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Marley and Millie – Pit Bull Mixes from University Heights

Thursday, September 26th, 2019

All of my photo sessions are special to me, but I have to be honest, this one was extra special… because I actually photographed Marley back in 2014!! I feel absolutely honored to have the opportunity to catch up with clients and be invited back to take more photos years later. Plus, since the last time I saw Marley and her mom, they’ve added a new addition to their family: Millie!

Marley is a calm, happy dog who takes pretty much everything in stride. Millie is also a brindle pit bull mix, like her sister, but is quite the opposite when it comes to personality! And even though we met at the pre-session consultation, she was still nervous and on edge when I arrived at their house on the day of the photo session. But after a bit of coaxing & patience, she eventually warmed up to me (allowing us to get some amazing portraits) and towards the end of the photo session she was following me around, asking for more treats & attention! It just goes to show that even with dogs that have “stranger danger” tendencies, we can still have a great photo session together. :)

And after an unfortunate overcast-sky-delay, the second half of our photo session was at La Jolla beach where we had a great time! Marley’s MO was just to meet other people & dogs, walk around and sniff everything. She was a happy girl just doing her thing. Millie, on the other hand, found it necessary to be playing fetch with the ball out into the water. And sprinting around the beach like a madwoman! That girl seriously loves the waves! I know you’ll enjoy this sneak peek of photos from their session – and their moms have plenty more images to see very soon!

Sweet Marley. Gettin’ scratches.

Millie is a puppy compared to Marley – and has the energy level to prove it, haha!

They would be great guard dogs if they weren’t so darn sweet.

What good pups you two are. Gah, those faces!

Sarah & Trish, I’m excited to see you again soon! Give your girls a hug for me in the meantime! :)

Tags: backyard, mixed breed, pet photographer, pet photography, pit bull, San Diego Dog Photographer, San Diego pet photography, university heights
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Ava & Lacey, Black Dogs from San Diego

Friday, September 29th, 2017

I absolutely loved my photo session with Ava & Lacey – I’m so excited to introduce them to you! :)

Ava & Lacey are black dogs who live in Santee with their mom. Ava is the older sister and Lacey is definitely the puppy of the family; they have very different personalities but I can’t think of them any other way than as the perfect pair. Ava is a sweet, slow-moving girl with fluffy soft fur and the most gorgeous brown eyes. (Her name is pronounced “aw-vuh” like “avocado” – because she was found in a field of avocado trees as a puppy!) And when her mom was ready to bring another dog home, believe it or not, Ava picked out Lacey as a sister! Their mom made sure Ava had just as much voice as she did in picking out a younger sister from the shelter – and Lacey was Ava’s first choice. (I know, it’s the cutest thing you’ve EVER heard. It was for me, at least!) Lacey is a shorthaired labrador mix with matching jet-black fur, several years younger than Ava but just as loving & happy. They’re very different dogs, but they both love the same things: trips to the park, tennis balls, and of course their mom. We had so much fun during their photo session!

One of their mom’s priorities for our session was to capture some “black on black” images. Photographing black dogs on a black studio backdrop can be tricky – but I love how these portraits turned out! This is Ava, posing like a total pro already.

Lacey has pretty much mastered the head tilt for treats. (And it was so cute – every time I’d take a few photos, she would get up from whatever pose she was in and run around the studio excitedly, as if to say “yay we took more photos!” I called it her victory lap, haha – she did it a dozen times, it was adorable!)

For the second part of our session – for a bit of COLOR – we headed to Old Poway Park and ran around in the sunlight together!

This bright red railway car against the gorgeous fur of these black dogs? Yes please!

Puja, thank you so much for introducing me to your girls! I can’t wait to show you the rest of our photos soon! :)

Tags: dogs, park, pet photography, pets, photography, pit bull, San Diego, San Diego Dog Photographer, San Diego pet photography, studio
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Jaz the American Pit Bull Terrier (Photos)

Tuesday, September 6th, 2016

I don’t usually make generalizations, but there’s only one way to describe Jaz: he’s the wiggliest, happiest, and most bursting-with-energy pit bull I’ve ever met!

Jaz is a handsome American pit bull terrier, with gorgeous red & white coloring, and a super-big smile that seems to be permanently stuck on his face! He was such a joy to work with… seriously, this pup had me laughing throughout the entire photo session. And although you’d think he was 7 months old, with all his jumpy bouncy overflowing energy, he’s actually 7 years old! His mom adopted him when he was just about 1, and they’ve been incredibly close ever since. She’s done a great job containing & training his boundless energy, and it’s so sweet to see the way he looks at her, since he knows she’d do anything for him (and the feeling is mutual). Oh, and this is my favorite fun fact about Jaz: his favorite treat is cream cheese – ideally from a little Philadelphia single-serving packet – and I’m pretty sure he’d walk over hot coals and jump though fire to get a few licks!

