Plan to set aside a half day for this meaningful celebration. Your portrait sitting should last between 30-60 minutes, after which you’ll have an hour break while we ready the photos for your design consultation. Design consultations typically run from 1-2 hours, but can be as short as 45 minutes.

Sutton Studios’ decades-long reputation was built celebrating relationships, so no, you don’t have to be in the photos, but we think you’ll find a lot of meaning in photos that do include you, even if only your feet or hands or the side of your face actually show. With that in mind, come dressed and prepared to be in at least some of the photos. At your design consultation, you’ll be in charge of deciding which photos you love.

Simple is best. Wear clothes that you feel comfortable and confident in. Solid colors work best. Jeans and textured fabrics add warmth to the pictures.

Plan on wearing something that covers your legs – skirts or shorts can be awkward when you’re on the floor with your dog or cat, and we do work on the floor.

Things to avoid: clothing with graphics or logos. Black/Dark. White/Light. Also avoid patterns and bright colors. Big, puffy shoes built for athletics, especially white high-tops. Drawstrtings, long scarves and other things that dangle and tangle.

Your feet will almost certainly appear in some of your photos, so make sure you think about your footwear, too.

No. We never allow animals who don’t know each other to meet here for the first time. We’ll have the studio to ourselves.

We have thirty years’ experience working with thousands of dogs and cats of all breeds and levels of training. Few of our clients’ animals are professionally trained.

We have learned effective techniques for working with a wide range of animal personalities, the most useful of which is just allowing adequate time.

Our photographer will meet you and your dog in our reception area before the photo session. We’ll spend a few minutes creating a reassuring atmosphere for you both. When everyone is acquainted, we’ll walk you into the camera room. Once the door is safely closed, your pets will have an opportunity to check out the room on their own, which will help them to feels safe.

Please make us aware of any aggression issues your animal may have so that we can be sensitive to those concerns. We have worked with problem animals and also with highly trained protection dogs.

That said, if your dog is unpredictable or pose a danger to our photographers or staff, we will have to pass.

Grooming is a personal decision-- you know how your dog will look his or her best-- but please at minimum, bathe your dog one to five days before your sitting.

If you will be having your dog groomed, we recommend you have that done a day or two before the sitting rather than day of. A grooming and a portrait experience on the same day would be a lot of stress for most dogs. You’ll want your dog looking fresh, not stressed.

You’ll love your photos all the more if you can see your dog’s eyes, so if your dog’s fur normally covers their eyes, consider having it trimmed just a little a few days in advance.

While we have been known to take to the road on occasion, that’s pretty rare.

The Sutton Studios photos you have seen, and which drew you to us, were all taken in the studio where we have optimum control over lighting, sound, distractions, and backgrounds. That’s where we prefer to work, and where we know we can give you the look that brought you here.

Your finished artwork will be ready 4 to 6 weeks after your design consultation. We’re often able to deliver sooner, and our production cycle is compressed in November and December to accommodate holiday gift-givers.

Most of the artwork we deliver is ready to hang and does not require framing. For smaller gift prints, we can refer you to framers who have been making our clients happy for years.