• Rio
  • Pork Chop
  • Oscar
  • Riley
  • Skyler
  • Higgins
  • Madison
  • Sundance, Russ & Cisco
  • Riley
  • Kendall & Raven
  • Gemma
  • Casey & Brittany
Me with my muse, Bailey!

About Allison Shamrell Photography:

Thanks for visiting my blog! My name is Allison, and I work in San Diego, CA, capturing the personalities of dogs and cats of all sizes & temperaments. I do photo sessions on location and in-studio, and my photography style is natural, playful & soulful.

Here on my blog, I tell the stories of recent sessions and events. You might even find an insight or two into the behind-the-scenes side of my business! You can see my portfolio & session info on my main website, via the link above.

Call: 619-357-6624 //  Email: Allison@AllisonShamrell.com //  Visit: 11828 Rancho Bernardo Road, Suite 204, San Diego, CA 92128

Officially Voted the Best Pet Photographer in San Diego, 2014-2026.

New blog! New logo! ~ {Pensacola, Florida Pet Photographer Allison Shamrell}

January 5th, 2011

P A R T   O N E

So, maybe it’s silly for me to post about this, but as you can see, I have a new blog! It is way spiffier than my last one, and let me explain why!

  1. The picture-scrolling-flash-thingy at the top! Yes, that’s the official term. Did you know you can click on the photo of each animal and be taken to their blog post?
  2. Look how  w i d e this screen is! Although my photos from previous sessions are the same size they were before, now I can take over most of your monitor with my new colorful photos. Yahoo!
  3. I got to add a few more pages. So now you can read a revised About Allison section, a Local Resources page if you’re thinking of adopting, and an FAQ with questions that I’m positive you’ve asked yourself. Plus there’s a direct link to my portfolio website– pretty much a one-stop shop!
  4. There are fun things at the bottom of the page! You get to see my last five tweets, a (clickable) tag cloud showing what I blog about the most, and a search bar to find out exactly how many shoots on a beach I’ve done, for example.

P A R T   T W O

I made a new logo! Do you like it?

It’s the beautiful mug of my dog Bailey, and I wanted to isolate her ears, eyes, nose and mouth because these are her core features. I mean, think about it- about 99.9% of other dogs out there have all of these too, and I think these body parts are exactly how our pets (and dogs especially) express emotion.

I mean, think about it! I bet you can see these same actions/emotions in your dog:

  • Ears back = I’m scared or unsure about what’s going on
  • Ears up = What’s going on? I may not know but I’m happy about it!
  • Eyes half closed = I hear you moving around and I want to know what you’re doing, but I won’t do anything about it because I’m tired
  • Eyes wide open = Let’s go for a WALK!
  • Nose sniffing = I am extremely happy because there are interesting things to smell here
  • Mouth open, tongue way out = Whew, I’m exhausted! That was a great trip to the dog beach!
  • Mouth closed, eyes wide = Why can’t I have some of your roast beef?
  • Mouth half-open, lips turned in so teeth are barely showing = I am ready to spring into action!

And that’s not even scratching the surface of body language and what dogs do with their legs, tails, etc. I believe dogs’ faces are where we see their emotion, and since that’s what I intend to capture in every single session, I felt it fitting to include the face of my little muse as my new logo. You’ll start to see it around here, and I’d love to know your thoughts on it.

P A R T   T H R E E

My new website launches tomorrow and I’m super excited about it. Just saying.

Chauncey the Pomeranian ~ {Dauphin Island, Alabama Pet Photographer Allison Shamrell}

December 11th, 2010

If the title of this post doesn’t make you want to read it, I don’t know what will.

I tell you what, this dog loves his mama! He never stopped looking to her for direction- so much for my for my commands! Chauncey wouldn’t sit or stay for anyone else, and it was really very touching. This little five-year-old is well-trained, but loves the beach so much (no fear, no way) that he got soaked before I could even get one shot! So we laughed about how these would be “really natural” pictures. And in my opinion, there’s nothing more genuinely beautiful than a dog having a good time at the beach, anyway.

See what I mean? It’s all about Mom.

A little blur effect on this one… do you like it?

Here are the chicken legs! Chauncey was soaked!

Underneath a dock where water used to be…

Thanks for a great shoot, Chauncey & Sarina!

The Three Stoog- I mean, Shelties ~ {Dauphin Island, Alabama Pet Photographer Allison Shamrell}

December 9th, 2010

More multiple-dog shoots, you ask? Of course, I say! They’re too much fun to turn down! I personally love photographs with more than one dog in them. I think the possibilities quadruple as far as emotion and dynamics of the image. But that’s just my opinion!

