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Tag: ‘dogs’



A Trio of Rhodesian Ridgebacks: Magnolia, Gryffin & Sequoia

Tuesday, October 19th, 2021

Rhodesian ridgebacks have a special place in my heart, so I was extremely excited to meet these 3 beautiful dogs! Magnolia, Gryffin, and Sequoia are all purebred Rhodesians, and they’re absolutely beautiful – with very distinct personalities!

We visited the studio for the beginning portion of our photo session. We actually re-created some portraits that their moms (a mother-daughter duo!) already had made of Magnolia & Gryffin – because since Sequoia has joined the family it made sense to update those portraits, of course! Then we moved on to a new location: a winery that I’ve never visited before, Espinosa Vineyards. This was an incredible spot to visit, and such a visual treat! They allowed us to take photos in their actual barrel room and beautiful tasting area outdoors, and even amongst the vines. It was so much fun being in a fresh new place; I loved exploring and creating some beautiful new portraits with the wine theme in mind. Not many people have a distinct plan or theme for their session like this, but I’m so glad my clients’ vision was brought to life!

     
Rhodesian ridgeback dogs
     
rhodesian ridgeback
     

Magnolia is the oldest of the bunch, and the queen in practically every way. She has plenty of training under her belt and is so well-behaved. She did her best to put on a good example for the younger ones. She does have a serious side, but she was a breeze to work with – and simply stunning, as you can see.

rhodesian ridgeback dog
     

Gryffin is the only boy and a little younger, so naturally he’s a little more playful than his big sister. He’s a happy, confident boy who enjoys working for treats! Although at one point he decided to be a little sneaky and let his mischievous side come out – but what would we do without a little wild child?! I’m pretty sure that counts as middle child syndrome, right? Haha!

Rhodesian ridgeback at a winery
     

And last but not least I met Sequoia, the puppy! She hasn’t had as much training as her older siblings, and she was a little cautious around new settings (which includes both my studio and the winery). Throughout the photo session she would check in for reassurance and guidance from her older siblings, with little looks and nudges. But once she verified that everyone was happy and everything was okay, her puppyhood shone through! She was adorable! It was so much fun to work with her, and to see bits and pieces of her personality as we went along.

Rhodesian ridgeback dog in a winery
     

Sydney & Anne, thank you so much for introducing me to your gorgeous pups! I really loved working with all 5 of you, and I can’t wait to share the rest of our portraits with you very soon! :)

     

Fae, Nyx, Quinzel & Slade – and the joy of repeat clients!

Friday, September 17th, 2021

I always love working with my clients, but I have to say – there’s something so special about photographing repeat clients! I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Scott & Patrisha’s pack before, so I was THRILLED when they contacted me recently to update their portraits! The first session we ever did included Buster, a wonderful dog who’s unfortunately no longer here. I thought of him during this recent photo session… but somehow this session was SO different than the ones we’ve done before! I got to photograph a mix of the “old” and “new” pack: Fae, Quinzel, and Nyx are the dogs I have photographed at least once in the past. It was so much fun to see how much they’d grown since their original photo sessions back in 2015 and 2016. Quinn and Nyx were just tiny puppies when I first met each of them, and it was so fun to see how much they’ve changed! The newest member of the pack is Slade, who brings an entirely new dynamic to the family. One of my favorite things about being in this business for so long is definitely being able to see families grow over the years. This family has certainly changed since we first met 6 years ago, and I couldn’t be more proud to have documented a few small slices of their lives!

     

Let me start with introducing Fae. She’s a total sweetheart and mama’s girl! Always happy and up for an adventure, I think she might take the title of “most adorable in the pack”. She also is the eldest now, but you wouldn’t know it: she isn’t bossy, just a sweet, happy-go-lucky girl! (And yes, her fur is just as cotton-candy-soft as it looks.)

repeat clients dog
     

Quinzel, who is named after Harley Quinn, takes “being part of the pack” to a new level. She is head over heels in love with her parents and siblings! She never wants to be without them; anytime she senses the pack might be leaving the house without her, she lets her opinion be known that that’s not acceptable. Ideally she’s literally touching someone at all times, haha! Quinn is a beautiful girl (with two different-colored eyes) and her brindle fur is gorgeous too.

