Hooray! I’m so excited! Today (June 15, 2014) is the one-year anniversary celebration of signing the lease and getting the keys to 3251 Adams Avenue, the location that I picked for my studio here in San Diego!  I can hardly believe it’s been a whole year of living & doing business in America’s Finest City… and honestly, compared to this moment last year, it feels like a lot has changed. I actually have friends in town, haha (we moved here without knowing anyone!), I have an employee (yay for Haley!), and an entirely new marketing plan for this changing & growing business. Sometimes it’s easy to look back and only see the challenges that I’ve faced along the way – because it hasn’t been an easy ride – but there have been lots of little victories too! And today is for celebrating those moments and clients that have been the inspiration behind Allison Shamrell Pet Photography‘s first year in San Diego!

First things first: the prizes up for grabs! I have First Place, Second Place and Third Place goodies for a few very lucky winners! Drumroll please…

This is The Beagle Package, as outlined on the main website, and the only “catch” is that it has to take place in the Embarcadero, just south of Seaport Village! This is a location that I’ve been dying to photograph ever since moving here and seeing it for the first time – the well-kept grass, the big old trees, the striking city skyline in the background – I think it’ll be an incredibly dynamic place for a session, so I’m treating one lucky first-place winner and their dog(s) to this $175 value!

(This session covers one hour of session time & up to two dogs. More dogs and/or time can be added on for an additional fee.)

And the next prize…

This is another BIG prize, and it’s for TWO winners! It brings the cost of The Beagle Package down to just $75, for example… or you can spend it on products after your Dalmatian Package, which already comes with $100 in print credit, for a total product credit of $200! And with this, you’ll have the flexibility to go anywhere in San Diego for your session – whether you’d prefer your house, my studio, your dog’s favorite park, or anywhere in between. If you met me at the big San Diego Humane Society Walk for Animals event a few weeks ago, you know this is the same prize that a lucky drawing winner scored that day!

And the final prize…

This is a lovely fine art print, 8×10″ in size, that’s mounted to styrene (a firm, acid-free backing material) that helps the print stay strong & flat. The styrene adds thickness, so you can either place this print in a frame, or prop it up on an easel for even simpler display! Either way, it’s a beautiful piece with the quote “Dogs are not our whole lives, but they make our lives whole” by Roger Caras. And guess what: the design will be revealed on the Facebook page tomorrow, so be sure to “like” the page to see the finished piece! THREE people can win this prize!

Here’s how to enter: 

Simply leave a comment on this blog post with your name, your pet’s name(s), their breed(s), and why you want to win! 

Win a bonus entry by sharing this blog post on Facebook, too! Just leave a separate comment saying that you did so.

The final drawing will happen on Tuesday, June 17 at 5:00 pm, and winners will be contacted via email.

Good luck!

In addition to planning this giveaway, I’ve been reflecting a bit, too. Back when I first got the keys to the studio, I wrote a blog post which you can see here about how excited I was for the future, and everything else I was going through. Part of that post says:

I’m feeling a lot of different emotions right now – probably what every photographer that’s opened a studio goes through. I’m scared the space won’t live up to the ideas I have in my head if I can’t decorate it well enough. I’m scared for my upcoming bill at Home Depot. I’m scared that the investment will start to weigh on me. I’m scared of a break-in. But at the same time, I’m so excited to have a space in the community where I can invite people, clients & dogs over! I’m excited to be able to simply say, yes, I have a studio! I’m excited to decorate & design it, and I’m excited to have a place that can do everything I need it for: client meetings, shoots, ordering sessions, etc. Honestly, I’m a little bit excited to separate my business life from my personal life, because – not gonna lie – my time-management skills could use a bit of work (coughfacebookcough) and I think having limited access to my files at home might be just the push I need to be as productive as possible while working.

Looking back, I’m happy to say that the studio has lived up to the ideas I had in my head. The investment was a big one, and my Home Depot bills certainly added up, but all the progress slowly came to a close, and now I’m proud for my clients to visit my San Diego studio on a daily basis. Not to mention – I’ve met some incredible pets and seen some great photo sessions happen here! Check out just a few of the animals I’ve worked with this year, in & out of the studio:

So of course, there’s no other way I can finish this blog post than by profusely thanking the clients that I’ve had the pleasure of meeting this past year. There would be no anniversary celebration without you. Thank you – each of you – for everything, because while I feel honored to have given you memories & artwork of your family, I feel like you’ve given me so much more. Thank you.

Tags: San Diego, San Diego Dog Photographer, San Diego pet photography, studio