People will usually buy Shih Tzu dogs for a variety of reasons but one of the reasons is because Shih Tzu dogs love to be the center of attention. This makes Shih Tzu pictures easy to take and fun to look at. You will have to become familiar with your dog and understand the tendencies of their breed in order to really get it to do what you want when taking pictures but it is worth it in the end.
The first thing you want to do is to make your dog feel at ease by playing with your dog, petting your dog, and just generally making the dog feel comfortable. If you will be using a pedestal to get pictures then put the dog on the pedestal and praise it profusely for sitting there and stop praising it when it gets down. Shih Tzu dogs are smart and after a while they will catch on to what you are trying to tell them.
You are probably going to want to put silly hats and ribbons on your Shih Tzu for the Shih Tzu pictures. And the Shih Tzu normally does not mind these things if you proceed correctly. As soon as you feel that the dog is comfortable with the studio and has calmed down, then start brushing it and grooming it right away. This will get the dog used to any costume changes and will allow you to try any outfits or accessories you want to try for the shoot.
The Shih Tzu loved to be groomed and if you associate trying on accessories and outfits with being groomed then they will more than likely not only stand for it but also love it.
Do not force your Shih Tzu to do one or two things you want it to do because then it will stop responding for the whole session. Cut your losses and take what the dog will give you.
Forcing a Shih Tzu to do something will mean more than likely that your session is over and there will be no Shih Tzu pictures at all.
The Shih Tzu do not respond well to tension or a lot of commotion so any Shih Tzu photo session will need to be very organized and very quiet. You will need everything to flow smoothly and reduce the amount of people in the room as much as possible. Upsetting the Shih Tzu means no pictures.
Yes the Shih Tzu is just like a little movie star in that it wants everything the way it wants things to go and it will, more than likely, reject some of your ideas. But this is what you will have to get used to and expect if you want to capture truly beautiful pictures of your Shih Tzu dog to treasure and keep for many years to come.