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Archive: ‘pet photography’



Kona the Action Superstar

Friday, November 8th, 2019

Kona is such a sweet and incredibly fun dog to be around! She is a year-and-a-half-old German shorthaired pointer and labrador mix, and for those of you who know about those breeds… let’s just say energy mixed with energy = a crazy good time! :)

We had a lot of fun letting Kona release some (a tiny fraction, probably) of her energy during our photo session. This girl is ball obsessed – to the point where she simply doesn’t want to give the ball back. Ever. Her parents tried to warn me that she wouldn’t want to give it back to us… did I listen? Nope. After the very first time I asked her dad to throw it, she was running around refusing to give it back. Happy as a clam. For quite a while! Until… a big bag of treats magically came out of my camera bag and she finally dropped the ball for a moment, which was just long enough for me to grab it. Whew!

We started the photo session out at Kate Sessions Park which overlooks San Diego – a very picturesque spot! After that, we headed to the beach in La Jolla for even more action photos, and Kona happily obliged! The moments of action might have been my favorite parts of our session, because shooting action is actually how I started out my photography career – with sports photography, in fact! And Kona certainly gave me a run for my money, because she doesn’t have a “jogging” or a “trotting” speed – it’s only MAXIMUM SPEED with her, haha!

I also want to take a second to compliment her parents – they have done an amazing job with training. It’s obvious that they’ve done a lot because Kona has great commands, and it can be really hard to train willful dogs. I was really impressed by her obedience – except when we’d ask her to sit and stay, after about 4 seconds she gets lazy and just plops down. Whether it was on the wet sand at the beach, on the grass, or on the pavement. It was hilarious! She is a cutie and a good girl who’s happy to work for treats. Let’s be honest though, she probably would have preferred the ball. ;)


A rare moment of calm… you gotta admit, she’s a beautiful dog!

german shorthaired pointer mix


I love it when she lets loose!

running dog photo


This girl is an athlete.

amazing action dog photo


A beautiful dog, a beautiful beach… what’s not to love?

action silhouette dog photo


After having to reschedule our photo session twice due to weather, I’d say the third time is the charm! It was definitely worth the wait because (as you can see) everything came together perfectly. Clare & Connor, I’ll see you two again soon!

A Bittersweet Photo Session with Huxley and Gibson

Wednesday, November 6th, 2019

Are you ready? A dose of beautiful & bittersweet is coming your way. You see, Huxley the Great Dane was recently diagnosed with cancer, and he doesn’t have much time left with his parents and little brother. Luckily, I was able to carve out some time in my schedule to meet with them soon after talking with his mom for the first time about a month ago. It’s not easy to squeeze in last-minute sessions this time of year, since it’s my busy season, but I always leave holes in my shooting calendar just for emergencies like this. I’m sad that I met this fun family under these heartbreaking circumstances, but at least (miraculously) the weather was absolutely perfect, almost as if the weather gods knew that we might not have time to reschedule.

We started out at Presidio Park in San Diego. Although the natural incline of the park proved to be a little tough on Huxley’s back legs, he handled it like a champ! He was having a good time and only wanted to hang out with his brother, Gibson, and of course his parents. We found a nice, relatively flat spot in the park under the shade of a huge tree that was perfect for portraits. After some time there, we headed over to Fiesta Island. Huxley LOVES Fiesta and so does Gibson! Right after getting out of the car, you could immediately tell there was a difference with Huxley as he was more comfortable and walking easier & faster. It was familiar territory which made him happy and in return made all of us happy. It was great that we were able to be flexible and arrive there earlier than we were originally planning, rather than pushing him too hard to stay at the park longer than he wanted to. It’s SO important that pets feel as comfortable as possible during their session. As a result everyone has a better time!

Gibson on the other hand? You can’t push him too hard, haha! He’s a total puppy compared to his older brother! He’s a rescued Tijuana street dog, a doberman/labrador mix and a ball of energy! He just wanted to run around, chase his ball, have a blast, and play with tug-of-war with his brother on the beach. It was so funny to watch him scramble around and jump and hustle to play tug with a new toy with Huxley, the Great Dane, who just… stands there. Almost motionless. Haha! Sorry Gibson, but it’s hilarious to watch. Their parents let me know that they usually bring their favorite “stick log” that they found one day at Fiesta Island and bring back to let the boys play with it there. But even though they didn’t get to play with their stick log, they had a blast with the ball! This truly is their happy place and you could tell that Huxley was in his element. The dogs usually swim with their lifejackets, and although we didn’t let Huxley fully go swimming this time we were able to capture some really playful portraits!

This was just a beautiful afternoon for Huxley and his family. I know they have hard times coming up, and Gibson is really going to miss his big brother. We ended up with some amazing portraits to remember him by. I feel so honored to have been a part of this photo session, and I know his parents will cherish these moments for a very long time.


This is Huxley. Isn’t he handsome?!

great dane dog


I don’t think Gibson has an “off” button. He just goes!

happy dog at fiesta island


It’s your world, Hux. We just live in it.

great dane at fiesta island


Melissa & Chris, thank you so much for introducing me to your sweet boys. I’m looking forward to showing you the rest of our images soon!

