I had to save this image for a blog post all its own. You see, I’m totally comfortable photographing dogs: does it have a tail? four legs? a wet nose? If yes, then let’s go! I love everything about working with dogs, and I’m not exaggerating when I say I’m head-over-heels in love with my job!

Now, you ask me to photograph your family – and it’s made up of entirely humans? That’s when I start to get nervous, and yes I think I’m slightly backwards as a photographer for being more natural working with another species. But there you have it. (Maybe it’s because I don’t have human kids yet…. hmmmm….) So when my clients come to me wanting portraits that mix people and dogs, yes, I get nervous – but I also get SO excited! I think this is because I get to start within my bubble of comfort (pretty much anything without a tail is outside of that bubble), but also move slightly outwards and improve my photographic technique and skill level. Plus, I think the connection people have with their pets is absolutely magical – I’m constantly in awe of it when I spend time with my clients, and I think that a wordless bond between two creatures can easily be stronger than one built on words. And the resulting photos can be much more powerful as well, so in an odd way, photographing people and their pets can often be the highlight of a session for me.

That’s a pretty long preamble to a post containing one photo. So I’ll only say one more thing, and I’m just gonna put it out there: I love this photo.

~   Dog Photography by Allison Shamrell in Pensacola, Florida   ~