In any career, I think, there are projects that go smoothly and projects that, well, don’t go as smoothly. And it’s no different for me; honestly, most of my sessions are scheduled without any issues, go off without a hitch, and there aren’t any moments of unexpectedness, confusion or frustration. Unfortunately, though, this was NOT one of those sessions! My clients & I truly fought the odds for Emerson, Russell & Bells’ session to happen: first, two out of three dogs were feeling bad at the beginning of the week! Bells had stepped on a stick while out for a run with her mom, and it left a gash between her paw pads… and Russell came down with a sickness that required an intestinal antibiotic for inflammation! Both dogs were feeling miserable – certainly not photo shoot-ready – and so we had to play it by ear & see how they were feeling by the end of the week. Luckily, they felt better, and despite a random case of car sickness on their way to the studio, our session started smoothly… but then we pulled up to our second location, and found that the parks service had locked us out!! We had our hearts set on visiting Lake Sutherland, but it turns out you can’t get down to the lake unless it’s fishing season… which starts in March. Gah!!! But we turned a negative into a positive by finding a couple of amazing spots to work in, just off the road, which worked absolutely perfectly – they were totally unique and we definitely wouldn’t have the photos that we have now (with gorgeous vistas & long, flowing grasses) if we’d gone straight down to the water’s edge! So despite the – ahem – difficulties, we ended up having a fantastic session & I’m loving our photos of these outdoors-loving dogs! :)

This is Bells, the tough little cattle dog mix who hurt her paw just a few days before our session. She goes on runs with her mom all the time, and we knew we wanted a photo of her “wearing” her mom’s running shoes – how cute is this?! Haha!

This gorgeous mutt is Russell, the usually-healthy dog who came down with a bit of sickness. He was completely back to being himself again in time for our session – and I’m so glad, because I just love his smile! He’s a labrador mix (with pit bull? Great Dane?) and a goofy, happy boy.

And here’s Emerson, the handsome chocolate lab. He tested my skills on getting his ears perked up for his photos; usually that’s a tricky thing to do with greyhounds & whippets, but not labs! Emerson is old & wise, though, and he’d (apparently) seen pretty much all of my tricks before. Good thing I still had a couple up my sleeve, though – that ears-up profile is too good-looking to miss out on!

Shaela & Chris, thank you for battling the odds with me! I can’t wait to show you the rest of our photos soon! :)

Tags: dogs, labrador, mixed breed, pet photography, pets, photography, San Diego, San Diego Dog Photographer, San Diego pet photography