It’s not a big secret that I like animals. My family has two dogs, two cats, a bunny, a horse, and about 20 chickens. When we moved to Jamul a few years ago we just had the two dogs. Things have definitely escalated since then! Luckily this is all pretty normal in this neck of the woods, so I am in no way the crazy neighbor with all the animals. (I say, “Neck of the woods,” like I’m living hours from civilization. I’m 7 minutes from a Target, so we aren’t exactly roughing it.)
Some photographers may inwardly cringe when a client asks to bring their dog(s). Pets do undeniably add an additional factor into a session, but I personally love it. I feel like whether a dog is super well trained or just kinda your average family pet, they always add a bit of extra spontaneity and, “awwwwww”-factor into a family photo session. As a dog-mama myself, I understand that a well-loved dog really is part of the family and should absolutely be included in the family pictures if the client wants to include them!
Enter Simba.
The goodest boy.
His family claimed that they haven’t done any unusual amount of training with him and that they just got lucky and got a super fun and chill dog. Simba had never been to Balboa Park before, but you’d never know it by how he behaved. He sat and stayed and paid attention to all the commands he was given. My dog, Ruby (a vizsla), would’ve been hyperactively sniffing everything because she has no chill. Also, Simba is bilingual. …actually, probably trilingual because I assume he speaks Dog. So fancy. One of the funniest moments from the session was when Simba jumped from the Organ Pavilion stage into a bush. It probably looked like a solid surface to him! The kids quickly jumped down and rescued him and all was well. Simba’s human brother and sister were so sweet with him and clearly love him very much. What a fun family photo session!