We started our session at Presidio Park in San Diego, where Jaz “protected” us from the city’s parks department truck and a few people out for their morning walk. We had a great time running around in the park, and after burning off a bit of energy there, we headed back to the studio for a few portraits on each of my various backdrops. Jaz was a great sport and so was his mom – I had a blast with both of them!

I just love Jaz’s happy, bright, goofy face.

We had a great time in the park! See what I mean? :)

We found plenty of red brick to coordinate with Jaz’s handsome red coloring…

… and we finished up in the studio. I know his mom was especially looking forward to the black-backdrop photos, and I have to agree with her! I love the way Jaz pops out of the background!

Valarie, I’m so happy to have finally met your handsome boy! Thank you so much for introducing me to him, and I’ll talk to you soon!

Tags: dogs, pet photography, pets, photography, pit bull, San Diego, San Diego Dog Photographer, San Diego pet photography, studio
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Best of 2015 – San Diego Pet Photography

Sunday, January 24th, 2016

Are you ready for this? I cannot WAIT to share these images with you! :) :)

2015 was an incredible year for my business: I met incredible people, fantastic dogs, and had a BLAST doing what I absolutely love to do! I’ll always be able to look back on 2015 with a big smile on my face, because although it had its ups and downs (just like any year), I have to admit that there were way more “ups” and happy times than anything else. So of course I couldn’t properly say goodbye to one of the most amazing years of my life without a “Best of” blog post – because I want to share a tiny fraction of how GREAT this year was with you! So I really feel like this blog post contains a piece of my heart… not to wax poetic, but the people and dogs in these photos really do mean the world to me, and I’ll always be grateful that we crossed paths in 2015. Did all these sessions go 100% smoothly? Nope! (Hello rain delays!) Did all these dogs really love being in front of the camera? Definitely not! (Some adored being the center of attention, and some definitely took some warming up!) But I think we still ended up with spectacular results from each & every session, and to me, that’s the most important thing, because then my clients can walk away happy. And I think they all did! :)

So here are all the pets I photographed in full-length photo sessions in 2015. I picked out my 3 favorite images from each session – not the easiest thing to do!! – and for the sake of simplicity, I refrained from sharing the details of each pet’s story here, but you can always search the blog for details on any pet if you’re curious.

3ee the Belgian Malinois, from San Diego

Aberdeen the service dog (golden retriever/labrador mix), from San Diego

Aberdeen came back for a second session this year! Yay- I LOVED seeing this dog twice as often! :)

Albert the Scottie, from San Diego

Sadly, Albert is no longer with us today. He is deeply missed.

Archie & Leo, the Greater Swiss Mountain dog mix and the bearded collie/Old English sheepdog mix, from San Diego

Azula & Apollo, cats from San Diego

Beatrice & Bruno, the min pin & chihuahua, from San Diego

Berkeley, the Dutch shepherd, from San Diego

Bimmer, Laila & Leo, the golden retrievers & labrador, from San Diego

Brandi & Colt, the yorkie/shih tzu mix and beagle, from Vista

Briley & Gunner, the weimaraner & German shepherd, from Encinitas

Buster, Fae, Leland & Nyx, mixed breed dogs and cat, from San Diego

Cherry the German shepherd, from San Diego

Colin the mixed breed dog, from San Diego

Cooper & Sophie, mixed breed dogs, from San Diego

Daisy, the beagle/bulldog mix, from San Diego

Daisy the boxer, from San Diego

Dippy, Lulu & Bentley, mixed-breed dogs & cockapoo, from San Diego

Duke the mixed-breed dog, from San Diego

Unfortunately, Duke passed away soon after his session took place. He was such a good boy…

Emerson, Russell & Bells, the labrador and cattle dog & labrador mixed breed dog, from Ramona

Gaston the French bulldog, from San Diego

Gracie the St. Bernard, from San Diego

Howie & Bernie, boxers, from San Marcos

Indy & Molly, the golden retriever & Great Pyrenees mix, from San Diego

Karma & Kody, the pit bull & Australian shepherd, from San Diego

Keiko the dachshund, from San Diego

Lexie, Gunther, Chase & Aurora, German shepherds & Belgian Malinois dog, from San Diego

Louisa & Brutus, standard poodles, from San Diego

Chia & Lucy, sphynx cats, from San Diego & Temecula

Madison the labrador/shepherd mix, from San Diego

Marina the pit bull/husky mix, from San Diego

Mariposa, Benny & Sprocket, the papillon & papillon mixes, from San Diego

Marlow, Cielow & Darla, the German short-haired pointer, husky, and pointer mix, from San Diego

Marlow had a pretty serious health scare just before our session, but thankfully, he’s healthy & happy today!

