Toe Beans and the Details that Make a Session Personal

You know that little swirl of fur on their chests? Or the feathery fur that wisps in a gentle breeze off the back of their legs?

The tail that winds all the way around to form a full 360 degrees of butt flair fluff.

The TOE BEANS.

Remi the border collie is sitting in front of the Chicago skyline with one paw stretched towards the camera. — Smell my Frito Foot!

Lincoln the Staffordshire bull terrier in a top hat and bow tie with a big smile sitting down showing off his toe beans. — Smell my Frito Foot!

These are the details that I look for when capturing your pet in a photo session.

It’s these little things that, when we look at our dogs or cats, smack our brains with those feel-good feels.

It’s all in the DETAILS!

For me, it’s how Nola’s one ear sticks out a little bit further than the other one when she’s in full-concentration mode. Or it’s Mucca’s jet-black patch of fur on his right side. And both of them have those little button swirls of fur on their chests. They’re perfect for poking your finger into.

Ryan the Pomeranian has a big smile on and one furry paw up in Milan photo studio. — Tip of the paw to you, friend!

Close up and black and white shot of Ryan the pomeranian with his mouth ready to bark. — Tip of the paw to you, friend!

Then there’s the feet. Frito’s sponsorship aside, those little feet are SO cute. And the smaller they are, they cuter they seem to be.

Oh Almighty Treat-o, come to me!

Also, each of those beans is as boop-worthy, if not more boopable, than the previous one.

And seeing these little details (d-tails?!) can really add that super personal touch to each pet portrait that makes any pet parent squeal “YES! That’s totally THEM!”

Take Ryan the Pomeranian for example. We’d just wrapped up a session that went really well. Ryan was super treat-oriented so it made him a breeze to work with. Not to mention he just had his hair done the week before and just formed a perfect cloud of cuteness.

Well, I’d thought we had finished the session, but Ryan had other plans. His Dad was getting his things together and they started to play a bit.

“HOLD THE DOOR. Keep doing that but on the backdrop!”

And two clicks on my camera later, we had this magical moment. Dad had a treat in hand and that little paw went up and that was IT. I added the hover-cookie in later – but all these pieces together tell a story. It shows how Ryan sees and loves The Almighty Dog Biscuit!

His stretching of the toe beans towards the ultimate snack prize, makes the story.

Here are a few other examples when those little puppy feet pads make an appearance. Sometimes it’s more natural than others. Or maybe they’re just tired of my super slick backdrop paper so it’s the plop and sploot instead.

Cat Toe Beans

Cats are another level. Their innate drive to slice at things with its claws, often means those toe beans appear more often.

One of my favorite poses for cats is them sitting, facing me but at an angle, and that arm and swatting at a toy. I love this springy-feathery-doo-dad thing for cats. Yes. Official name.

Pepe the orange and white cat has on a black and blue neck tie in the studio on a white backdrop pawing at a blue feather cat toy. — That feather’s gotta get THE PAW.

Indy the white and beige kitten is laying on his side with a green artificial flower between his small paws and little toe bean legs popping in from the right in a studio photography session. — That feather’s gotta get THE PAW.

It’s got bells and boings all over and really, it may be more fun for me than the actual cats.

It’s also great when a cat feels so at ease in the studio that they will grab anything and just roll around with it. Take baby Indy here. He saw one of my flower hair tie props and decided it must be killed. Immediately. And BAM! Cute toe bean detail shots.

What’s your favorite boopable-detail on your cat or dog? Let me know in the comments!

Would you like to capture

Those cute pet bits?

Let’s talk about your favorite bits!

About the Blog

Welcome to the Apawture Studios Blog where you’ll learn about everything from poses to wet noses and all things fashion pet photography. Sign up for the VIPP(Very Important Pet Parent) Newsletter to be the first to know what we’re up to.