About

Tag: ‘mixed breed’



Photos with Swayze, the Mixed-Breed Senior Dog

Monday, May 15th, 2023
     

True to her namesake (yes, she is a girl), Swayze is a bundle of sweet, spunky energy! All that personality fits in a petite little package, and if it weren’t for the white fur on her face, you’d never guess that she’s a senior pup. Her mom, Nicky, asked me to photograph Swayze after having spent the last year or so in & out of veterinarians’ offices, battling various medical issues including cancer. So it was a bit bittersweet, but this session was also thoroughly FUN thanks to Swayze’s unstoppable spirit!

     


Nicky and I go way back: she’s one of the amazing people who run Shelter to Soldier, a wonderful nonprofit that rescues shelter dogs and pairs them with prior-military personnel who need service dogs. The trainers at Shelter to Solider need to be firm with their dogs in training, and their dogs turn out to be model service dogs, ridiculously good at their jobs. Since I’ve worked with StS for several projects, I wasn’t sure if I should expect the same kind of focused, intense energy I’ve seen with most service dogs in Swayze too – she’s not a service dog, but given who her mom is, I was curious what I’d find.

Well…Swayze was focused (on playing) and was intense (in her attitude). But that’s where the similarities end!

     


Not only is Swayze completely different than a service dog (even her service dog siblings!), I couldn’t help but laugh at her playfulness and attitude. She has clear opinions on when her toy should be thrown for her to fetch (NOW, and as often as possible.) Nothing about her personality reflects the fact that she’s of advanced age and has had far too many medical issues. Swayze literally bounced as she ran along the beach in her happiness, and we all loved watching her play. What a fun photo session! (Plus, it was a nice change of pace to be working with Nicky while at the same time photographing a non-service dog for once!) The truth is, it doesn’t matter whether dogs are extremely well-behaved or independently-minded in a photo session. The trick is to let dogs just be their happy, wonderful selves, and the rest is magic.

     

We were able to visit the military side of Coronado Dog Beach, which is more private and less crowded than the main beach. It was perfect for Swayze to just be… Swayze. :)

     
senior dog on beach
     
senior dog
     
silhouette dog on beach
     

Nicky, I’ll see you soon – I can’t wait to share the rest of our images with you!

Fae, Nyx, Quinzel & Slade – and the joy of repeat clients!

Friday, September 17th, 2021

I always love working with my clients, but I have to say – there’s something so special about photographing repeat clients! I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Scott & Patrisha’s pack before, so I was THRILLED when they contacted me recently to update their portraits! The first session we ever did included Buster, a wonderful dog who’s unfortunately no longer here. I thought of him during this recent photo session… but somehow this session was SO different than the ones we’ve done before! I got to photograph a mix of the “old” and “new” pack: Fae, Quinzel, and Nyx are the dogs I have photographed at least once in the past. It was so much fun to see how much they’d grown since their original photo sessions back in 2015 and 2016. Quinn and Nyx were just tiny puppies when I first met each of them, and it was so fun to see how much they’ve changed! The newest member of the pack is Slade, who brings an entirely new dynamic to the family. One of my favorite things about being in this business for so long is definitely being able to see families grow over the years. This family has certainly changed since we first met 6 years ago, and I couldn’t be more proud to have documented a few small slices of their lives!

     

Let me start with introducing Fae. She’s a total sweetheart and mama’s girl! Always happy and up for an adventure, I think she might take the title of “most adorable in the pack”. She also is the eldest now, but you wouldn’t know it: she isn’t bossy, just a sweet, happy-go-lucky girl! (And yes, her fur is just as cotton-candy-soft as it looks.)

repeat clients dog
     

Quinzel, who is named after Harley Quinn, takes “being part of the pack” to a new level. She is head over heels in love with her parents and siblings! She never wants to be without them; anytime she senses the pack might be leaving the house without her, she lets her opinion be known that that’s not acceptable. Ideally she’s literally touching someone at all times, haha! Quinn is a beautiful girl (with two different-colored eyes) and her brindle fur is gorgeous too.

repeat dog clients
     

This is Nyx: the guard dog! She has proudly stepped into the role of protector of the family. She takes her job seriously and – might I add – is very good at it! She warned us when other dogs were walking across another part of the park… so what would we have done without her?! She loves her family fiercely and is happy to be out exploring new places, but she never forgets her primary job which is to defend her pack. Fun fact: Nyx is pretty skeptical of you, until you walk her on the leash. Once you do that, her demeanor changes and she realizes that you must be okay after all!

repeat client dog
     

Last but not least, I get to introduce you to Slade! He is the puppy of the group with those goofy puppy ears to boot. He’s a handsome boy with beautiful, warm brindle coloring – and he has huge paws! Slade is just a total class clown, although you can really tell he looks up to his elder siblings. One of his favorite things to do is play fetch and run around like crazy! While he loves being a goofball, he is always down to snuggle too, especially with his dad. I’m so glad he found his way into this family… he really hit the jackpot!

new puppy
     

We had a great time during our photo session. I’m glad we had the chance to visit Fiesta Island, because we got to let the dogs run free and off-leash! It was wonderful to see them let loose and have a great time. And even more than that, it was nice to connect with them all again, and have the opportunity to celebrate what their family looks like today!