Mindy the Yorkie, from El Cajon

Mr. Higgins the labrador, from La Jolla

Mr. Smith the miniature poodle, from San Diego

Myers & Morgan, maltipoos, from San Diego

Oliver the Jack Russell terrier, from San Diego

Oscar the soft-coated Wheaten terrier, from Rancho Bernardo

Oscar & Bruce, labradors, from La Jolla

Pele & Alaska, service dogs (labrador/golden retriever mixes), from Escondido

Penny the rat terrier, from San Diego

Porkchop & Applesauce, domestic longhair and domestic shorthair cats from San Diego

Ridley & Samus, chihuahua & chihuahua/terrier mix, from San Diego

Riley the border collie/husky mix, from San Diego

Rita the mixed breed dog, from San Diego

Roo the mixed breed dog, from San Diego

Ruby & Gladstone, English bulldogs, from San Diego

Sadie, Belle & Roscoe, the golden retriever, Australian shepherd & bichon frise, from Encinitas

Lucas & James Woods, the Australian cattle dog mix & pit bull, from San Diego

Savannah the Cavalier King Charles spaniel, from San Diego

Shayna, the mixed breed service dog, from San Diego

Sid, the French mastiff/Catahoula leopard dog mix, from San Marcos

Stiller, Violet & Charlotte, smooth fox terriers & mini schnauzer, from Carlsbad

Tate & Skyler, mixed breed dogs, from Encinitas

Taylor the schnauzer, from Oceanside

Teddy the chow chow, from Coronado

Tex the Chinook sled dog, from Santee

Tito & Fizgig, the pug & exotic shorthair cat, from San Diego

Trea (full name: Mister Bailey’s Treasure) & Bailey, American quarter horse & German shepherd mix, from Rancho Santa Fe

Sir Truffle the Scottie, from San Diego

Rebel, Sparky, Liberty, Diva & Rocky, Yorkies, from Carlsbad

Yuma the mixed breed dog, from San Diego

Whew! What a year! :)

Of course, if you’d like to see your pet’s photos in the “Best of 2016” post that I’m sure I’ll be working on a year from now, please get in touch via the contact form on my website.

Tags: backyard, beach, boxer, cats, chihuahua, dachshund, dogs, golden retriever, labrador, pet photography, pets, photography, pit bull, poodle, puppy, San Diego, San Diego Dog Photographer, San Diego pet photography, schnauzer, senior, studio
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The Dogs of San Carlos Animal Hospital

Tuesday, June 16th, 2015

A few weeks ago, I received a phone call from the lovely people over at San Carlos Animal Hospital! They had seen my work, through one of the local rescue organizations I work with, The Rescued Dog, and told me their lobby & exam rooms were in need of fresh new decor! Of course, I was happy to help out – especially after realizing that we already happen to have several clients in common! (Aberdeen the service dog and Beatrice the min pin, just to name a couple!)

So both of the veterinarians & their dogs visited the studio recently, for some fun portraits that will really liven up San Carlos Animal Hospital! As it turned out, surprisingly, both of their dogs were pretty nervous about the white backdrop that I use… and while a minority of the dogs I work with have any issues with it at all (I’d say less than 20%), I was pretty surprised to work with 2 dogs in the same day that had the same uncertainties! I have to say, I can’t really blame them – paper isn’t exactly a common surface to walk on – but with plenty of treats and slow, gentle encouragement, both dogs ended up posing like total pros on the backdrop! Getting used to the new surface took a few minutes, but we ended up having a great time & creating some gorgeous images. It just goes to show what a bit of positive reinforcement can do! :)

This dog’s name is James Woods – but don’t be fooled, she’s a girl! (Her name is a TV show reference.) James is a total sweetie – and if you’re looking at her eyes & wondering, the answer is yes, she’s cross-eyed! I’m sorry, but have you ever seen something as cute as a cross-eyed pittie?! Gah! I pretty much fell in love with this gorgeous girl as soon as I saw her. What a sweetheart.

Turns out, James Woods has an adorable head tilt, too!

And this is Lucas! He’s an Australian Stumpy Tail Cattle Dog, a rare sub-type of Australian cattle dog, which I’d actually never worked with before. So of course I was thrilled to meet an entirely new breed – and if all Australian Stumpy Tail Cattle Dogs are just like Lucas, then I can’t wait to meet more of them! He’s a young boy, and a rescue, and I could tell at first glance how much he really loves his parents… so he trusted them about the “backdrop situation”, and eventually flashed some incredibly handsome smiles my way!

Yeah, I’d say he got pretty comfortable by the end of our time together. ;)

Drs. Acosta & Altman, Robin & Lisa, thank you so much for a fun-filled afternoon! I absolutely adored working with all of you & your dogs, and I’m so excited to show you all our photos soon! :)