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Tag: ‘San Diego pet photography’



Alika the Golden Retriever, Playing Fetch at the Beach!

Wednesday, September 13th, 2017

After about 5 minutes of throwing the tennis ball halfway down the beach for Alika to fetch, during our photo session, I got up and jogged over to his mom, MJ. I wanted to ask her if that was too much enough physical activity for him – after all, I didn’t want to completely tucker him out! I was hoping she’d say no, that he has plenty of energy left, and that we could play fetch for hours if we wanted to, running up & down the Del Mar coastline in the glittering blue water and the bright-shining sun. At least, I could have photographed him for hours! But some dogs get too tired after a few rounds of fetch and I wanted to be sensitive to that and conserve his energy for the rest of the session, just in case.

So I asked her – and she laughed, probably resisting the urge to roll her eyes at my question. “He could do this all day long,” she said.

Perfect.

So I had an action-packed photo session with Alika the golden retriever at the beach in Del Mar, and I’m so excited about the images we created together! We had all of his favorite things on hand – a tennis ball, treats, and bubbles – and I’m pretty sure all 3 of us were soaking wet and covered in sand by the end of the afternoon, haha! (But is there any other way to have a photo session at the beach?!)

 

Alika’s favorite game is fetch, and he’s pretty darn good at it, too! Sometimes he takes the “scenic route” back to his mom, haha – but I’m pretty sure chasing a squeaky tennis ball is his idea of heaven.

golden retriever beach photo

 

We gave him a break eventually – although he made it clear that he was ready to get right back out there!

golden retriever at beach

 

It’s a good thing he saved some energy for later – our sunset was drop. dead. gorgeous.

golden retriever dog beach

 

MJ, thank you so much for introducing me to your sweet boy! He’s such a special dog! :)  See you again soon!

 

Pepita, Effie & Ralphie at the Park in Coronado

Friday, August 18th, 2017

Every dog has their own personality, of course – but I can’t remember the last time I had a session with 3 dogs that had such distinctive personalities as these three awesome pooches! I’m so thrilled to introduce you to Pepita, Ralphie & Effie!

 

This is Pepita, little leader of the pack in every way. Don’t let her size fool you, she’s the boss – and she’ll speak up to make sure you know it! Pepita is crazy about treats, has attitude coming out her ears, and recently developed a little snaggletooth that makes for some really cute expressions. But for now, I’ll share her big, classic smile with you!

coronado dog in a park

 

This sweet guy is Ralphie. He’s the shyest of the bunch, and his personality (plus his big eyes & floppy ears) have earned him the nickname “Mousie”. But luckily, the yummy treats that his mom brought to our session were enough to coax him out of his shell – and once I had a few in my hand, he became very interested in me & my camera!

coronado park dog photo

 

And last but certainly not least, this bundle of happiness is Effie. She’s the biggest of the pack and probably the most food-motivated (which is saying something!). And she was thoroughly confused why the entire photo session wasn’t just a belly-rub marathon. Oh Effie, you made me laugh so hard!

dog in coronado

 

Oh my gosh, I adore this family photo. For all having minds (and personalities) of their own, these pups sure do make a cute pack together.

coronado family photo

 

 

Andrea & Phillip, I had such a great time with all 5 of you all around Coronado! Can’t wait to get together again soon! :)

 

Yahoo! The votes are in… Allison Shamrell Pet Photography is officially #1!

Tuesday, August 15th, 2017

I’m thrilled to announce that my incredible clients & friends have made their voices heard – and as a result, we won!!! (And yes, I say “we” – because even though I’m a solopreneur, this is a team victory that validates all the great experiences my clients have had!)

 

best pet photographer certificate

 

That’s right – the official 2017 results are in, and my business ranked #1 for the “best pet photographer” category on the San Diego A-List!

This is such incredible news. Most importantly, it proves that all the hard work I do every day means a lot to the awesome people I get to call clients. And that’s really rewarding for me. However, it also signifies that I have a lot to live up to – because the title of “BEST” certainly doesn’t mean I get to relax! It means I’m obligated to go on being the best – which (to me) means innovation, meticulousness, and constantly hustling.

Plus – if I’m really being honest – it just feels great to win! No one ever said I should stop being competitive just because I’m not playing basketball anymore! :)

So thank you to everyone who voted for me. Thank you, thank you, thank you. It may have felt like a two-second click of the mouse (or tap of the finger) to you, but to me it was a tremendous show of your support.

