Parents, I salute you!

I have a newfound respect for parents, and photographers who have ever tried to get the "perfect shot" of their little darling.  While we don't have kids yet, we like to send out photo cards around the holidays.  Therefore we needed the "perfect shot" of our sweet little Teddy.  Teddy is very serious when it comes to picture taking.  Well, Teddy is very serious when it comes to treats, and those are required for picture taking sessions.  Teddy took the most adorable shot with Santa when we took him to Santa Paws, but I was having trouble ordering the prints as a card.  So I thought I would take one myself.

Getting a dog to pose has to be more challenging than getting a kid to pose.  Of course, I don't have experience getting kids to pose, it seems like the major challenge for Christmas pictures is the screaming child on Santa's lap scenario.  I mean, you can reason with a kid, right?  (I'm sure all parents are laughing hysterically at me right now.)  Getting the dog to "pose" not only meant asking an animal to look at the camera, but to simply sit in the right spot.  Teddy weighs 65 pounds and does not want to move while waiting for a treat for fear that it will risk the treat.  But if you take a step away from him, he will quickly move around to position himself directly in front of you.  

So, we tried gently shoving him over to the place we wanted after he sat down.

Warning!!  Butt shot coming up!  I can't believe I post this stuff...

Unfortunately this confused him further.

We managed to get a couple of reasonable photos, 

but most had some problems that made them less than perfect.

There is this shot, which is really cute, except I'm not sure 

if a dog with demon eyes is really appropriate for a holiday card.

I also love this shot of Teddy's cute "smile" but the Santa kind of looks like the Travelocity gnome, kind of hanging out on the side.

This one was getting closer, but people will wonder who Teddy is looking at.  

Why couldn't we take one of Teddy looking at the camera, they will think.

So, no perfect shot.  But much fun, and cheese (literally!) while trying.

Happy Holidays!