4 dogs on the beach
     

I’m looking forward to meeting their biggest dog, Lucca, later this month! (Just kidding… he’s a horse! I’m going out to the stables to photograph him and I can’t wait!) Patrisha and Scott, you two are wonderful, devoted parents to all your pups, and I am so honored to have been able to work with you again. See you soon at the studio very soon!

     

San Diego Dogs Harley & Mason

Thursday, December 3rd, 2020

Today on the blog I’ve got some portraits I’ve been so excited to share with you – featuring two adorable doggy brothers from San Diego, Harley & Mason! These boys are tough-looking dogs, but I’m going to spoil the surprise right now: they’re actually complete sweethearts. (Sorry, boys!) When I first spoke with their mom about planning their session, she came to me with a very specific vision for where she wanted to go, and the look she wanted for the session overall. I was pretty impressed, since that doesn’t happen very often – many of my clients have no idea what locations they’d like to visit! (Good thing I have a Location Guide for them to browse, ha!) But Harley & Mason’s mom knew exactly what she wanted and we were able to have fun planning all the details and expanding on her ideas. And I think we were able to create everything she envisioned!

That being said, the photo session turned out to be a fun & unique one – because no matter how much we planned ahead of time, the dogs wound up doing what they wanted to do, haha! This is totally okay, and one of the many reasons I love working with dogs: they are independent, honest, and sometimes (okay always) they have their own agenda. That’s just who they are and ya gotta love them for it! They still did a phenomenal job posing for the camera – especially Mason, that ham! :)

Our first location in Coronado – overlooking the San Diego skyline, an absolutely stunning spot – was a little tricky since the particular place I love requires a bit of obedience to get the best possible portraits. (It’s a smaller, more confined space than most of my session locations.) Luckily, their mom thought ahead – and rather than attempting to wrangle 150+ lbs of dogs all on her own, she brought along their walker to help! I’m so glad Robyn from Robyn’s Pet Care was able to join us because you can never have too much help. :) We were able to stretch their obedience skills and get some beautiful, very-San-Diego portraits of the boys!


dogs with san diego skyline


The next location we visited was truly special because it was in La Jolla, at the beach where Harley & Mason’s parents got married. I loved incorporating a location that was special to them & their family! And while we were there, I got to see more of how devoted Harley & Mason are to their parents. They way they were running around with their dad on the sand, with the biggest grins on their faces, always looking back at mom to check in – it was the sweetest thing! It’s not a location where I’ve done many photo sessions, but I’ll definitely be back because it turned out to be a picture perfect setting! Harley and Mason actually haven’t been to the beach too many times, but they seized the opportunity got to loosen up and stretch their legs! We finished up just as they were hitting their limit, so to speak, because all the sights and smells can get a little overwhelming, and I’d never want to push a dog beyond their comfort zone. Thankfully we were able to capture some beautiful moments without overstaying our welcome!


This is Harley – having a BLAST at the beach in La Jolla!

dog running on beach


And this is Mason, the younger brother, who was just as thrilled to be out in the ocean air.

dog at the beach


Mollie & Kevin, thank you so much for introducing me to your handsome boys! I’m excited to share the rest of our portraits with you very soon!

Simon and Aoife, Siblings

Wednesday, March 11th, 2020

“Siblings (n.) A combination of a best friend and a pain in the neck. They might be the most annoying people around you but you still love them endlessly.” – Anonymous

Simon and Aoife have what I would call the typical brother-and-sister relationship. Aoife is the older sister who seems to roll her eyes and put up with her brother’s antics, whereas Simon couldn’t be more of a younger brother – he’s mischievous, playful, and downright impish. (If Aoife could talk I think she’d agree with me, haha!)

Aoife is a mixed-breed terrier and has a beautiful Irish name, which is pronounced “EE-fah”. She was actually rescued off the streets of Mexico and adopted soon after her dad moved to the United States. It’s so cool to see the bond that Aoife and her dad have developed, since they’ve been together for quite some time now! She is about 13 years old now and is just a sweetheart with a calm, easygoing personality. You can tell that she’s very content and doesn’t need a lot of fancy things… just her dad. (And it’s good thing she’s such a happy girl naturally, because she doesn’t get to play with a lot of toys – her younger brother steals them all!)

