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Premium Albums for Pet Photography

Tuesday, September 15th, 2015

Today’s blog post is a bit different – I’d like to show you one of my favorite products! It’s my premium album!

Listen, I don’t kid myself: I know that my clients can make their own photo books and get them printed at a bunch of online labs. And really, that’s fine with me, if they enjoy the process of making it themselves and they expect & acknowledge that a book of that caliber (anything you pay $20-40 for) isn’t going to last terribly long. I know that option exists – heck, in college, I made those kinds of books myself! – and so that’s why I set out to provide my clients with something so entirely different, there couldn’t possibly be any way to describe it in the same category. And thus, my premium albums were born! You’ve never seen books like these – let alone such high-quality albums for pet photography!

Here are a few qualities my clients have come to expect in their premium album:

~ 100% custom design. I create the entire photographic story & handle all the design work, from start to finish. I welcome my clients’ input & preferences, of course, but don’t worry: I do all the work.

~ Heirloom-quality construction. An amazing company called Madera creates my albums entirely by hand – you can see their process here in this awesome one-minute video if you’re curious.

~ Gorgeous leather finish with custom embossing. The kind that makes you say “wow” when you runs your hands over it.

~ Pages so thick, you’d never accidentally tear them. Reinforced backing gives the pages (which are real photographic prints!) substantial weight.

So take a look at the most recent premium album to arrive at my studio – Yuma‘s!

Yuma’s name is embossed on the front cover, a subtle yet unmistakable custom touch.

My logo is foil-printed on the inside front cover! Yay!

Lay-flat binding & page construction. You don’t see this every day.

Here are close-up images of a few pages in Yuma’s book…

I adore quotes alongside images. I have my favorites, and I include my clients’ faves too… they help tell the story even more beautifully.

And just for fun, here’s a screenshot of my album design software! I love it because it gives me total freedom to arrange images & quotes however I want… and I’ll be honest, designing a whole album is an intensive process, but I find it quite fun!

Of course, if you’re interested in a custom premium album with your pets, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me. Thanks, and I hope you enjoyed this behind-the-scenes blog post! :)

Tags: pet photography, pets, photography, San Diego Dog Photographer, San Diego pet photography
Posted in housekeeping/fyi, new products, pet photography | 1 Comment »

Happy Birthday to Me!

Friday, September 4th, 2015

Hello & welcome to September! This is probably my favorite month of the year… because it’s my birthday! :)

Yesterday (September 3rd) was the big day – no I’m not telling you how old I am – and I’m excited to reveal this year’s birthday gift that I’m giving to myself! Haha! That sentence may seem a bit strange to some people, but if you’ve been following the blog for at least a year, then you know that I give myself the gift of a photo session with a dog breed that I’ve never photographed before! I’ve always been absolutely fascinated by the vast diversity of dog breeds out there, and I would love to photograph them all someday… so even though I’m giving away a full photo session experience – a $175 value – to a stranger, it turns out to be a gift for me just as much as it is for them! A win-win, if I’ve ever seen one! :)

So this year’s breed is… drumroll please…

The Dalmatian!

(This image is the property of Bunk Blog – http://bunkblog.net/dog-information/shedding/dalmatians-shed)

(This image is the property of Dalmatian Care & Training – http://dalmatiancare.blogspot.com/2009/11/dalmatian-training-tips-and-tricks.html)

(Okay, technically, I have photographed a Dalmatian before… but it was back in 2010, when I was just barely starting my business and portfolio-building (and truthfully, back then, I had very little idea what I was doing at all)! So I’ve decided that little 2010 session doesn’t count, and I’d like to photograph a Dalmatian this fall! Can you believe I haven’t worked with one since then?!)

So how am I going to give myself this gift? How do I find this lucky Dalmatian & its owners? Well, that’s where I need your help! If you know a local San Diegan who owns a Dalmatian, send this blog post their way! Spread the word! They could end up winning a free photo session, and you’ll be the friend to whom they owe a big favor, haha!

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If you’re here because you have a Dalmatian (or two, or three!) and you’d like to be considered to win the free photo session, here’s all you need to do:

1. Send an email to me, allison@allisonshamrell.com.

2. Include at least one photo of your dog(s). (Don’t worry about the quality/composition; snapshots are totally fine.)

3. Tell me why you’d like to win the photo session!

That’s it! Pretty easy!

I’ll be accepting submissions NOW through Friday, September 11th at midnight – so you just have one week! If I were you, I’d send your email ASAP!

