I couldn’t have asked for a sweeter family to work with than the Stone family! They were such a pleasure to get to know, and during the session they were up for anything! I really appreciated how they were willing to go with the flow and listen to what the dogs needed and wanted to do during our time together. I always try to go into photo sessions with a plan, but often times the plan simply falls apart – which is nobody’s fault of course, that’s just dogs being dogs doing what they want to do! (And usually we end up with something much better than my plan anyway, haha!) But their willingness to just “roll with it” made this photo session a whole lot of fun. Maybe that made things a little chaotic at times, but I think this session serves as proof that sometimes it doesn’t look like much is “happening” to the bystander; it probably doesn’t feel or seem like we’re creating artwork. But oftentimes all the elements come together in the final images, and I am definitely loving these results!

They chose a great spot in Mira Mesa that I’ve never been to before (which was super exciting for me, haha)! It was a community park that was totally deserted – so. much. fun. We were able to play fetch on the baseball field, run around in the grass, and watch the dogs just let loose!

Daisy is the only girl of the pack – girl power! She is a little fireball and is the one who likes to live life at HIGH speed. She was super excited to be at the Mira Mesa park to play fetch. And oh man… she can really move! I was totally impressed by her athleticism. If I had to guess, I think playing fetch and running around in the empty field was her favorite part of the afternoon by far. This girl loves her tennis balls!

And Daisy wanted to make sure you know how much she loves chasing her ball – so here she is just moments after the above image!

Her brother Hank is a little cutie too! He is a Chihuahua mix and allllll personality. He has this sweet-and-sometimes-sassy little attitude that somehow comes through no matter what he’s doing. He is not shy about what he wants and doesn’t want! And he was a joy to be around, even if he did keep me on my toes. :)

And last but certainly not least, they recently adopted a new dog named Rusty. He is a beagle who has lived his whole life in a laboratory. Unfortunately, beagles get tested on a lot for different products, and Rusty hasn’t had the easiest or happiest life. The good news is is that these days if he’s enjoying himself you can hardly even tell what he’s been through! He’s a total sweetheart and really enjoys being around people. He’s happy when meeting new people and a lot of things are going on and he gets to be social and explore. I love that about him – talk about giving the world a second chance despite what has been done to him! I think he is just amazing and so is his family for adopting him and giving him a life full of love. He’s fitting in really well with his new family – in fact, he has been given the award of #1 couch potato! If he can’t be out meeting new people, his idea of a good time is sitting on the couch, relaxing. (Can’t say I blame him, haha!) So the fact that we were out in the park in Mira Mesa for a photo session… nottttt really high on his priority list. He was a little slow to get into the rhythm of things – but as soon as we got to Balboa Park he absolutely came alive! His tail was just wagging and he was even “high stepping” a little bit. It was an immediate difference – so cool to see!

Thank you Katherine and Neil for a lovely afternoon with your 3 amazing dogs! I can’t wait for you to see all of our images soon!