Oh, Maddie! I love this sweet face. And I got to see it again because she visited the studio for the second half of her photo session on Monday! Yay!

If you didn’t see Maddie’s first sneak peek, check it out here. She’s a happy little dog that deserves to be spoiled, and I saw her (& her cockatiel brother!) for the first half of their photo session last week, but since my Great Dane Package comes with more time than this old girl had the energy for in one day, we split up her photo session over two different days to make it a bit more manageable. So she trotted into my studio on Monday, happy & full of energy, and I knew we had made the right choice in giving her time to “recuperate” from last week, haha!

I love black dogs on gray backgrounds. Love love love.

We even spent a little while on the black backdrop, for a bit of drama… I haven’t done this since photographing a couple of black labradors last year, so I was thrilled to get Maddie into the “void”!  :)   (My apologies if certain monitor settings don’t display this photo the way it was intended to be shown from computer to computer.)

And the old girl had plenty of energy left for a run-around in the park, so we visited nearby Presidio Park in central San Diego for more portraits. Both of these are personal favorites of mine… that happy face just beams, and right there with her mom is exactly where Maddie belongs.

Maddie, you’re a champ. Leslie, I’ll see you soon for an epic Ordering Session – I know you’re a pretty analytical & decisive person, but I hope you’re prepared for the massive gallery of photos comin’ your way!  I can’t wait to show them all to you!  :)

The holidays are coming up quickly, and if you’re in the San Diego area & hoping to include your dog in your Christmas cards, I have a great solution for you!

Dexter’s Deli & I are hosting holiday mini-sessions, to give you a great family photo & help you get those Christmas cards in the mail! 

Take a look at this year’s adorable card designs! (featuring Bailey, of course!)

I’ll keep this short & sweet, so you can get all the details and get back to enjoying your – ahem – November. (hey, it never hurts to plan ahead!)

~   Saturday, November 16th I’ll be at Dexter’s Deli in Del Mar, CA, accepting 15-minute sessions for $85 each. They include plenty of shooting time to get a few photos of the whole family, a few of just your dog(s), and any other arrangements of people/pets you’d like. You’ll walk away with a high-res, printable digital file to make your own cards, or you can order the custom-designed cards above for a small additional fee. Call the store to reserve your time slot! (if there are any left!) Their number is 858-792-3707.

            ~   (Tip for regulars: tell them you’ve been to Dexter’s before… There’s a special deal for loyal customers!)

~   Saturday & Sunday, December 7th & 8th I’ll be at my studio (3251 Adams Ave, Suite C, San Diego, CA 92116). These 15-minute mini-sessions will be $95 each and come with either two digital images or 12 custom-designed Christmas cards! The normal price for a session like this would be over $130, but it’s the holidays (my first Christmas in San Diego!) and I want to make sure that everyone has the opportunity to make a Christmas card that’ll win the spot of honor on their relatives’ fridges. :)

(As opposed to Dexter’s ivy wall background, studio photos will look more like this:)

Questions? Concerns? Email me, allison@allisonshamrell.com, or leave a comment on this blog post.

I hope to see you & your dogs either this Saturday, or in December! :)

(Just a quick footnote: I only have a couple of spots left for full-length sessions in time for the holidays, as well… and those clients would have access to the custom card designs shown above too! So if you think you might want more than a digital file & cards, definitely send me an email and we’ll chat about getting a date on our calendars!)

When I meet someone and mention that I do professional pet photography, they often ask me: what’s the weirdest pet you’ve ever photographed? And I have to disappoint them and admit that I’ve never worked with reptiles, sugar gliders, goats or capybaras. One day, maybe – I would love to! – but my pet photography expertise has just extended to dogs, cats, and a few horses in the past.

Well this week I was able to add another species to that list! I photographed my very first cockatiel! His name is Tuck, and he’s known to his mom (and their neighbors, probably) as the loudest cockatiel in southern California! When we were working with his sister, Maddie the dog, he would sit in his cage, cheeping & chirping & yelling away! Cockatiels can talk, like parrots, but “he talks on his own time,” as his mom says, so I never got to hear him say actual words… but that’s okay, because he was actually a great little poser for my camera!

Isn’t he a cutie? He’s got every shade of grey in those feathers…

And of course, let me introduce you to Tuck’s canine sister, Maddie! She’s a total sweetheart, but unfortunately she’s been in & out of chemotherapy treatments recently, amongst other issues… let’s just say she spends way too much time at the vet. So I was happy to provide this big-eared girl with an afternoon of playtime!

Her mom booked The Great Dane Package, because Miss Maddie deserves to have plenty of time being spoiled as the center of attention. But since she’s older, and moves a bit slower, and grows more tired than most dogs… we decided to split up the session into two meetings. I don’t normally do this, and it certainly wouldn’t make sense for a Beagle Package or even a Dalmatian Package, but Maddie’s age & demeanor called for an exception in this case. Her mom knows her best, of course, and suggested the idea – and I quickly agreed. And it was the right call: as we were wrapping up the first half of our session, Maddie slowed waaaaay down and seemed ready for a nice, long nap. (I can’t blame her, either: it’s a common side effect of photo sessions! haha!)

Maddie was excited to show me this gorgeous little field of flowers in her neighborhood! (I swear, she practically looks like a different dog from each angle!)

Leslie, I had a great time with you & your “kids”! Thank you for patiently answering my constant stream of questions about cockatiels, haha… I can’t wait to have you & Maddie here in the studio soon!