repeat dog clients
     

This is Nyx: the guard dog! She has proudly stepped into the role of protector of the family. She takes her job seriously and – might I add – is very good at it! She warned us when other dogs were walking across another part of the park… so what would we have done without her?! She loves her family fiercely and is happy to be out exploring new places, but she never forgets her primary job which is to defend her pack. Fun fact: Nyx is pretty skeptical of you, until you walk her on the leash. Once you do that, her demeanor changes and she realizes that you must be okay after all!

repeat client dog
     

Last but not least, I get to introduce you to Slade! He is the puppy of the group with those goofy puppy ears to boot. He’s a handsome boy with beautiful, warm brindle coloring – and he has huge paws! Slade is just a total class clown, although you can really tell he looks up to his elder siblings. One of his favorite things to do is play fetch and run around like crazy! While he loves being a goofball, he is always down to snuggle too, especially with his dad. I’m so glad he found his way into this family… he really hit the jackpot!

new puppy
     

We had a great time during our photo session. I’m glad we had the chance to visit Fiesta Island, because we got to let the dogs run free and off-leash! It was wonderful to see them let loose and have a great time. And even more than that, it was nice to connect with them all again, and have the opportunity to celebrate what their family looks like today!

4 dogs on the beach
     

I’m looking forward to meeting their biggest dog, Lucca, later this month! (Just kidding… he’s a horse! I’m going out to the stables to photograph him and I can’t wait!) Patrisha and Scott, you two are wonderful, devoted parents to all your pups, and I am so honored to have been able to work with you again. See you soon at the studio very soon!

     

San Diego Dogs Harley & Mason

Thursday, December 3rd, 2020

Today on the blog I’ve got some portraits I’ve been so excited to share with you – featuring two adorable doggy brothers from San Diego, Harley & Mason! These boys are tough-looking dogs, but I’m going to spoil the surprise right now: they’re actually complete sweethearts. (Sorry, boys!) When I first spoke with their mom about planning their session, she came to me with a very specific vision for where she wanted to go, and the look she wanted for the session overall. I was pretty impressed, since that doesn’t happen very often – many of my clients have no idea what locations they’d like to visit! (Good thing I have a Location Guide for them to browse, ha!) But Harley & Mason’s mom knew exactly what she wanted and we were able to have fun planning all the details and expanding on her ideas. And I think we were able to create everything she envisioned!

That being said, the photo session turned out to be a fun & unique one – because no matter how much we planned ahead of time, the dogs wound up doing what they wanted to do, haha! This is totally okay, and one of the many reasons I love working with dogs: they are independent, honest, and sometimes (okay always) they have their own agenda. That’s just who they are and ya gotta love them for it! They still did a phenomenal job posing for the camera – especially Mason, that ham! :)

Our first location in Coronado – overlooking the San Diego skyline, an absolutely stunning spot – was a little tricky since the particular place I love requires a bit of obedience to get the best possible portraits. (It’s a smaller, more confined space than most of my session locations.) Luckily, their mom thought ahead – and rather than attempting to wrangle 150+ lbs of dogs all on her own, she brought along their walker to help! I’m so glad Robyn from Robyn’s Pet Care was able to join us because you can never have too much help. :) We were able to stretch their obedience skills and get some beautiful, very-San-Diego portraits of the boys!


dogs with san diego skyline


The next location we visited was truly special because it was in La Jolla, at the beach where Harley & Mason’s parents got married. I loved incorporating a location that was special to them & their family! And while we were there, I got to see more of how devoted Harley & Mason are to their parents. They way they were running around with their dad on the sand, with the biggest grins on their faces, always looking back at mom to check in – it was the sweetest thing! It’s not a location where I’ve done many photo sessions, but I’ll definitely be back because it turned out to be a picture perfect setting! Harley and Mason actually haven’t been to the beach too many times, but they seized the opportunity got to loosen up and stretch their legs! We finished up just as they were hitting their limit, so to speak, because all the sights and smells can get a little overwhelming, and I’d never want to push a dog beyond their comfort zone. Thankfully we were able to capture some beautiful moments without overstaying our welcome!


This is Harley – having a BLAST at the beach in La Jolla!

dog running on beach


And this is Mason, the younger brother, who was just as thrilled to be out in the ocean air.

dog at the beach


Mollie & Kevin, thank you so much for introducing me to your handsome boys! I’m excited to share the rest of our portraits with you very soon!

