• 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.

Fiona, the Homebody Border Collie

September 24th, 2012

Fiona is a beautiful border collie that loves being at home! Her favorite activity is to play with her squeaky ball in her living room, closely followed by playing with her frisbee outside in the backyard. She just wouldn’t trade anything for being at home with her parents – she even loves the routine of playing in the backyard so much, that she’s worn down the grass in the specific path that she takes every time she goes out to play!

 

I really can’t blame her for loving her home and her usual routine so much. Lately, trips away from home have been to all sorts of vets’ offices, most lately the oncologist’s in Gainesville to get chemo medication. When leaving the house involves stuff like that, it’s no wonder Fiona’s a happy homebody. And in fact, we took a quick trip away from the house to visit my studio during our session, but I wanted to showcase images that show her at her “happy place” for this Sneak Peek! So here are a few images from her house:

 

A border collie dog plays with a frisbee in the grass.

 

Ball-focused? Yes, definitely!

A border collie dog watches a squeaky ball toy in her house.

 

Thank you for the honor of meeting your sweet girl, Julie. I can’t wait to show you the rest of the cute photos we got, very soon! :)

 

Boston Terriers and their Toys

September 21st, 2012

… and this case, these dogs’ “toys” include their siblings! :)

 

These lucky dogs have two adorable children to play with, and my goodness, this is SUCH a cute family! We spent a bit of time running around (which mostly involved the dogs playing keep-away from us humans) in their backyard, as well as relaxing on the couch inside. This is just a Sneak Peek, so I only have a few photos to show you – but these are definitely three of my favorites!

 

Charley is on the left – he turned two on the day of our session! And Odie is on the right; he’s a couple years older (and wiser?).

Two Boston terriers play with toys in the green grass.

 

I love this candid of Emory with Charley… he’s actually busy looking for squirrels through the window, but let’s pretend that he’s striking a handsome pose for the camera! :)

A Boston terrier and his human sibling relax on the couch.

 

 

Thanks, S. family – I can’t wait to see you all again soon!

 

 

Dog Photography: Outside, Inside, Outside, Inside

September 12th, 2012

That’s exactly how this session went! We started outside in the backyard, headed inside to relax on the couch, then went back outside to play fetch, then back inside to take a nap on the bed… and it was so much fun! Honestly, I really appreciate it when my clients choose my Dalmatian Package, because it means absolutely nothing will be rushed. Everyone (you, me, and your dogs) can all relax and take our time getting a huge variety of photos! So it was a very stress-free afternoon at Harley, Buster, and Lily Rose’s house. Let me introduce you to the stars of the show!

 

Harley is a big yet timid boxer, whose greatest fear was that I’d steal his soul with my camera. Yes really. Despite my efforts, I think he kept it. Lily Rose is the darling girl on the right, a delightful mix of Boston terrier, pit bull and who knows what else? She is such a little sweetheart!

A boxer and a pit bull-Boston terrier mix on grass.

 

Buster, the “big man” of the house, is an English bulldog with the BEST head tilt.

An English buldog on a colorful bed comforter.

 

And I wanted to share one more photo, only because Lily Rose struck this pose on her own, and made her mom Marcia and I laugh so hard! Don’t you love her dainty toes sticking out over the bed frame?

A pit bull/Boston terrier mix peeks over the side of a bed with her paws.

 

To say that this was a fun session doesn’t even begin to cover it. Thanks again Marcia – I can’t wait to see you & your crew again soon!

 

Premium Album Sample: Beckham the Labrador

September 10th, 2012

Another premium album came in, and I actually had enough time to photograph it before delivering it to my client! She was super-patient in waiting for it, since premium albums take a bare minimum of two weeks for the printing & binding process, plus the shipping time, plus the time I need to do a thorough quality check… so I was thrilled to finally hand this off to its rightful owner! It features Beckham the labrador, a super-sweet big ball of happy.

 

Beckham’s mom opted for the photo cover album. Here’s the box this album came in:

 

The cover is incredibly smooth and slightly soft to the touch. I love it!

 

Vellum paper aside, you can see Beckham’s handsome face!

Vellum paper and a photo album.

 

One of the most colorful spreads in the book; I love this one!

A professionally-design album page spread of a happy labrador.

 

This spread contains a wonderful, wonderful quote. It says:

“He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion.”    – Unknown

A dog quote in a premium album.

 

Zoomed out so you can see the whole spread:

A professionally-designed spread of album pages.

 

 Thick pages!

A side view of the pages of a high-quality professional photo album featuring a black labrador.

 

That’s it for now… thanks for reading & have a great Monday!

 

A Birthday Present for Myself!

September 3rd, 2012

Woohoo! Today is my birthday!  :)

 

And I have a present I’d like to give myself. It’s a pretty simple one, but I need the help of someone in the Pensacola area: I want to photograph a Bernese mountain dog. Yes, that’s the gift I want! I’ve photographed dozens of different dog breeds (and sometimes I think I could only photograph golden retrievers and still stay in business…) but I’m fascinated with meeting new breeds, and I’ve always secretly wanted to work with a Bernese mountain dog. They’re at the top of my “wish list”! They’re beautiful, relatively uncommon, and they just seem like really great dogs.

 

Here’s a screen shot of Wikipedia’s Bernese mountain dog entry… isn’t that a gorgeous dog?

Wikipedia photo of a Bernese mountain dog.

 

So if someone you know has a Bernese mountain dog, please pass on my information or this blog post! I’m happy to cover their session fee – so really, I suppose it’s a gift for both of us!

 

Bonus points if you have a PUPPY! My Google image search revealed all kinds of cuteness.

Google image search of Bernese mountain dog puppies.

 

Okay, that’s it for today! Hope you’re having a wonderful Labor Day too! :)

 

 

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