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Daly, the Big-Eyed Lab/Terrier Mix (aka Heinz 57!)

Friday, April 27th, 2012

Usually for Sneak Peeks, I try and choose a few of my favorite images from a quick browse through all the photos from a session. I usually settle on three or four pretty quickly; I’m a relatively decisive person (don’t know how I could be in this business otherwise!) and most times, my clients end up loving their Sneak Peek photos most of all!

This time is different. I was honored to spend a fabulous afternoon with Elaine and her pup Daly, and let me tell you what, I am having the hardest time picking any favorite photos! I’ve gone through her images so many times and my usual decisiveness has gone out the window. So here is a truly random assortment from our session! I still think they’re pretty cute :) Enjoy!

 

A beagle mix relaxes at home.

 

A beagle mix looks up while in the studio.

 

Daly’s story is so interesting: her mom rescued her from a big litter of puppies in New Orleans about eight months ago, and it turns out, one of Daly’s biological siblings came to live in Gulf Breeze too! She’s named Lizzie and looks much more like a labrador than Daly (they have a labrador mother, which I’d never guess just by looking at Daly)… but, together, you can’t hardly tell what either of them look like because they’re just one big blur of dog! It was sooooo funny to see them play together!

 

Two terrier labrador mixed breed dogs play in a backyard.

 

Elaine, I absolutely cannot wait to see you & Daly again. But first I have the monstrous task of picking the best photos out of your gallery – something I’m equally excited and terrified to do! Haha thanks for showing me such a fabulous afternoon, and I’ll be in touch soon!

 

Kaylee the Old Golden Retriever Girl

Tuesday, April 10th, 2012

I don’t know what it is about golden retrievers. Sometimes I think they have a direct link to my soul. I love meeting them, I love photographing them, I love playing with them – and I’m so blessed that my job allows me to do all three! This is Kaylee, a beautiful old girl that was adopted by her parents only three years ago. She’s 11 years old, and has a lot of energy for a girl her age! I was pretty impressed at how many times she kept throwing around and jumping for her pink tennis ball! (yes, she throws it around!)

 

It pains me to show just a few photos of this pretty old girl. I may have to post more to my Facebook page this week… because on a quick glance through her session folder, I’m a BIT overwhelmed. In a good way, of course!! Enjoy these images!

 

 This toy wasn’t in very good shape after about 5 minutes with Kaylee…

Senior golden retriever in the studio tearing up a toy.

 

Don’t worry, Kiersten and Brandon, I didn’t cut off your heads in all the photos! :)

Senior golden retriever in the studio with her owners.

 

We ended the session by relaxing at home. I think Kaylee was pleased about that.

Senior golden retriever on a bed with her owners, next to their feet.

 

Thanks for a GREAT session, Kaylee! I can’t wait to go through the rest of your images!

 

Premium Albums: The Leather Cover

Thursday, March 29th, 2012

Ahhhh, we’re here. This post reveals the last Premium Album that I offer, from one more totally separate album provider. This is the album I’ve been most excited about all along, for two reasons. First of all, it’s leather, and leather is always what I’ve envisioned as being a huge characteristic of a top-of-the-line photography album. I suppose I have a soft spot for it. Secondly, this album features my favorite dog in the world: my girl Bailey.

 

The box it comes in is leather, and has a small magnetic closure.

A premium album with a leather cover, featuring a Rhodesian ridgeback mix, dog photography by Allison Shamrell.

 

A premium album with a leather cover, featuring a Rhodesian ridgeback mix, dog photography by Allison Shamrell.

 

Oh. Oh yes. Take in that leather.

A premium album with a leather cover, featuring a Rhodesian ridgeback mix, dog photography by Allison Shamrell.

 

And the imprinting of Bailey’s name on the cover…

A premium album with a leather cover, featuring a Rhodesian ridgeback mix, dog photography by Allison Shamrell.

 

A premium album with a leather cover, featuring a Rhodesian ridgeback mix, dog photography by Allison Shamrell.

 

A premium album with a leather cover, featuring a Rhodesian ridgeback mix, dog photography by Allison Shamrell.

 

A premium album with a leather cover, featuring a Rhodesian ridgeback mix, dog photography by Allison Shamrell.

 

I hope you can see the texture of the leather. It’s top-of-the-line, and I could tell you the technical qualifications a quality guarantees surrounding it… but suffice to say, it’s NICE. And not just “nice”… I mean NICE.

A premium album with a leather cover, featuring a Rhodesian ridgeback mix, dog photography by Allison Shamrell.

 

A premium album with a leather cover, featuring a Rhodesian ridgeback mix, dog photography by Allison Shamrell.

 

The pages have a substrate in-between them that’s actually a different color than the prints. I think it gives the album’s side view a really distinctive look!