Simon is a golden retriever and is the baby of the family at two and a half years old. If he can get away with it, he’ll do it. So even if he already has a great toy, any toy Aoife has (or is eyeing) is better and he feels the need to take it. Of course, right? And since he’s bigger, stronger, and faster, he can! But what I noticed about their relationship is that it’s not like he’s the boss or a bully to her – that’s not the dynamic at all. They actually get along great and accept each other for who they are as siblings. (Which is a pretty great lesson for people too!)

For our photo session, we started in the studio because their parents wanted that classic aesthetic; the studio lets dogs shine and brings out their natural beauty, with no visual distractions. Aoife is one of the most unique-looking, beautiful dogs I’ve ever worked with, so I was thrilled to get her in the studio! She is so photogenic and was happy to pose for us. We had to laugh, though, because their parents were sure that Simon was going to be the “difficult one”. He’s still a puppy and loves to be on the move, which is a recipe for being tricky to photography, but thank goodness: he’s very food-motivated! This helped tremendously and he actually turned out to the easier dog for me to work with! It was a funny surprise and we were all surprised at how well Simon did – really, how well both of them did – for their very first photo session.


We ended up with our fair share of “smiling” photos, but I couldn’t resist sharing this cute dual-head-tilt moment. (I must’ve made the weirdest sound just then, haha!)

dog siblings


mixed breed dog


We then moved onto Del Mar Beach and made the most out of some slightly cloudy weather! I think Simon may have been the happiest out of all of us since he got to let loose and had plenty of room to run around; he was living his best life. We all had a great time!


dog running on beach


dog sibling on the beach


dog with owner


Erika & David, thanks for such a fun afternoon! I’ll see you both again very soon!

Stoney the Shepherd Mix, at Mission Bay & Fiesta Island

Friday, February 28th, 2020

If I had to describe Stoney in one sentence, I’d say that he is an old soul and an explorer at heart. Where’s his happy place? Literally anywhere outdoors – the beach, the park, the backyard – it doesn’t matter! He just wants to be outside, and I think it’s because that’s the best place to let his wild spirit roam free. :) But as much as he loves the outdoors, he doesn’t love strangers – which isn’t a bad thing at all! He absolutely adores his parents and is very sweet with them, but it took time for them to earn his trust. Since he’s a little more timid with people he doesn’t know too well, we decided to have his entire photo session outside where he had plenty of room to roam – and where he’d be happiest, of course! It turned out to be a great decision and we had an amazing afternoon out at Mission Bay Park and then later at Fiesta Island!

Before the photo session, his parents warned me that Stoney would most likely want to spend the entire photo session sniffing the ground, and it might be a struggle to get him to do anything else. Happily that was not the case! They also didn’t think he would care about playing with toys, but all of a sudden he brought out his inner puppy and was playing fetch, chasing a tennis ball and running around! We were a little surprised, since he’s a senior dog and doesn’t kick it into high gear too often… but Stoney was full of cute surprises! (And I’m glad he didn’t spend the whole time with his nose to the ground, haha!)

After our quintessential-San-Diego start to our photo session in Mission Bay Park, we headed across the bay to Fiesta Island to catch the sunset. Stoney had a blast, and in fact maybe he had a little too much fun: at one point we decided to let him off-leash as we had trusted him (mostly!) for a game of fetch. Well… he ended up careening past where the ball stopped and kept running off into the sunset! He was probably going to sniff around and see if he could find any rabbits, but once his parents caught up to him the poor guy lost his freedom and was promptly back on-leash. :) Another fun fact about this sweet, old guy is that he used to have one floppy ear. I guess as he got older it kind of grew straighter, and his mom mentioned that she was hoping his one floppy ear would reappear for photos. Thankfully it came out for a few photos and he looked absolutely adorable! One thing’s for sure – straight ear or floppy ear, he’s a cutie. :)

Stoney was more than happy to just be with his parents during the photo session and it was so nice to see the way he interacted with them. They’ve clearly done a great job with him and have an amazing bond! It was such a wonderful, fun afternoon.

He really does look good with that trademark floppy ear. :)

shepherd mix san diego


Mission Bay Park was a great place to start our session – plenty of grass to run around & lounge in. Stoney took full advantage!

shepherd mix photo


Oh San Diego… you’re so beautiful. But you look even better with this handsome boy.

shepherd mix dog


Cathy and Adam, I can’t wait to share the images we captured with you! See you soon!

 

All Images Copyright | Blog Theme Created by LJP & SLR Lounge