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Frank & Ollie, the pug puppy & tabby kitten from San Diego!

Monday, November 26th, 2018

Should I pinch myself? Am I dreaming?

Nope: I truly had the chance to work with the most adorable animals!! Frank the pug puppy was only 11 weeks old at the time of our session, which is quite frankly an incredible time to have a photo session. Seriously – I am SO happy his parents gave me a call well in advance of when they wanted their session to take place. It gave us all the time we needed to plan the perfect experience, and Frank was at the perfect age! Ollie, his brother, is a rescue kitten from a litter in which he was (very sadly) the only survivor. He & his siblings were all diagnosed with panleukopenia (which is the feline version of parvovirus), so it was truly a miracle that Ollie’s foster family helped him make it through. But now he’s about 6 months old, and is one of the most inquisitive, happy, intelligent cats I’ve ever met! He comes when you call his name, and will do just about anything for a treat (including, I learned, let his parents put a harness on him so we could go outside). Today, Frank & Ollie live happily in central San Diego, doing their best impression of Milo & Otis. :)

And I have to admit, I was impressed with how these brothers get along – their parents definitely made the right move in adopting them both at around the same time, so they could grow up together and bond from an early age. Plus, they’re both already so well-trained! Do you know any other 11-week-old puppies who can hold a sit-stay, or toilet-trained 6-month-old kittens? I don’t!! Many first-time pet parents just “wing it” and figure things out as they go, and while that can often work out just fine, Frank & Ollie’s parents have taken the opposite approach, and have invested plenty of time educating themselves on all the best things they can do for their new animals. It really shows; these two are already such happy, confident kiddos. They have the cutest little friendship, and I really loved photographing them both!

 

This, of course, is Frank! With the biggest little head tilt I’ve ever seen. Come on, can you even stand how cute he is?!

pup head tilt

 

Ollie the cat is a gorgeous little kitten; I already know he’s going to grow up into a strikingly handsome orange tabby!

orange tabby kitten

 

We also visited a place in San Diego that most animals aren’t allowed to see… I’ll keep the location quiet since we only got in thanks to their dad’s work. But let’s just say it was somewhere I never thought I’d get to experience the inside of! (Yes, that’s a remnant of a plant on Frank’s face… something tells me he was “sampling” his surroundings!)

put puppy photo

 

Ollie, on the other hand, used the outing as an opportunity to keep a lookout for small animals & anything else to chase, smell and/or play with.

orange cat photo

 

 

Rachel & Mike, thank you so much for introducing me to your new additions! I can’t wait to get together again soon!!

 

Bella, Sidecar & Auggie – Two Australian Labradoodles & a Sphynx Cat!

Tuesday, November 13th, 2018

It’s not very often that I get to work with cats and dogs in the same photo session – and it’s even rarer for them to all visit my studio together! So I was absolutely thrilled to meet Bella, Sidecar & Auggie recently, because they travel as a family! :)

Bella & Sidecar are Australian Labradoodles, and Auggie is a sphynx cat – so cue the extra excitement I had for this photo session, because I absolutely love working with breeds that you simply don’t meet every day! And these animals didn’t disappoint; they all had distinct personalities & unique quirks that became clear during our session… they may all belong to the same family, but they’re each so different!! So let me introduce you to them, one by one…

 

This, of course, is Auggie! He’s a confident young boy, and he loved exploring every square inch of my studio. We convinced him to hang out on the backdrop with a few toys – thank goodness his hunting instinct is so strong, haha! As a result we ended up with a few action photos that I’m pretty excited about, but at the end of the day, some of my favorite portraits we captured are of his calmer moments. He’s absolutely stunning!!

sphynx cat studio photo

 

Then we visited Old Poway Park! (Auggie came too, but he preferred to hang out in his carrier while we explored the park.) This is Bella, the more confident of the two Australian Labradoodles. She was camera-ready within minutes of starting our session, and I simply loved all the unique expressions she sent my way! She’s a cute little lovebug and the camera absolutely loved her (I did too, let’s be honest).

australian labradoodle photo

 

And this is Sidecar, Bella’s brother! Unlike his siblings, he made sure that we took our sweet time when it came to his solo portraits… the camera was NOT his favorite thing. (And by “not his favorite thing” I mean he was terrified of it.) Regardless, I have a few tricks up my sleeve – so I was thrilled when Sidecar eventually relaxed and revealed his happy smile!

australian labradoodle picture

 

Brother and sister. They’re so adorable.

Australian Labradoodles

 

Jinhee, thank you so much for introducing me to your family! I’m so excited to get together again soon & show you the rest of our images!!