And since I’ve won this award every year since 2014 (double yay!!) you can bet that I’m thinking about alllllll kinds of ways to outdo myself again! This year, it was adding a “Pack Portraits” event for my past clients & networking colleagues, a free (!) quickie photo session at one of San Diego’s most iconic locations. Next year? I wonder what it’ll be…

Here’s to crushing the rest of 2017 as San Diego’s best pet photographer! :)

Rocky the Labrador Retriever Mix from San Diego

Wednesday, August 2nd, 2017

Have you ever met a labrador retriever you didn’t love?! I haven’t! Labs are awesome dogs – although I often hear from my clients how many shoes their labrador has chewed up, all about their through-the-roof nonstop energy levels, and how generally unruly they can be (especially as puppies). So I’ll be totally honest: I’d love to have a labrador retriever of my own, but I’m a little intimidated!!

Rocky, however, is different.

Did you leave dinner on the table? Rocky won’t touch it. He’s running around in the park? Call his name and he comes immediately. Is the front door open? He won’t go outside unless you tell him to. Don’t get me wrong: he’s a big, boisterous, rough-and-tumble dog with that goofy lab smile, and he definitely has his mischievous side. But Rocky is a very special dog, in a hard-to-explain kind of way – so suffice to say he’s one of the smartest and most intuitive dogs I’ve ever met. I felt like I wore out the word “wow” during our session, simply because he was constantly surprising me with how he’d do anything his mom asked. (Especially if his favorite toy was involved – a laser light!)

And trust me, the devotion he has for his mom Sara goes both ways. In our Pre-Session Consultation, Sara & I were talking about how awful it is that so many dogs end up abandoned at shelters because their owner’s new housing didn’t allow pets. Neither of us could imagine sending our dogs to a shelter for such a ridiculous & avoidable reason – and Sara proudly stated that if she was ever in that situation, she’d happily sleep in her car until she could find a home for both of them. At that moment, I knew we’d have a great photo session: Rocky & Sara are family, with an unbreakable bond. I was honored and excited to showcase that bond in their images!

 

But since my human subjects usually like to see photos of themselves before I post them online for the world to see (understandably!), I’ll shine the spotlight on Rocky for this blog post! Here’s the handsome boy, posing like a pro in the studio!

labrador retriever

 

Unsurprisingly, Rocky has great recall! So we spent plenty of time running through the brush at Balboa Park, in the same spot where he & his mom come every single day for walks & playtime.

labrador retriever mix dog

 

He’s such a handsome boy.

labrador retriever dog

 

 

Sara, I’m so glad we finally got together for this unforgettable photo session! I’m so excited to see you & Rocky again soon! :)

 

Penny the Vizsla from Lakeside (Photos)

Thursday, July 27th, 2017

Penny is a sweet vizsla who’s spent most of her life right next to her dad. And I mean that quite literally – Penny’s family adopted her when she was very young, and her favorite place to be is only a few inches away from her favorite person in the world! Nothing can tempt her away from her dad’s side: not toys, other dogs, or even a treat… she even seems to think treats taste better when they come from his hand, haha!

For our photo session, we visited Mission Trails Regional Park and Lindo Lake County Park. While Mission Trails is already one of my favorite locations, I’d never been to Lindo Park before – so Penny showed me all around! It was a gorgeous sunny day, and we had a great time together!

I love photographing dogs that have close relationships with their humans, and it’s clear to anyone who meets her that Penny is head-over-heels for her dad. But to be totally honest with you, this photo session was a bit challenging for me! Penny was totally disinterested in my silly noises, trigger words (like “walkies!”) and treats. All the antics I typically use to earn a dog’s attention were simply not interesting to this little vizsla, as she preferred to take in her surroundings instead. (Or just look at her dad to see what he was thinking.) So I had a bit of a creative workout during our session, haha! I soon realized that Penny’s ears perked up whenever I threw something – so my treat bag became a toy, and I tossed it (and other random objects) around all afternoon! And at first, I really wanted to figure out the secret of getting her attention, but you know what – Penny wasn’t focused on me because she’s an independent little lady. She has a unique personality and her affection is clearly earned over time, over years of steadfast friendship… so while we don’t have as many photos of her looking at the camera with perked ears (a few of them actually do exist, haha – one is below!) we have plenty more photos of Penny scoping out her environment, perhaps envisioning the next adventure she’ll have with her dad. And I love that about her! So while she was overall unimpressed by me & my camera, her personality still shone through in our session, and I think we created some gorgeous, unique portraits of this sweet girl.

 

Penny was happy to go for a little walk on the trail with her dad, for a break from “posing”!

vizsla walking on trail

 

Such a sweet little lady.

cute vizsla dog

 

Lindo Park is Penny’s happy place, and it shows. She was really pleased to be there.

vizsla photo

 

 

Sandi & Nihil, thank you so much for the chance to meet your beautiful girl! I’ll see you again soon!

 

 

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