San Diego Pet Photographer Allison Shamrell ~ The Blog

Mags the Shiba Inu, at the Coast in La Jolla

May 14th, 2021

Ooooh guess what?! You should be excited – because today you get to meet Mags, the 13 year old shiba inu! He’s laid-back, happy, and has perfected the art of going with the flow. You can’t help but love him! And he has one of my favorite back-stories: his mom has known him almost all of his life, because he actually used to belong to some friends of hers. Life situations changed, and one magical day she became his owner about 5 years ago! I think it’s so cool that she’s always been a part of his life in some way or another, and one day they simply made it official! These two are very special to one another, and it was great to see their relationship during our photo session.

Mags is the kind of dog who appreciates the “comforts of home”, but we took him out to the wilderness – okay, just the beach in La Jolla – for his photo session. He was such a good sport! Right after we got there, we went straight to the water – and the poor guy got slammed by one of the very first waves! It absolutely soaked his legs and belly. Don’t worry, it didn’t go over his head and certainly wasn’t dangerous – but I think it was definitely more than he bargained for, haha! Surprisingly, he was still willing to pose for the camera and have a good time – after a few seconds he was back to his happy-go-lucky, relaxed self. Sorry about that big wave, Mags… you’re a trooper!

We moved on to Sunset Cliffs and managed to snag one of the last pretty sunsets that we’ll have until about… July! We have this saying here in San Diego, “May gray, June gloom.” When the marine layer comes to town the sunsets just don’t happen like they usually do. The sun gets completely buried behind a thick pea soup of clouds. So I feel like we got super lucky with some gorgeous images! And I’m so happy it all came together for sweet little Mags. :)

This photo is post-giant-wave… I’m pretty sure Mags doesn’t get grumpy, ever. Which is saying something for a 13-year-old!

Mags doesn’t really run or play fetch these days… but luckily my tennis ball was new & interesting enough to chase a few times!

He’s such a handsome boy, don’t you think?

Oh that sweet face. Mags, you slay me.

Big thanks to Mags and his mom for such a fun photo session! See you both soon! :)

Tags: beach, la jolla, pet photographer, pet photography, San Diego Dog Photographer, San Diego pet photography, shiba inu, sunset cliffs
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Porter, the Anxious Yet Adorable Puppy

February 3rd, 2021

Stop what you’re doing – you’ll thank me later – and come meet this adorable 6-month-old rescue puppy, Porter! He was recently adopted from a rescue organization in the Little Italy area of San Diego. And as his dad cleverly says, Porter comes from a long, established line of street dogs! :)

My favorite part of their story comes from the first time Porter met his dad: they had gone on a walk around Little Italy, to get acquainted, and afterwards Porter fell asleep on his shoes when they were done. It speaks volumes to me that he would immediately trust him that much! Porter’s trust isn’t earned very easily – trust me on this one – so I think that story is all the proof I’ll ever need that Porter & his dad are the perfect match.

My second favorite thing about Porter and his dad’s story? Turns out Porter is a little timid around new people, due to some anxiety issues. He’s had some sleeping issues at night, and separation anxiety too – so his dad has kindly worked with him by busting out the sleeping bag to be near him, just outside of his crate, all night long. Once the sleeping bag was working to keep Porter calm & happy, he “graduated” to sleeping on the couch! This went on for weeks – all to keep Porter as comfortable as possible. Isn’t that wonderful?! That story just blew me away with how dedicated he is to his boy! Thankfully, Porter is doing much better in his crate now, and his anxiety issues are lessening. Their connection is real, and as a result, it’s safe to say that Porter only has eyes for his dad.

The nice thing about Porter’s nervousness around other people & wanting to stay close to his dad was that he was able to be off-leash in some relatively crowded parts of town. No issues, no running away whatsoever – which is amazing for a puppy! If he got distracted by some smells, he was always quick to come trotting right back. I lovingly nicknamed him the “velcro puppy”, since he never wanted to be more than a couple of inches from his dad. I wonder if that’s a personality trait that will stick around as time goes on…

We started our photo session at the Spanish Art Village at Balboa Park, and then headed over to Coronado Beach. I think Porter’s favorite part of the session was playing fetch on the beach!