A premium album with a leather cover, featuring a Rhodesian ridgeback mix, dog photography by Allison Shamrell.

 

A premium album with a leather cover, featuring a Rhodesian ridgeback mix, dog photography by Allison Shamrell.

 

A premium album with a leather cover, featuring a Rhodesian ridgeback mix, dog photography by Allison Shamrell.

 

A black spread to start…

A premium album with a leather cover, featuring a Rhodesian ridgeback mix, dog photography by Allison Shamrell.

 

With my embossed logo on the inside cover!

A premium album with a leather cover, featuring a Rhodesian ridgeback mix, dog photography by Allison Shamrell.

 

Could these pages be any flatter? They’re so flat they’re bending back with the cover! I love that they lay directly against it like that.

A premium album with a leather cover, featuring a Rhodesian ridgeback mix, dog photography by Allison Shamrell.

 

Sigh. I know I’m a nerd for swooning over an album… but that’s okay with me.

A premium album with a leather cover, featuring a Rhodesian ridgeback mix, dog photography by Allison Shamrell.

 

Oh hey Bailey! Here’s an example of a spread – you can see that there’s a seam in the middle (not really a gutter, per se) but it’s so thin that in the 24-inch span of this book (it measures 12×12 when closed) I think it hardly makes any difference in the overall layout.

A premium album with a leather cover, featuring a Rhodesian ridgeback mix, dog photography by Allison Shamrell.

 

A premium album with a leather cover, featuring a Rhodesian ridgeback mix, dog photography by Allison Shamrell.

 

A closer look at the pages…

A premium album with a leather cover, featuring a Rhodesian ridgeback mix, dog photography by Allison Shamrell.

 

More leather texture. Man I wish you could feel this through your screen…

A premium album with a leather cover, featuring a Rhodesian ridgeback mix, dog photography by Allison Shamrell.

 

A premium album with a leather cover, featuring a Rhodesian ridgeback mix, dog photography by Allison Shamrell.

 

A premium album with a leather cover, featuring a Rhodesian ridgeback mix, dog photography by Allison Shamrell.

 

I know these photos haven’t done this album (or the photo-cover one, or the silk one) justice. But I hope you can see a small part of why I’ve been so, so excited for a very long time to introduce these products. They are at the very top of the line, the best of the best in the photography industry, and I couldn’t be more thrilled to offer them to my clients!

Thanks for taking a look!

Premium Albums: The Photo Cover

Tuesday, March 27th, 2012

Okay, I’m going to run the risk of sounding really repetitive over the next few posts. Let’s just get out there what I’m feeling:

I am so excited about this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Okay. It may be hard to believe, but that obnoxious amount of exclamation points was actually necessary. Because this is something that I’ve been planning, researching, preparing and waiting for, for about six months. I’m introducing a new product line, and as the title of this blog post says, it’s a line of premium albums.

I already offer coffee table books – and they’re great! But many clients have asked me for more options. I wanted to continue offering all the features my clients love in their coffee table books – lay flat pages, clean design, great presentation – and still add so much more. This is a HUGE step up, in both quality and price, and it’s absolutely perfect for those clients who really want to feature their dogs’ portraits in an incredibly special way.

This post features a premium album with full-bleed photos on the front and back covers. I actually have three providers for the different types of premium albums I offer, not just one, because I felt that once my clients decide to make such a fabulous purchase, they ought to be able to choose between the best album providers in the photography industry. As far as showcasing a photo on the front cover, this lab absolutely excelled in every possible category, so I’m thrilled to offer their albums to my clients! (Remember: this is only the first of three album types. The others will be featured in their very own blog posts, because I don’t play favorites, even with inanimate objects. I’ll post links to those posts here as soon as they exist.)

 

Okay – let’s get started!!

 

The photo-cover premium album comes with its very own custom photo box! Here’s its front and spine:

A sample copy of a premium photo-cover album featuring custom pet photography by Allison Shamrell.

 

Here’s the back side.

A sample copy of a premium photo-cover album featuring custom pet photography by Allison Shamrell.

 

I chose to put only the dog’s name on the spine of the box, for simplicity’s sake. Kai is a sweetheart of a pit bull, and she and her mom live in New Orleans – they came all the way to Pensacola for their session, and we had a fantastic time together!

A sample copy of a premium photo-cover album featuring custom pet photography by Allison Shamrell.

 

The box opens from the side…

A sample copy of a premium photo-cover album featuring custom pet photography by Allison Shamrell.

 

It has a beautiful sheer cloth insert to protect the book…

A sample copy of a premium photo-cover album featuring custom pet photography by Allison Shamrell.

 

And here’s the book itself, sitting on top of its box…

A sample copy of a premium photo-cover album featuring custom pet photography by Allison Shamrell.

