Goat Photo Shoots
Reading Time: 5 minutes
WHEN GOAT JOURNAL SUBSCRIBERS Chad and Amanda Hudgins looked to supplement their grazing business during the slow season, they turned to their goats’ glitz and glamor for goat photo shoots. Owners of Get Your Goat Rentals, located in Atlanta, Georgia, have 160 goats, which can be divided into nine herds, depending on the project size. In February 2022, they didn’t want to lay off their employee, so they created a Valentine’s Day photo shoot for social media.
Goat photo shoots a hit.
“We did a lot of different goat grams for Valentine’s Day,” Chad recalls. “We took them to single moms, which was a way they could give a meaningful gift. One of the first patrons was a mom with four kids, and it just touched us, and we wanted to keep doing it.” Amanda says, “He asked us, ‘Do you have any idea this is going viral?’ And at the time, I didn’t even have an Instagram page.” Valentine’s Day rolled into the prom season, and they provided a goat for a couple where they prom-proposed.
“And then we did a video with a young man named Trey. And that was just crazy. I called Amanda and told her, ‘this will be big,’” Chad says. And he was right. Soon after, they were bombarded with interviews and bookings. Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta, a “docu-soap” TV show, even featured them.
How many goats are used?
Of their large goat herd, 10 are used frequently for photo ops, although many more probably have the personality for it. The Hudgins have done around 50 “goat grams” so far, but it will get even busier for them. They’ve partnered with the Georgia Breast Cancer Foundation, where Paddy, a large black goat, will walk for the cancer foundation and offer goat grams. A portion of the November/December proceeds will be donated to the foundation. Chad believes the goat grams have become very popular for many reasons.
“This year,” Chad explains, “it was 2023, and it’s the year of the G.O.A.T. (greatest of all time) with Michael Jordan’s jersey number being 23. So, I think that inspired a lot of the prom stuff.”
Goat photo shoots have grown.
Chad adds that it’s hard to surpass a baby goat’s cuteness. They have taken their goat gram program to nursing homes, retirement centers, and people’s homes, where everybody likes to play with the babies and cuddle.
“You’ll have big guys on the floor playing with the baby goat,” Chad laughs. “We work in Atlanta, and many people have never seen a goat — maybe except at the zoo.”
“We started with 90 adults for our grazing jobs and have grown to 160 this year. And we’ll probably double in size next year,” Amanda says. “We’re doing Georgia’s thirdlargest school district, the city of Dunwoody, and Powder Spring City this year.”
They also get called for a lot of construction jobs that are going toward an eco-friendly angle. And the reason why they have kids in the herd?
Accidental baby goats.
“Well, that was an accident,” Amanda says. “We get calls all the time from people who have a couple of goats that somebody gave them, and they can’t keep them. I was a sucker a couple of times, saying we’ll give them a good home, and they can graze. One of the herds was three billy goats.”
And while the Hudgins prefer larger goats like Spanish/Kiko crosses to raise the tree canopy, they will soon have some Nigerian Dwarf goat crosses in there as well, which turns out to be the perfect size for goat grams.
Getting started with goat photo shoots.
The Hudgins have a few suggestions for those interested in starting their own goat photo shoot company.
“Our company is licensed and insured in the state of Georgia” Amanda says. “If you’re not licensed, and you show up, even with the babies, you should carry full insurance for your business to cover anything that could happen at the homeowner’s house.” She adds that having a map of where you are willing to go for the photos is essential on the financial side of things. They charge $150 an hour, which sounds great unless you are driving hours to get to the photo session.
“We learned early on with the goat grams that if you can’t sync those jobs or those projects, you’re going to spend all of your money on gas,” Chad says. “If you can get five or six goat grams done daily, you’re doing pretty good. Think like you are an Amazon route.”
Regulations on taking photos.
While the Hudgins don’t take the goats in prom, knowing your city’s photo shoot and livestock regulations is essential.
“We learned the hard way when Chad did with that photo shoot with Paddy and Trey. In Atlanta, you have to have a special permit, not for the goat, but to take pictures around the Mercedes Benz stadium.”
What kind of goat for photo shoots?
It helps if the goat is photogenic in addition to having a good personality.
“A lot of times with Paddy, if I can just get in front of him and talk to him — I don’t know, we kind of have a bond — he’ll watch me, and he’ll pay attention,” Chad says. “If we’re trying to get him to walk a certain way, we will walk in front of him with some animal crackers, and he’ll follow an animal cracker down to 85!”
The Hudgins get requests for solid white goats often. And while they have white LaMancha goats, they naturally have tiny ears — almost nonexistent — which clients may not appreciate.
“We have this white goat named Georgia Tech because he took photos on the steps of Georgia Tech last year, but he was horrible,” Chad says. “He did not have the personality for a photo shoot. We had to take a buddy goat, Paddy, with him to get him to stand still. The whole time, he screamed and just made God-awful noises. So, you’ve got to start with one with the right personality.”
Keeping everyone happy.
This is truly important since the Hudgins say that while people love getting a goat gram, they are often scared of the goats when they first meet them. Amanda says you must teach the clients how to handle the goats and slowly introduce them to the goats while keeping the professional photographers and sometimes even videographers content since everyone is on a time budget.
While people can use their cell phones, the Hudgins have found that most people choose to hire professionals to document the special occasion while booking a goat gram.
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KENNY COOGAN earned a master’s degree in Global Sustainability and has published over 400 articles on pets, livestock, and gardening. He lives on a 1-acre homestead with a flock of Pekin ducks, managing a permaculturestyle landscape. Coogan also runs a successful carnivorous plant nursery in Tampa. Listen to Coogan co-host podcasts by visiting Mother Earth News and Friends Podcast.
Originally published in the January/February 2024 issue of Goat Journal and regularly vetted for accuracy.