Elliot the Shy Dachshund

Wednesday, October 14th, 2020

I am very happy to introduce you to little miss Elliot! She is the kind of dog who lets her presence be known – but that’s probably not surprising if you’ve ever met a dachshund before, haha! Here’s a fun fact about Elliot: she is named after the character on the TV show, Scrubs. I instantly knew we were going to hit it off because that happens to be one of my favorite TV series! :)

We had a great photo session, starting at San Dieguito County Park where we played a lot of fetch. She also enjoyed barking at other dogs and people, letting them know that she was there, and that this was her park now. (Obviously.) After a bit of running around and getting some of that puppy energy out, we headed to the beach at Del Mar for a gorgeous sunset. It was a slightly hazy due to the recent wildfires in California, but that actually made the sunlight nice & soft, so it turned out to be a really lovely afternoon. We played on the beach and let me tell you: Elliot is fearless when it comes to the water! Go figure; a lot of small dogs are usually a little nervous around the waves, but not her! She charged into the ocean and had a blast, and it was so much fun to see.

When I spoke with Elliot’s parents before the photo session, they mentioned that she’s hesitant & shy around strangers. (Of course, for a dachshund, those emotions get expressed in the form of many, many sassy barks.) I assured them that her nervousness wouldn’t be a problem at all, since I’ve got plenty of tricks up my sleeve to make sure that we capture some amazing images. And we did just that! I’ll be honest, we started the session to a cacophony of barks, so I had to ease into things much slower than normal. But that’s okay! I used my trusty long lens to make her feel like I wasn’t invading her space. We were able to play fetch, run around with her parents, and eventually she even snuggled up with them as if I wasn’t even there. We created & captured a ton of great moments, and Elliot really enjoyed herself! This session just goes to show that it’s 100% possible to have a phenomenal photo session – no matter what quirks your dog has – while making sure that everyone is totally comfortable!


This is Elliot. Who wouldn’t love that silly little face?!

dachshund dog


And this is Elliot – airborne! This girl can HUSTLE! I’m absolutely loving our (many) action photos!

dachshund running


At the beach, Elliot stayed in motion pretty much the whole time – whether it was playing more fetch or walking with her parents at a more leisurely pace.

dachshund beach photo


And as much as I love her fur coloring, I actually love how Elliot looks in black & white too. Such a pretty girl.

dachshund in black and white


Melissa & Ed, thank you so much for introducing me to your gorgeous girl! I can’t wait to get together with you again soon!


An Action-Packed Session with Evie & Owen, Aussies from San Diego

Tuesday, September 15th, 2020

I’m thrilled to be able to share a new and FUN session with you, featuring two of the sweetest Aussies! Meet Evie and Owen! Evie is the older sibling while Owen is the puppy, and that certainly comes through in both of their personalities – but they have more in common than they have differences, and both of them were very happy to be out and about for their photo session. I can’t say that I blame them, I was just as excited – this was one of my first sessions since March when I could finally be behind the camera again! :)

We started off at Coronado, in order to create a portrait with the San Diego skyline in the dogs’ background. I’m happy to say that after a bit of getting used to the pier, and realizing that good obedience would earn then lots of treats, the dogs were happy to pose for us! And after just a few photos, the “stationary” portion of the session was over already – because we packed up and headed to the beach, where these Aussies came ALIVE! I’d venture to say that the beach is their happy place. :) And while they’d never actually been to the particular beach we visited in La Jolla before, you would have never known – they knew exactly what to do! No sniffing around and getting a feel for the place was necessary; they knew sand + water = fun. They were like energizer bunnies – no off button! It was great to see them have so much fun running around, and as a result we have a lot of action photos of these pups. I’m betting they would have played all evening if we would have let them!

Evie & Owen have an incredible bond, too. They are both social dogs and wanted to say “hi” to other dogs we saw at the beach, but what blew me away was how they always happily came back to each other. They truly enjoy each other’s company and are just adorable companions.

This photo session was a great way to start getting back into the swing of things! We had such a nice afternoon and it was just a perfect reminder of why I do what I love.


Let’s start with one of my favorite images – with the San Diego skyline! (With a photo like this to start off with, come on, you know we had a great session!)

aussies in san diego


I could watch them run around at the beach all. day. long.

aussies at the beach


A pet photographer’s dream, these two!

aussies running


And as much as I loved photographing them as a pair, their individual portraits came together beautifully as well. I’ll include a couple here for an extra-large sneak peek than what I normally do, since I know their parents have been waiting patiently for this blog post! Evie gave us no shortage of outtakes…

aussie tongue


… and Owen was extra-curious about the treats we brought!

aussie close up photo


Dianne & Ann, thank you for such a lovely time! I cannot wait for you to see the rest of our images!

 

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