The Ultimate Guide for Rocking Your Engagement Pictures with Your Dog

There is nothing sweeter than documenting your entire family, pets included. But it can be hard to wrangle and get the perfect swoon worthy picture when your dog had the zoomies or anxious in a new environment. This is why we created this guide to help you rock your engagement pictures with your dog!

Pick a pet friendly location

We all know how much you love your dog, but unfortunately not every location loves your dog as much as you. That is why it is super important to make sure the location allows dogs.

Typically during the summer months, most of the beaches don’t allow dogs. It is important to do your research and make sure you pick a location that your furry friend is allowed. If you are wanting a beach session with your pup, make sure to schedule it before Memorial Day or after Labor Day. 

Get there early to let your dog run around and run off their energy

If you can, get to your session 15-20 minutes early. This way you can let your dog run around and smell all of the good smells. Feel free to bring their favorite toys along too so they can really get all of their energy out! A well exercised dog is a well behaved dog, as they say

Bring Treats

Make sure to bring treats to keep your pet engaged. You can give me the treats, that way they will (hopefully) look at me during the photos and I can use the treats to get their attention.

Bring a friend to be your pet wrangler!

This one is super important! Have a friend or someone who knows your dog well to come wrangle your pet! I love to have your pet hop in and out of the photos, that way you can get some photos of just you and your partner. That way too if your fur friend isn’t behaving, someone else will be there to help out and run off their energy. That way you can focus on taking the best engagement photos. 

Let go of your expectations

I know we have all seen the picture perfect family photos with the dogs acting wonderfully. Those photos are fantastic. But the reality, most dogs wont sit still for that. Even the best behaved pups can’t sit still for forever. So let go of your expectations a little bit. Enjoy the process and embrace some beautifully candid photos of you and your dog.

Looking for a pet friendly park in Salem MA for your engagement session? 

Here are some of our favorites! 

Forest River Park

I walk my dog here all the time and I’ve done multiple photo shoots here. It is a small but beautiful park with some rolling hills, rocks and it is right on the ocean so we can get some beach / ocean pictures too for a variety of scenery. 

It is very popular for people to walk their dogs here, but we can find quiet areas that are off of the path to shoot. Dogs technically are supposed to be on leash here, but many owners let their dogs off leash. It is in the residential part of Salem, so it is very quiet and in a dead end road so not a lot of cars or traffic and plenty of metered parking. 

Salem Willows / Dead Horse Beach 

Salem Willows is another popular park in Salem. It has beautiful willow trees in the center and again is right on the ocean and close to Dead Horse Beach, so perfect if you want a variety of scenery in your pictures. 

Again, it is very popular for dog walkers, but we should be able to find some quiet corners away from other visitors, especially in November. Again, dogs technically are supposed to be on leash here, but many owners let their dogs off leash. It is also in the residential side of Salem, so not a lot of cars or traffic and plenty of metered parking. 

Salem Common

In the heart of Salem, this would be perfect if you still wanted to get some of the historic Salem architecture / walk through Essex street and some shots at a park with Logan. Despite it being in the middle of things, it generally isn’t too busy or crowded, unless there is an event going on. It is on a main road, so there does tend to be a lot of cars and noise.

Looking for some pet friendly beaches on the North Shore? 

Here are some of our favorites! 

Beach at Plum Island, Newburyport, MA

If you are down for a beach and coastal shoot, Plum Island in Newburyport is always fun. They have some fun sand trails, beach and rocks. 

Salem Willows / Dead Horse Beach, Salem, MA

I shoot at Salem Willows quite a lot. Dead Horse is a harbor side beach that is between Salem and Beverly. There is also beautiful willow trees in the Willows park in the center so perfect if you want a variety of scenery in your pictures. 

Half Moon Beach, Gloucester, MA 

This beach is just down the hill at Stage Fort Park. You walk down some steps to get there and it is very private and secluded from the rest of the park, making it perfect for your engagement session because you don’t have to worry as much about on lookers 

Wingaersheek Beach, Glouchester, MA

This beach is best at low tide when you can explore and play along the rocks. It looks like there is a fee for parking Memorial Day – Labor Day, so we should be good.

I hope this guide helped you have ideas on how you can rock your engagement pictures with your dog!

Looking for an Salem photographer for your engagement session with your dog? Contact me today to schedule your session!