 

Tillie the Golden Retriever, at the Park in San Diego

Wednesday, October 31st, 2018

New plan:

  1. Invent a cloning machine.
  2. Clone Tillie.
  3. Photograph her every day.

Sounds like a great plan to me! ;)

Tille the 1-year-old red golden retriever is an absolute sweetheart, a mama’s girl and a dream to photograph. Like any good golden, she loves her parents, her tennis ball and treats – and happily enjoyed plenty of all 3 “rewards” during our photo session! We started at San Dieguito County Park in Del Mar, where fetch was first on Tillie’s list. And Tillie doesn’t play fetch like most other dogs: she brings the ball back about halfway to the person who threw it. Not the whole way – so fetch is truly a “team sport”, haha! We even decided to take her off-leash as we played, to really allow her to let loose and run with abandon… and she was mostly a good girl with her newfound freedom! Although the park was a big & interesting place, her attachment to her parents (and also maybe her love of treats) brought her back to us every time. Good girl, Tillie. We spent the rest of the sun-drenched afternoon in the grass, relaxing and snuggling, and Tillie posed like a total pro. (Was she a model in a past life?)

 

She loves fetch!

red golden retriever playing fetch

 

I’m absolutely loving the backlighting on her coat… I know that’s a nerdy photographer thing to say, but I think it lights her up like a full-body halo! So pretty!

red golden retriever sitting

 

I think a smile is her natural, resting expression. Even when we ask her to sit in weird, thick succulent-esque bushes.

happy red golden retriever

 

We eventually headed to a different park for a completely different look – Old Poway Park has railroad cars, old wooden doorways and all kinds of fun things to explore. Tillie hopped right up on this rock and took in the view, as if she was princess of the park!

red golden retriever

 

Nicole & Jerad, thank you for introducing me to your sweet girl! I can’t wait to show you the rest of our portraits soon – Tillie did a great job! :)

 

Brando the Gorgeous German Shepherd

Friday, October 12th, 2018

Some days I work with dogs that have no boundaries, no obedience, no manners – and while it’s not exactly ideal, we can still have a great session. Things just tend to move a little slower when dogs don’t have a sense of obedience.

Brando is NOT one of those dogs!!

Brando is probably the most well-trained German shepherd dog that I’ve ever worked with! He’s an accomplished Schutzhund athlete, and if you’re not familiar with the sport, it’s an incredibly involved & complex activity that requires various levels of cognition, skill & self-control. And something tells me Brando is going to be a champion one day – he’s incredible! He did a few Schutzhund tricks for me during our session, and quite frankly, it was downright amazing to see the way he works with his mom. She’s his handler for all his Schutzhund activities and clearly all the tricks and skills they’ve worked on together have helped form a beautiful bond between them. And then – it’s the cutest thing – once he’s done “working” with mom, he switches to playtime mode when he’s with dad! The frisbee comes out and they have a ball playing fetch and letting Brando run around Mission Bay Park. Seeing the strong, unique relationships Brando has with both of his parents was simply awesome!

 

What did I tell you?! Gorgeous.

german shepherd dog

 

We definitely let loose once the frisbee came out!

german shepherd catching frisbee

 

(I’m going to steal Brando. Don’t tell his parents.)

german shepherd

 

 

Linda & Brian, thank you for introducing me to your incredible dog! I had such a great time with all of you! :)

 

Pepper & Angus, a San Diego Poodle & Goldendoodle!

Friday, October 5th, 2018

“Are they brother & sister?” “Are they the same age?” Pepper & Angus get all kinds of questions from curious people who see them around town… because maybe at first glance, they appear awfully similar! It’s only once you look a little closer and get to know them that you realize they could hardly be more different.

Pepper is a standard poodle, 10 years old and quite the refined little lady. She crosses her paws when she lays down, generally steers clear of her brother’s silly antics, thrives on her independent spirit, and simply has that stately air of a standard poodle that makes you wonder for the quickest moment: is there a human in there? I’m just not convinced that Pepper sees herself as a dog…!

Angus, on the other hand, is a 3-year-old goldendoodle who suffers from “little brother syndrome” to his core, haha! He’s energetic, cheerful, loves to snuggle and make friends, and is simply a happy-go-lucky boy. He was a joy (if somewhat of a challenge) to photograph, and the cherry on top was his bow tie – almost too much cuteness to handle.

For our session, we started with some classic studio portraits and then headed to Balboa Park for a splash of color!

 

I’m thrilled to introduce you to Angus (left) and Pepper (right)!

photo of two dogs in studio

 

I love Pepper’s sweet smile.

poodle in balboa park

 

Angus wanted to explore every inch of Balboa Park, haha – he’s such a happy pup!

goldendoodle in balboa park

 

I’m so excited to see their parents back in the studio soon to review all of our images – this was just a “sneak peek” at all the cuteness! Thanks for being such good dogs during your session, Pepper & Angus! :)

 

 

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