But I can name them in this post! I had the pleasure of photographing the wonderful Stephens family several weeks ago (I know, I’m way behind!)  and let me tell you, there’s a reason why I call them “the family” and don’t reference them by their pets’ individual names. In fact, there are eight reasons. I think I’d run out of breath if I rattled off Rupert, Penelope, Bouncer, Oliver, Mulder, Scully, Trinity, and Emma every time I talk about them! Regardless, this is one fun family. The three cats (Rupert, Penelope, and Bouncer) have very distinct personalities, and I think you’ll see from the photos who is the playful one and who tends to brood- or at least was brooding during our session! The five dogs (Oliver, Mulder, Scully, Trinity, and Emma) have a great little area to play outside and inside, and overall are enjoying a great life, especially considering where several of them came from. Their owners (hi Teri & Danny!) have generously opened their doors to rescue after rescue, and it was extremely powerful to witness their love for one animal in particular who is still so uneasy in this amazing home, just because of her previous situation. So here is the blog post for this family; long in comparison to other posts, but short compared to what they deserve.

This is Mulder, the stoic of the group.

Oliver the standard poodle- very happy, and very curious about my camera!

Emma, the newest addition, playing with Scully.

Timid Trinity.

Did I mention Oliver liked my camera?

One of Teri’s favorite shots- “her boys”!

I’m not sure exactly what it was about these pets, but they really got my creative juices flowing. I tried this art-deco effect with Oliver- wait, is that even the right term? See, I’m way outside my comfort zone here! Thanks for helping me develop, Oliver :)

This shoot also really spoke to me in terms of collages. As much as I like these images on their own, for some reason they were calling me to be put together!

And then we took a trip to the studio…

I LOVE OLIVER’S STUDIO SHOTS. This is just one of my favorites. He’s an absolute natural in there!!

As you can see, all the dogs did very well in the unfamiliar environment of the studio. All except one: Trinity. She was petrified. But luckily, her fear made her freeze, which happens to be very useful for taking photographs! We ended up getting much better shots than this, but I had to include this one to show you how we started out. She wouldn’t even come out of her travel kennel! Only after plenty of coaxing from Mom were we able to get pictures that were any different from this one.

Whew, I think that’s 25 pictures! I’m not sure why I hesitated to put so many up- it’s only a few of each pet! Just the sheer volume of it all- hopefully it won’t bore you. I figure you’re not here to read my brilliant writing, anyway, right?  :)

Thanks again for a great session, Teri and Danny. As for the rest of you, are you wondering how you could get so many pictures of your pet(s) too? Sign up for my Great Dane package like they did!

I’ve got more updates and blog posts coming very soon. I was quiet for a couple of weeks, but no longer…