And actually, the title of this post is the complete opposite of how the session went. I basically spent the whole time marveling at how regal and calming these dogs are. If I ever need dog therapy, I’m calling these guys first! They carried themselves in a way that was very different from most dogs I meet, and if that wasn’t enough, their fur is just incredible. Each of their colors are so rich, and by the end of the session, I could actually tell Andy and Zoe apart! They’re the ones with black fur; Chris is light brown. And to top it all off, we had two of the best locations I’ve ever been to; fitting, since the owners jet-sets all around the world for his job! We visited their backyard, which is expansive to say the least, and Dauphin Island, in Alabama, which contains the most dog-friendly beach I have ever seen. It was just awesome. Enjoy the photos!

Running after a beat-up, flat old soccer ball is one of their favorite things to do…

… especially for Zoe!

It started to get pretty hot outside…

So we relaxed for a while…

And then headed inside for a quick break!

Then we were off again, to the dog-friendly beach at Dauphin Island!

Aren’t they just beautiful?!

And boy, do they love their Dad. This is truly a family.

Thanks for a great shoot, pups!

The Problem and the Solution ~ {Pensacola, Florida Pet Photographer Allison Shamrell}

December 8th, 2010

I hate to say it, but we have a serious problem coming up. Have you realized what’s going on?

It’s December.

Next month will be January.

Of 2011.

That’s right, a new year. Which means the calendar you’re using right now- right now!- will be completely useless!!! And I don’t want to see you scratching days into your wall like a sad, marooned island-dweller. I have a solution to this problem. And not only is it functional; it is adorable.

Announcing the Pooches of the Panhandle 2011 Calendar! Each month features a dog (or dogs) from the Pensacola area, and proceeds will be going to a local to-be-announced good cause! So you can look at photos of beautiful dogs all year, know that you’ve done something good for this community, and not have to guess what day of the week the 9th of June is. I’m not going to tell you, either- the calendars hold the answer.

So here is the promotional poster you might see hanging up in your local vet or groomer’s. Click on the link below to see a few sample months.  They’re just $15 each, so to order one or more, just send me a message through my website, www.AllisonShamrell.com. You can do so under the “Contact Me” tab. Thanks, and I hope you like them!

Calendar Poster

Too Many Animals for One Title ~ {Pensacola Beach, Florida Pet Photographer Allison Shamrell}

December 7th, 2010

But I can name them in this post! I had the pleasure of photographing the wonderful Stephens family several weeks ago (I know, I’m way behind!)  and let me tell you, there’s a reason why I call them “the family” and don’t reference them by their pets’ individual names. In fact, there are eight reasons. I think I’d run out of breath if I rattled off Rupert, Penelope, Bouncer, Oliver, Mulder, Scully, Trinity, and Emma every time I talk about them! Regardless, this is one fun family. The three cats (Rupert, Penelope, and Bouncer) have very distinct personalities, and I think you’ll see from the photos who is the playful one and who tends to brood- or at least was brooding during our session! The five dogs (Oliver, Mulder, Scully, Trinity, and Emma) have a great little area to play outside and inside, and overall are enjoying a great life, especially considering where several of them came from. Their owners (hi Teri & Danny!) have generously opened their doors to rescue after rescue, and it was extremely powerful to witness their love for one animal in particular who is still so uneasy in this amazing home, just because of her previous situation. So here is the blog post for this family; long in comparison to other posts, but short compared to what they deserve.

This is Mulder, the stoic of the group.

Oliver the standard poodle- very happy, and very curious about my camera!

Emma, the newest addition, playing with Scully.

Timid Trinity.

Did I mention Oliver liked my camera?

One of Teri’s favorite shots- “her boys”!

I’m not sure exactly what it was about these pets, but they really got my creative juices flowing. I tried this art-deco effect with Oliver- wait, is that even the right term? See, I’m way outside my comfort zone here! Thanks for helping me develop, Oliver :)

This shoot also really spoke to me in terms of collages. As much as I like these images on their own, for some reason they were calling me to be put together!

And then we took a trip to the studio…

I LOVE OLIVER’S STUDIO SHOTS. This is just one of my favorites. He’s an absolute natural in there!!

As you can see, all the dogs did very well in the unfamiliar environment of the studio. All except one: Trinity. She was petrified. But luckily, her fear made her freeze, which happens to be very useful for taking photographs! We ended up getting much better shots than this, but I had to include this one to show you how we started out. She wouldn’t even come out of her travel kennel! Only after plenty of coaxing from Mom were we able to get pictures that were any different from this one.

Whew, I think that’s 25 pictures! I’m not sure why I hesitated to put so many up- it’s only a few of each pet! Just the sheer volume of it all- hopefully it won’t bore you. I figure you’re not here to read my brilliant writing, anyway, right?  :)

Thanks again for a great session, Teri and Danny. As for the rest of you, are you wondering how you could get so many pictures of your pet(s) too? Sign up for my Great Dane package like they did!

I’ve got more updates and blog posts coming very soon. I was quiet for a couple of weeks, but no longer…

 

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