This is Porter. That face… what a handsome boy!

When I say he looks up to his dad, I mean it literally & figuratively.

We got alllllll that puppy energy out at the beach!

I’m pretty sure these two can handle anything life throws at them, as long as they’re together.

Jay, thank you for such a lovely afternoon with you and Porter! I can’t wait to show you all the images we were able to capture – we have quite a few! See you soon!

Tags: beach, coronado, coronado pet photography, puppy, san diego dog, San Diego dog photography
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San Diego Dogs Harley & Mason

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!

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!

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

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!

Tags: beach, dogs, mixed breed, park, pets, San Diego, San Diego pet photography, skyline
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Rocky, Prince, Homer & Roxy – a Family of Dachshunds & Miniature Schnauzers

October 27th, 2020

I recently had the pleasure of photographing the cutest dog pack! This family includes 2 dachshunds and 2 miniature schnauzers – a lot of little dogs with big personalities. :) Sometimes photographing multiple dogs can be a challenge from the photographer’s perspective, and that wasn’t untrue for us – but you know what? The more the merrier! We were able to created a ton of great portraits and had fun while doing so. We started out at Old Poway Park where we relaxed and played in the grass. We noticed a funny trend, too: if there was another dog that tried to come near our “spot”, these dogs would (loudly) let that dog know that this is obviously our territory! But if there was a dog that we walked by, that had already been in his own “spot”, they were totally cool with that and walked by without a peep. This group kept us on our toes and laughing, that’s for sure! I’d love to introduce you to the crew!

Let’s start with Homer, the elder miniature schnauzer! If the dogs are all outside playing, you can bet on him to be the one chasing a ball. Did you two just meet? Throw him a ball to run after and you might just become his new best friend. :) Might I add that he is super fast – he’s definitely the athlete of the group! He also cracked us up because he’s pretty tough and not afraid to join in on the barking at anyone who passes by.

Next up is Roxy. She’s the newest addition to the family, a rescue, and the same breed as Homer. She’s such a sweetheart and even a little bit shy. Taking action shots with her was completely opposite of Homer’s style… she isn’t interested in chasing the ball whatsoever. She would just watch it roll on by… which, in contrast to her brother, was hilarious! But she was willing to run alongside her parents, which was very cute. She is people-oriented and so much fun to work with!

Prince is the younger of the two dachshunds. He is a guard dog extraordinaire and was constantly on the lookout for anyone who dared to walk in our park. I’m pretty sure that if the dogs were all barking at any point, he was the instigator. If someone started to get close to us at the beach, he was the first one to sound the alarm and the other dogs followed. There is absolutely no sneaking up on this one, haha! Nevertheless, he was a good boy and such a cutie!

Lastly, this is Rocky, the old man of the bunch. He’s got some health issues, but when you get older I suppose that’s what happens to all of us. He’s the sweetest senior dog with selective hearing and vision. He does what he wants and that’s okay! No action shots for him – those days of running wild are past him, haha! He keeps the family grounded and reminds them to take their time. There’s no hurrying in his world, and as we walked around the park and the beach we would take regular breaks to let him catch up. He was an all around sweetheart!

I really enjoyed this photo session with this amazing motley crew and their parents. It had its fair share of “incidents” – ahem – but I’m so excited to share their photos! Thanks for a great afternoon, Victoria, and I’ll see you soon!

Tags: dachshund, doxie, miniature schnauzer, park, rescue, San Diego Dog Photographer, San Diego pet photography, San Diego rescue dog, schnauzer
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Elliot the Shy Dachshund

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?!

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

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.

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

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

Tags: action, beach, dachshund, dogs, park, pet photography, San Diego Dog Photographer, San Diego pet photography
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Mags the Shiba Inu, at the Coast in La Jolla

Porter, the Anxious Yet Adorable Puppy

San Diego Dogs Harley & Mason

Rocky, Prince, Homer & Roxy – a Family of Dachshunds & Miniature Schnauzers

Elliot the Shy Dachshund

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