I Challenged Myself To Photograph Children With Their Dogs, And Here Are The Best 21 Photos

During Covid, I noticed how important pets became to children. How they helped them deal with loneliness. Pets helped kids during homeschooling by just being beside them. This inspired me to undertake a photography project involving kids and dogs. I wanted to illustrate in images some of the special bonds they can have.

Working in these extreme weather conditions had some challenges. The kids were actually great with the cold, the wind, and the blowing snow! It was mainly my hands and my camera that were giving out. Before each shoot, I had already thought of the pose we were going for, so it made the process easier. Each shoot took no more than 15 minutes.

I love working with kids! While working with them, I wanted to make sure to make them comfortable and natural in front of the camera. I approached it as a game, as a fun storytelling experience. I explained to them that we were creating a scene, like characters role-playing, and they understood right away.

If it comes to some memorable moments during the series, I remember how during one of the shoots as we were setting up, the wind picked up and a blizzard showed up out of nowhere! The snow was blowing and we could barely see anything! But we pushed through and managed to snap the shot in a moment of calmness.

Speaking of my approach to the editing and post-processing of the photos to enhance the storytelling aspect, I already know that I wanted a storybook feel to the images. I started in Lightroom and then made all my adjustments, which included some "painting" over the background.

Lastly, while working on this project, I witnessed unique interactions or bonds between children and their dogs. Most of them show so much love and care towards their dogs. They acted like their protector. The kids were just amazing too and loved showing me how much they love their pup, like catching a kiss for example.