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Archive: ‘pet photography’



Gracie, the Beautiful San Diego Saint Bernard

Sunday, March 22nd, 2015

I don’t know about you, but I love big dogs. There’s just something about their oversized paws, sweet eyes and low-hanging tongues that I can’t get enough of… so imagine my delight to meet Gracie! This San Diego Saint Bernard is actually a bit small for her breed – her mom calls her a “teacup St. Bernard”, haha – but she seems plenty big to me! She’s an easygoing dog with gorgeous eyes, and when she visited for her Pre-Session Consultation she was intent on emptying my studio toy basket in search of a nice, chewable bone! This silly girl (who was a surprise gift for her mom, and greeted her at the airport upon return from a business trip wrapped in a big bow, courtesy of her dad) is active in the community, too – she works as a therapy dog at local nursing homes! She’s a big hit (no pun intended… well, okay, I guess it was) with the senior citizens who light up when she comes to say hello – and her mom tells me that Gracie loves the work of being a therapy dog! She took to it completely naturally, even in puppyhood, and I’m so honored to have met this lovely girl. I know she’s destined for big things! (Okay, okay, I’ll stop with the “big” jokes.)

 

Are you serious, Gracie?! How cute can you get??

saint bernard photo

 

 … posing for photos is hard work…

st bernard dog photo

 

 I’m pretty sure Gracie wanted to get up close and personal with my treat bag! It was pretty funny to see her eat the treats we’d give her – they’re the Zuke’s Mini Naturals bite-sized ones, and they’d get lost in her jowls as she attempted to eat them from my hands! I like using small treats in sessions, so the dogs don’t fill up on them – but in this case they were a bit too small! I think I owe Gracie a few Saint Bernard-sized treats, haha!

St. Bernard dog

 

Jodi, thanks for a wonderful afternoon with your gorgeous girl! I can’t wait to show you the rest of our photos soon! :)

 

La Mesa Pet Photography with Bimmer, Laila & Leo

Tuesday, March 17th, 2015

I’m so happy to introduce you to this beautiful pack of dogs! I shared a La Mesa pet photography session with Bimmer, Laila & Leo recently, and I call them a “pack” on purpose because that’s exactly what they are: an inseparable group of best friends! Honestly, it was pretty darn cute when we started out working with just Leo, the youngest of the bunch, all by himself… and he simply wouldn’t have it! He kept racing back over to the house to see when his older siblings would be joining us! So while their close-knit bond made our “individual” photos a little bit tougher to come by, haha, we had an absolute blast playing in the backyard all together! These pups take fetch seriously! And it was adorable to see the routine patterns they’d worked out amongst themselves, each time the ball was thrown: Bimmer would only go for the ball if it came his way, whereas pups Laila & Leo ran at breakneck speed to get the ball, wherever it was, and they’d just end up in a wrestling match at the end of every toss anyway! :)

So we shared a lovely afternoon with perfectly soft light in their backyard, and amidst the chaos of balls, treats, toys, and three big dogs running in every direction, I think we ended up with some great images!

 

Here’s big old man Bimmer (pronounced “bee-mer”)! He’s a gorgeous golden retriever with a stunning red coat and beautiful, soulful eyes. His parents say that he’s enjoying a “second puppyhood” since they made the introduction of his younger brother, Leo, to the family – and I believe it! He has such a fun spirit!

la mesa pet photo

 

This pretty girl is Laila! She’s a cream-colored golden retriever, and I’d say she’s the calmest of the bunch, relatively speaking… but when she gets going, watch out! This girl is fast! What a beauty.

la mesa pet photography

 

And this handsome boy is Leo (short for Leonardo)! He’s still a puppy, and simply can’t get enough of playing with his older brother & sister. (And yes, that’s grass on his tongue! Haha!)

la mesa dog photographer

 

 

Dee & Pat, I’m so glad you saw my portraits hanging up in Hairy & Merry, because I had such a great time at our photo session & getting to know you both! I’m excited to show you the rest of our images soon! :)

 

Vista Pet Photography with Colt the Beagle & Brandi the Shih Tzu/Yorkie Mix!