 

And finally, just the book.

A sample copy of a premium photo-cover album featuring custom pet photography by Allison Shamrell.

 

Ready to see inside? Me too!

A sample copy of a premium photo-cover album featuring custom pet photography by Allison Shamrell.

 

Here’s an example of a spread.

A sample copy of a premium photo-cover album featuring custom pet photography by Allison Shamrell.

 

The gutter normally found in big books is almost entirely nonexistent. This full-spread design was specifically made up of darker colors, so that you can see the most dramatic effect a white seam could have. I think it’s pretty remarkably small! I honestly don’t think it detracts from the photo much at all, so that’s one feature I love about these books.

A sample copy of a premium photo-cover album featuring custom pet photography by Allison Shamrell.

 

My past clients love how their coffee table books can lay completely flat, without anyone having to hold down any pages (like you would with a magazine). This book lays flat like a pro.

A sample copy of a premium photo-cover album featuring custom pet photography by Allison Shamrell.

 

Let’s take a closer look at those pages…

A sample copy of a premium photo-cover album featuring custom pet photography by Allison Shamrell.

 

The pages are thick; they have a substrate inside them that provides support and stability. Trust me, you’ll never rip one of these pages. And in the photo to the left of the collage below, you get to see a bit of how the cover is slightly padded with more substrate. To be honest, I feel bad for you: this book feels incredible and I wish you could just run your hands over it. The cover has an incredible matte finish and the slight plush cushion underneath the printed material is just… well, you have to feel it to believe it.

A sample copy of a premium photo-cover album featuring custom pet photography by Allison Shamrell.

 

Here’s another look at the cover.

A sample copy of a premium photo-cover album featuring custom pet photography by Allison Shamrell.

 

 

A sample copy of a premium photo-cover album featuring custom pet photography by Allison Shamrell.

 

The back cover:

A sample copy of a premium photo-cover album featuring custom pet photography by Allison Shamrell.

 

I even found a small place for my logo!

A sample copy of a premium photo-cover album featuring custom pet photography by Allison Shamrell.

 

Well, there you have it, the first of three incredible premium albums. I’ll be bringing these only sparingly to events; they’ll mostly be reserved for the eyes of clients  in their ordering sessions. So to see them all… just book a session! :) haha!

I hope you enjoyed looking through this book! I can’t wait to show you the accompanying two albums; stay tuned!

 

Sneak Peek: Shelby & Gunther ~ Navarre Pet Photography by Allison Shamrell

Monday, January 30th, 2012

This fun session was a first for me in several ways, besides being the first on my calendar for 2012: it was the first time I’d seen a fountain of everlasting energy from something other than a labrador. It was the first time we visited my new favorite location – and I can’t disclose where it is! For clients’ eyes only, haha! But most surprisingly, this was the first time that the family added a new member in-between their pre-session consultation and the actual session! That’s right, the number of animals in this household increased by one over the past week, and they kept it under wraps from me until I arrived to see a tiny black cat in mom Jessica’s arms! Needless to say, it was a wonderful surprise! We were laughing about how Jessica has rescued almost all their pets, and she just “can’t say no” to a dog or cat who needs rescuing. And although it may make for a hectic household, I’m pretty sure the world is a better place for Jessica’s being in it.

 

So I’m going to do something a bit different with this Sneak Peek. As regular blog followers know, I usually post 3-4 photos of the subject(s) in question. But since this family has twice that many pets, how about one photo per animal? Sound fair? I think so.

 

We’ll start with the dogs: this is Shelby, the world’s most active 1-year-old standard poodle. She also emanates beauty; I think she’s a contender for most gorgeous dog EVER.

 

This is Gunter, Jessica’s little sweetheart.

 

This is Sushi, an old cat that Jessica has owned since her college days. Sushi wasn’t really in the mood to be photographed but I think we got a few cute ones!

 

These next two are Siamese cats, Simba & Sheba! Stunning creatures – I don’t know if I’ve ever met a Siamese before so it was a real treat to meet two! (“We are Siamese if you please…”) Simba is the one sitting up, and Sheba is the one whose nose I just had to get a close-up of, because it reminds me of a LION!

 

 

The Most Photogenic Cat Award goes to Otis. He made himself quite at home on the dining room table.

 

And last but not least, this is the newest addition, Ruby! She actually only has three legs – her from left one is missing – but she was in such a playful mood it couldn’t have mattered less. Here she is sandwiched between a chair back and its cushion, trying to get at me and my camera.

 

Jessica and Jon, I hope you had a great time on Saturday! Your photogenic animals have given me plenty of work in the meantime. See you soon!

 

 

~ Dog Photography by Allison Shamrell in Navarre and Pensacola, Florida ~

 
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