lifestyle photography

Commercial Pet Photographer Holly Hildreth tackles Doctor Paws’ Super Chews by Holly Hildreth

Commercial Pet Product Photography: Doctor Paws Super Chews

Commercial pet product photography showing a bag of treats sitting on a counter and a Golden retriever trying to grab one of the treats off the kitchen counter
Commercial pet photography of a golden retriever next to a bag of Super Chew supplements outdoors

When Doctor Paws was looking to update their branding and pet product photos, they approached me to create imagery for their new pet Super Chew. The goal was clear: high-impact commercial pet photography that could work seamlessly across advertising, e‑commerce, website, and social media. This project is a great example of how intentional, professionally produced pet product photography can elevate a brand and directly support your marketing efforts.

As a commercial pet photographer based in Columbus, Ohio, I work with pet brands, ad agencies, art directors, art buyers, and marketing teams looking for commercial-use animal images that are not just eye catching—but strategic, polished, and brand-aligned.

The Client: Doctor Paws

E-commerce pet product photography for a bag of Doctor Paws Super Chews as shot by commercial photographer Holly Hildreth

Professional pet product photography made a big difference in elevating Doctor Paws’ e-commerce experience by clearly showing all important facets of the packing including ingredients list and nutrition information, as well as some sleek general packaging shots

Doctor Paws is a pet wellness brand focused on functional chews designed to support dogs’ health. Like many modern pet product companies, they needed a versatile image library that could be used across multiple platforms including:

  • Website and e‑commerce pet product listings

  • Social media and paid ads

  • Retail and wholesale marketing materials

This meant creating visuals that felt trustworthy, premium, and emotionally engaging, while still clearly showcasing the product as the hero. Because we needed such a wide variety of end-uses, we captured several models on location in a home, outdoors, and also in the studio.

View of commercial pet photography in action at point of use on client's website

Mixing both lifestyle, product-in-use shots, and traditional product photography in the studio gave us a variety of looks that all help convey the brand’s message while making the product feel approachable.

The Creative Goal

For this commercial animal photography shoot, the priority was to:

  • Highlight the wellness chew in a clean, marketable way

  • Show dogs interacting naturally with people and the product

  • Create images that felt authentic—not staged or gimmicky

  • Deliver assets that could be cropped, repurposed, and scaled across campaigns and platforms

commercial animal photography campaign work for Doctor Paws Super Chews

Planning a Commercial Pet Photography Shoot

Successful commercial dog photography starts long before the camera even comes out. For the Doctor Paws shoot, pre‑production included:

  • A Creative Brief setting the tone and style for the imagery

  • Tailored shot list and style guide

  • Consideration of layout for negative space for text overlays

  • Location and model selection

  • Model abilities (which is important, as we had a few complicated ‘tricks’ we needed our dog models to perform).

Commercial pet photography lifestyle shot of a woman and her dog smiling while holding a bag of treats.

On Set: Photographing Pets for Advertising

Commercial pet photography of a dog holding a bag of treats in his mouth

Working with animal talent requires experience, patience, and an understanding of dog behavior. In commercial animal photography, there is no room for stress—for the animals, human models, or the crew.

During this shoot, the focus was on:

  • Keeping dogs relaxed and engaged

  • Capturing real expressions and interactions

  • Maintaining efficiency so we could maximize usable final images

Commercial dog photography of a black lab happily running toward the camera during a photoshoot with commercial animal photographer Holly Hildreth in Columbus, Ohio

This approach resulted in imagery that feels genuine—something today’s consumers immediately recognize and respond to and that resonate way more than the generic AI slop that competitors like to use. By shooting not only the product-focused images that are expected for e-commerce situations, we also captured some lifestyle images portraying happy pets and their family which could easily be used for any situation. For social media managers, art directors, and photo buyers, this kind of versatility is key. One well‑executed commercial pet photography shoot can support months—or even years—of marketing.

Why Professional Commercial Pet Photography Matters

In a crowded pet industry, photos are often the first impression a customer has of your pet brand. Professional pet product photography:

  • Builds trust with consumers

  • Elevates perceived product value

  • Creates consistency across platforms

  • Saves time and money long‑term

Stock photos and DIY imagery rarely deliver the same impact as custom commercial animal photography tailored specifically to your product and audience.

Commercial pet product photography of a corgi dog with a bag of treats in the studio. Photographed by commercial dog photographer Holly Hildreth in her signature lighting style

Whether you need imagery for advertising campaigns, e‑commerce listings, or social media, I provide end‑to‑end commercial pet photography services—from concept through final delivery.

Although I’m based in Columbus, Ohio, I work with clients from across the globe to make their pet product branding come to life.

Commercial Pet Photography of a woman and dog on the couch in a nice home, as photographed by commercial animal photographer Holly Hildreth in Columbus, Ohio

Looking for a Commercial Animal Photographer?

If you’re a pet business owner, marketing manager, or ad agency looking to invest in high‑quality commercial animal photography, I’d love to talk.

Let’s create some gorgeous images that work as hard as you do.