Monday, March 16th, 2015

I recently shared a Vista pet photography session with two adorable subjects: Colt the beagle and Brandi the shih tzu/Yorkie mix! These pups were so much fun to work with: Brandi is a 10-year-old girl who looks like she’s 100% shih tzu, but her parents insist there’s Yorkie in her heritage too! (I couldn’t tell, haha!) :)  She was happy to participate in our photo session for all the yummy treats I was doling out, but she definitely has a bit more reserved personality than her brother, Colton. He’s a 4-year-old beagle and a hilarious, mischievous little man! He was quick to jump into action, try and steal the treats I was giving his sister, bark at any dog that dared walk by… he definitely kept me laughing for our whole session! I’ll keep today’s post all about the dogs, but I can’t wait to eventually share a few family photos from this session too – I know we got some super-cute ones, and I just loved working with this little family! :)

 

Here is Colt! Believe it or not, this was the very first frame out of my camera from the day- can’t you tell by that smile that he’s planning on getting into trouble in the immediate future? :)

vista ca dog photo

 

And here’s his older (but smaller) sister, Brandi! She’s such a cutie!

vista pet photos

 

… and she’s quite the poser, too!

vista pet photography

 

And finally, I can’t resist sharing this one of Colt & his dad – they love each other so much, and I just loved watching them play together! (Especially the paw on dad’s face in the background, haha!)

vista pet photography

 

 

Sarah & Luis, thank you for introducing me to your dogs (and that cute park near your house)! I’m excited to see you again soon!

 

Beatrice the Min Pin and Bruno the Chihuahua, in Balboa Park

Friday, March 13th, 2015

I’m so excited to share a few photos with you from my Balboa Park photo session with Beatrice & Bruno, the miniature pinscher & chihuahua! Our session had a rather eventful beginning, to be honest with you – Beatrice the 5-year-old min pin decided that she wanted nothing to do with the studio. So instead of forcing it, we decided to let her be the boss, and we packed up and headed for Balboa Park! (I tell all my clients that their dogs will basically be in charge of how the session goes – and this time, Beatrice put my promise to the test, haha!) We’d much rather have a happy dog than a nervous & stressed one, and changing locations was a simple fix – both dogs were immediately much more comfortable in the wide open spaces of Balboa Park!

So we had a wonderful time walking around several different areas of Balboa Park, finding all the best scenery to pose with, watching the birds fly overhead, monitoring the ducks in the lily pond (and the koi fish! a new discovery!), and I just love the images that we never would have created otherwise! Beatrice had fun playing with the tennis balls I brought (successfully de-squeaking one of them), and Bruno enjoyed exercising a bit of newfound confidence by barking at every dog that passed by… so, all in all, it was definitely a fun day! :)

 

This is Beatrice! Isn’t she gorgeous?

balboa park san diego

 

I just love her bright eyes & pretty coloring… add in all the natural colors of Balboa Park, and I just can’t get enough!

balboa park dog photo

 

And here’s Bruno, a natural poser for the camera…

chihuahua balboa park

 

… and an adorable playmate!

balboa park photo session

 

Heather, thank you so much for being flexible on the “plan” for our photo session! I can’t wait to get together with you again soon!

 

Mission Bay Pet Photography Session with Karma & Kody!

Tuesday, March 10th, 2015

I shared a super-fun Mission Bay pet photography session with Karma & Kody recently! And I’ll be honest, I knew action photos would be a huge focus of our session as soon as I met these pups: they’re bursting with energy! (In a good way, of course!) Kody is a 4-year-old Aussie, and Karma is a pit bull that’s a few years older but just as quick on her feet. These dogs love wrestling, playing, and running around on a daily – really, hourly – basis, and they’re best friends, so it’s adorable to see them have a good time together. I loved photographing their smiling faces as they romped around Mission Bay Park and Fiesta Island! And what’s even more fun: these dogs are friends with Bailey the rottweiler! I LOVE working with referral clients, so this session was especially fun for me! :)

 

This is Kody! We started out our session by running around quite a bit, and he was happy to oblige!

mission bay san diego

 

And this is his gorgeous sister, Karma! Would you look at those eyes!

mission bay pet photo

 

 Both dogs love the water, so we headed across the bay for a bit of beach time…

mission bay pet photos

 

 … where Karma showed me her backflip! This is one athletic dog! And this image is just one of several favorites I’m finding as I scroll through the photos I took in quick succession, as she turned Fiesta Island into her aerial playground…

mission bay pet photography

 

 

Jeremy & Joanne, thank you for an action-packed afternoon! I can’t wait to show you the rest of our photos soon! :)

 

 

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