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Of course, feel free to get in touch with me if you have any questions; I would love to hear from you. And who knows – by the time all the entries come in, I just might end up choosing a couple of runner-up prizes! :)

Thanks so much, everyone! And happy birthday to me us! :)

Tags: dogs, pet photography, pets, photography, San Diego, San Diego Dog Photographer, San Diego pet photography
Posted in pet photography | No Comments »

Del Mar Horse Photography Session, with Bronte

Wednesday, September 2nd, 2015

It’s not too often that I get to do a Del Mar horse photography session – but I absolutely love it when the opportunity arises! There’s just something about photographing these beautiful & powerful creatures in a location that’s recognized all over the world for equestrian competition… I don’t what it is, but the history & tradition of Del Mar just get to me. So that’s why I was simply bursting with excitement to meet Bronte the horse!

As it turns out, Bronte’s owners won a gift certificate at a recent event, and in our first phone call, Donna explained that they have two vizslas & two wire-haired pointing griffons – wow! All gorgeous dogs, and I expected to learn all about them & start planning for a photo session with 16 legs, haha – until Donna mentioned that they also have a horse! So the conversation quickly switched to Bronte, and Taylor (Donna’s daughter) who handles & rides Bronte just about every day. We decided that with Taylor’s upcoming senior year in high school, documenting her relationship with Bronte was our top priority – and the dogs’ photo session could wait until later on! :)

So that’s how I got to meet the gorgeous, opinionated, mind-of-her-own Bronte! She was actually a great subject to work with, because at the beginning of our session she held still, posed nicely and was happy to point her ears my way… and by the end of our session, her personality really came out and we have a few “bloopers” to show for it, haha! She’s so well-loved, and her connection with Taylor is evident – so I adored the opportunity to photograph two beautiful subjects that day. :)

I’m so glad Bronte’s stables are in such a pretty setting! You really can’t go wrong in Del Mar…

Outfit change? Love it!

Okay I’m sorry but I CAN’T get over how gorgeous these two are.

Taylor & Donna, thank you so much for a wonderful afternoon! I can’t wait to show you the rest of our photos very soon! :)

Tags: Del Mar, horse, horse photography, pet photography, pets, photography, San Diego, San Diego pet photography
Posted in pet photography | No Comments »

Archie & Leo, Two Dogs from San Diego, CA

Sunday, August 30th, 2015

I first met Archie & Leo’s mom several months ago at the Helen Woodward Animal Center Puppy Love 5k event – and we just recently had the chance to get together for a photo session with her happy pups Archie & Leo! Archie is a Greater Swiss Mountain dog mix, and Leo is a beard collie/English sheepdog mix… as you might guess, they look absolutely nothing alike, but they’re inseparable best friends! From the moment they first met each other, as their mom explains, “they had no idea they weren’t actually brothers.” And it’s so funny to see them run & play; Archie is tennis-ball-obsessed and will run around fetching for hours (even fetching stray balls left behind in the bushes by other dogs!) and Leo simply wants to give his brother a hard time, so he runs around herding and barking at Archie nonstop! It’s the cutest thing to see… they each have such a distinct personality, but even though it’s the sort of thing that can’t quite be put into words, you can really tell that they’re meant to be together.

So in the spirit of brotherly love, this “sneak peek” blog post is going to be a little different than usual: I’m going to highlight these dogs’ close connection by picking images that all have both dogs posing together! We have some really cute individual photos, too… but these pups are a natural pair, so that’s how I want to introduce you to them! Here we go…!

Archie is on the left, and Leo on the right. (How gorgeous are Leo’s two different colored eyes?!)

I love the way these dogs look up to their family…

I’m so glad Archie & Leo’s mom introduced me to a beautiful new park! Debra & Alan: remember how I kept talking about the great light we had? THIS is what I was talking about! :)

Thanks, Debra & Alan (and Julian!) for a great photo session with your handsome dogs! I’m excited to show you the rest of our photos soon! :)

Tags: dogs, park, pet photography, pets, photography, San Diego, San Diego Dog Photographer, San Diego pet photography
Posted in pet photography | No Comments »

Second Sneak Peek for Cherry – German Shepherd Photos

Friday, August 14th, 2015

Well, if you’re a regular reader of my blog, you know that once in a blue moon I’ll do a second sneak peek for a client… it doesn’t happen very often, and honestly, it’s only because scheduling difficulties have interfered with my clients & I being able to get together for our Ordering Session in a timely manner! You see, most of my clients come in & see all their photos within a couple weeks of our photo session. That’s about how long it takes me to do all the digital post-processing & editing, making sure the images look their very best… but in this case, Cherry’s photo session was TWO MONTHS ago! Gah! Her parents have been traveling a bit this summer, so although we’re getting together in just a few days, I figured it would be fun to share a few more photos in the meantime! (Besides, who can ever get enough German shepherd photos?) :)

I know Cherry’s mom is looking forward to a few flower photos… this is definitely one of my favorites!

This is one gorgeous dog.

Haha! What a goofball!

Thanks for being so patient to see our photos, Beth & Ron! I’m looking forward to seeing you again soon! :)