Buster the 10-Year-Old Staffy Mix

Friday, October 18th, 2019

I am so happy to introduce you to Buster! He’s a 10-year-old American Staffordshire terrier mix, a total sweetheart, super easy-going, and an as-long-as-my-mom’s-here-I’m-happy kind of dog. He and his mom actually live just a few blocks away from my studio, and that’s where we started our photo session! But after a few minutes we noticed he was somewhat uncomfortable, and just not loving the studio. He was trying his best – but it was clear that it simply wasn’t the ideal place to be. So we decided to adjust our plans and head to Balboa Park shortly into our session – which turned out to a great thing for him! He really came alive in the wide-open environment and it was almost like his head was on a swivel, taking it all in. He was ready to be on guard for his mom (watching verrrrry closely the families playing on the nearby playground, haha!) and it was too cute!

And my favorite part? Our timing was perfect when we arrived; the lighting was absolutely gorgeous. We headed over to a little corner of the park where it was relatively quiet, and he did some more of his favorite pose (laying down). He is 10 years old after all, so we cut him some slack, haha! He did some walking around and even did a little jogging with his mom. (Be forewarned: you might get a workout in the middle of your photo session!) And Buster never gave us any trouble because his mom brought his faaaaavorite treat – chicken! So as long as he had his mom and his chicken, he was a happy boy! :)

Overall, we had a really relaxing and peaceful photo session. Buster is doing great even though his mom is starting to see signs of his age. (You gotta love how healthy mutts tend to be! Buster’s staffy mix heritage is certainly doing him favors these days.) She wanted to get this photo session on our calendars before anything takes a turn, which I think is a perfect idea. I was thrilled to be able to do this for them and can’t wait to show off the rest of his portraits at his ordering session!


staffy mix dog photo


staffy mix dog walking


staffy dog


See you soon, Cynthia! Give that handsome boy a hug for me in the meantime!


Rupert the Fetch Machine

Friday, October 11th, 2019

Meet Rupert, the happiest dog ever! Get this: his 2 favorite things (besides his parents, of course) are playing fetch with his ball and having his picture taken. Whether the picture-taker is a professional like me or it’s just a quick cell phone pic, he knows what’s happening and he loves it. So imagine his joy as he spent the afternoon playing with his ball AND having his photo taken… Rupert’s day was made. I’m pretty sure he was on cloud 9 during his entire photo session – and he was simply a dream to work with!

We started at San Dieguito County Park and we played fetch amongst the grass and the fall leaves. Rupert was just so funny; it was almost like he couldn’t believe we were there to just play fetch and take photos! He looked at me several times as if to say, “really? We’re just here to do THIS?!” And at one point when I wanted to take a family portrait, he decided it was better timing for a belly rub. He flipped himself over with a big ol’ smile on his face looking at his parents, having decided that plan was much better than my plan! He had everyone laughing!

After the park, we headed to Windansea Beach down in La Jolla. I’m so glad we did, so we could capture the distinctive rock formations on the beach that are very much a part of the La Jolla coastline. Rupert continued to have an amazing time splashing in the water, chasing his ball and shaking off every time he got wet. Each time he fetched, I asked his dad to throw the ball towards me so we could capture Rupert running towards the camera. And I have to say, I’m impressed – he did a surprisingly good job of running SO hard at me and yet swerving at the very last moment without touching me! There were several times where I thought oh this is it. we’re going to collide. and it’s gonna hurt… but he never did! He avoided me with the deftness of a cheetah, swinging his tail and barely missing me every time (despite the fact that my life flashed before my eyes at least once). His athleticism was off the charts – he may be 6 years old, but he doesn’t act a day over 1!


Did I mention how handsome he is?!

black dog photo


Occasionally he took a break from running around like a maniac…


black labrador dog


Beach = fetch, for Rupert. If he’s not chasing the ball, is there even a point to being there?!


dog playing fetch


I had an amazing time laughing with Rupert and his parents! I’m looking forward to showing them his photos soon!

Harley and Molly – A Mid-Year Update of their Puppy Plans!

Tuesday, October 8th, 2019

You guys… I can’t get enough of these Puppy Plan sessions!! I wanted to give an update on Molly and Harley since they’ve both have had their second round of photo sessions now. Which means they are officially more than halfway through the year and growing so fast! It’s been so much fun working with them so far. I can’t wait for you to see how much they’ve changed already! I’m definitely looking forward to their 3rd session as fully grown dogs, and we’ll do that when they are a year old. For the meantime, here are some cute photos of the first two portrait sessions where you can already see some major changes happening. The best part? I love that their parents will be able to look back and remember all of the fluffy cuteness from the beginning!

First up is little miss Molly! She’s an adorable mixed breed dog who lives in the Olivenhain neighborhood of Encinitas. I love that we were able to do both photo sessions in her backyard as it keeps the environment consistent and the only thing that changes is Molly. You can really see how she grows because of that!




Just a few months later…





Rest assured, she’s keeping that killer head tilt! :)



Okay, ready for more? This is Harley, a Saint Bernard puppy. I’m so glad I got to meet her when she was just about 10 weeks old. She was so tiny and fluffy! As you can see, she was an absolute doll in the studio. :)






… and this is big, huge Harley at 7 months old! (I know she’s a St. Bernard, but still! She’s sooooo much bigger!) I can’t believe she still has more growing left to do, haha! We visited a totally different location for her second session, and I know her family loved having a new setting to change things up as she grows.






Aren’t these girls gorgeous?! Stay tuned, and I’ll be sharing photos of both Molly and Harley from their next Puppy Plan photo session when they’re each 1 year old!

 

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