Which camp are you in? Tongue in, or tongue out?

Sometimes the side of a dog that gets captured in a photograph looks more like their back side, than their best side! This leads to some wonderfully er… ‘unique’ images. And who doesn’t love a funny photo of their dog, right? Well, not everyone, it appears…

Lola the English Bull Mastiff puppy with tongue out in a grass field with stunning blue sky and cotton ball clouds in the Derbyshire countryside. — Tongue in or out? - You decide...

For many of my clients, seeing their beloved pooches pulling a silly face, or displaying their tongue in a comical position is something they adore and fills the room with laughter. Perhaps it is not a portrait that would usually make the final cut, and certainly not one they’d frame (although it has been known!) but if it captures something unusually funny or something we’d be unlikely to capture again, I’ll often edit it regardless and gift it to them.

Why? In my humble opinion, the funny photos are just as important as the epic ones when it comes to remembering their personality and character.

Roscoe, black Labrador with huge long tongue out the side of his mouth.

What makes a funny dog photo? A lot of the time, it’s their tongue.

There’s just something about a dog’s tongue which can be strangely comical and expressive, no matter what the breed.

But it’s not for everyone. I’ve seen enough tongue out Tuesday shots in my time (literally thousands!) to understand both points of view. Not every tongue out pic is funny or cute. Some often lose their humour fairly quickly, fading from funny to awkward or just weird.

I’ve also had clients who, despite the hot weather and their dog’s tongue dangling out the side of their mouth for the entire photo session, expect every image to have their dog’s mouth closed. They don’t see the humour in a tongue out shot. In fact a few are even repulsed by it.

Photography is after all subjective, and what makes a funny photo is often in the eye of the beholder. So who am I to judge?

Ruby, Rosie and Charlie the King Charles Spaniels all with tongues out sitting on a log.

In my experience, some photos never lose their comical value, often getting funnier the more you look at them. Especially if you know the personality of the dog in question.

But which camp are you in? Tongue in or tongue out? Let me know in the comments (on Facebook or Instagram).