation of what the images will look like is a setup for frustration. With cats especially, we're working with whatever they decide to give us.
How to Set Your Session Up for Success
If you want to include your pet and you want it to actually work, here's what I've found makes the biggest difference:
Basic training matters. A pet who can follow simple commands - sit, stay, come - is a pet we can actually work with. If your dog has never had any training and gets overstimulated easily, we should have a real conversation before deciding to include them.
Burn some energy first. If we're shooting at home, take your dog for a good walk beforehand. A tired dog is a cooperative dog. Ideally, by the time we're getting to those shots, they're just as ready for a nap as the baby is.
For outdoor sessions, bring a handler. Having someone - a partner, a family member, a friend - whose only job is the dog makes a massive difference. They can keep the dog occupied, hand them off when we need them, and step away for individual shots without us losing momentum
Ask yourself honest questions about your pet's personality. Not the version of your pet you hope they'll be that day - the realistic version. Have they met the baby? How have those interactions been? Are they calm in new environments, or does everything interesting become their whole personality?
Let go of the perfect shot. The image of everyone looking at the camera and smiling at the exact same time - including the dog - is probably not what we're going to get. And that's okay. The candid moments, the interactions, the real stuff - that's almost always better anyway.
Why This Conversation Matters
Your pet is part of your family. That's not a small thing. I've watched a dad light up talking about the dog he's had since he was a teenager, and I understood immediately why that inclusion mattered to him. Those images are going to mean something.
But meaningful doesn't happen automatically. It happens when we go into the session with clear expectations, a realistic sense of what our pets can actually do that day, and a plan that protects the time we have together.
When those pieces are in place, including a pet can add something to your gallery that feels completely, specifically yours - a detail that tells the story of your family more fully than a perfectly posed portrait ever could.
That's what I'm always going for.
Let's Talk About Your Session
Every family is different. Let's figure out yours.
If you're hoping to include your pet in your newborn session, I'd love to hear about them. What are they like? How have they been with the baby? What are you imagining for the images?
The more I know going in, the better I can help us make the most of our time together - and the better your chances of walking away with images that actually made it worth the extra coordination.
Reach out here and let's figure out what your session should look like.
Because this season - your baby, your dog, your people, your home exactly as it is right now - is worth documenting. We just want to do it in a way that actually works.
