They Are Part of the Family Story: The Importance of Pet Photography

For nearly my entire career as a photographer, Dulce was there.

I got her when she was about a year old, and for the next 14 years, she became part of the rhythm of my life. She was there as I built BD Photography from the beginning, through different studios, different seasons, and so many versions of who I was becoming.

And if you've been part of the BD Photography family here in McAllen for a long time, there's a chance you knew her too.

A little over two weeks ago, Gio and I had to say goodbye to our girl.

Hackberry Studio 2020

She Was Part of BD Photography, Too

Dulce wasn't just part of our family. She was part of this business.

She was there from the beginning and made appearances at more client shoots than I could ever count. She had a way of making people feel comfortable and at ease just by being there.

And then there was her adventurous side.

On more than one occasion, it felt like the entire McAllen community came together to help us find her when she decided to escape or wander off on one of her adventures. So many people knew Dulce, looked out for her, and helped us bring her home.

She was adventurous, loyal, loving, incredibly tough, and always motivated by food. She would happily let you cuddle her and love on her, but if food was involved, you knew exactly where her priorities were.

She was our companion, part of our studio, and the mother of our Panda, who is just as special in her own completely different way.

Horseshoe Bend 2014

In-home Studio 2016

Our Pets Are Part of Our Family

Losing Dulce has made me think even more about something I've believed throughout my career:

Photographs matter.

Our pets have this incredible way of quietly weaving themselves into our lives.

They're there when we move into a new home. When we get married. When our families grow and change. They greet us after the best days and sit beside us through the hardest ones.

And then one day, you look back and realize they weren't just there for your life.

They were part of it.

That's the thing about our pets. Their entire lives happen within a chapter of ours, but the space they occupy in that chapter is enormous.

Family Portraits

Don't Wait to Photograph Them

As a family and pet photographer in McAllen, Texas, I've photographed so many beloved animals over the years.

Sometimes families include their pets simply because they can't imagine a family portrait without them. Other times, someone reaches out after receiving difficult news and suddenly realizes how important it is to have a beautiful photograph together.

Those photographs are incredibly meaningful.

But I also want to encourage you not to wait for the difficult news.

Photograph them now.

While they're healthy. While they're driving you crazy. While they're stealing food, covering your clothes in hair, barking at absolutely nothing, and taking up entirely too much room on the bed.

Photograph the chapter while you're still living it.

Leticia and her 8 pups.

Bring the Dog

If you're considering a family photography session and wondering whether you should include your pet, bring them.

They don't have to sit perfectly. They don't have to look directly at the camera. They might move, get excited, or completely ignore everything we ask them to do.

That's okay.

Family photographs aren't valuable because everyone behaved perfectly.

They're valuable because everyone was there.

Whether it's a professional pet photography session focused entirely on them or including your dog in your family portraits, what matters is documenting who they are and the place they hold in your life.

Because years from now, you'll want to remember the little things.

The way they looked at you. Their quirks. Their personality. The things that made them them.

Dulce at South Padre Island 2016

The Photographs Become More Valuable With Time

I've spent years photographing families in McAllen and throughout the Rio Grande Valley and talking about the importance of creating something tangible.

Printing the photographs.

Putting them on your walls and in albums instead of letting them disappear into a camera roll.

I've always believed in that.

But grief has a way of making you understand it differently.

When someone you love is no longer here, photographs become more than photographs.

They become proof of a life lived together.

I will always wish I had more time with Dulce. But I am incredibly grateful for the years we had with her and for every photograph that allows me to revisit those years.

I can see her at different ages. I can see the different versions of myself who loved her. I can look at a photograph and remember exactly who she was in that moment.

She was here.

She was loved.

She was family.

Me and Dulce 2021

So if you're wondering whether you should bring the dog to your next family portrait session, bring the dog.

If your pet is getting older and you've been thinking about professional pet portraits, take them.

And if you've been waiting for the perfect time, don't.

The photographs you create today are also for the version of you who will look at them years from now and be incredibly grateful that, for just a fraction of a second, you found a way to make time stand still.

Because our pets aren't just in the background of our family story.

They are part of it.