Lulu, Bailey, Charlee & Lillie

Lulu, Bailey, Charlee, and Lillie's parents won an on-location session during a silent auction event benefitting the Concord and Greater Cabarrus Humane Society. We quickly scheduled their session and, just before the temperatures went sky-high (along with the humidity), I was able to spend a lovely evening with these gorgeous ladies. This four-pack of pups were absolute dolls and their beauty blew me away. I feel so lucky to have had the opportunity to photograph them. We started off photographing the eldest of the pack. Lulu is almost 14 but is still a little firecracker! She not afraid to put her sisters in place. She knows she still rules the roost. :)

Next up was Lillie. Now this dog is one gorgeous lady! She is accessorized with brown spots as opposed to the normal black spots found in Dalmatians. And her eyes and personality just sparkle!Bailey's turn was next. This is Daddy's baby girl. He's putting up a gallery display in his office and Bailey's image is going to be the centerpiece. I totally get it...I'm a sucker for a sweet black Lab too. :)Last but not least, I got to hang out with Charlee. She's a little more on the shy side but is still a ham for some treats and the ball. Aren't her multi-colored eyes spectacular?We also got to do quite a bit of playing. The two Dalmatians loved it and were full-on crazy! Haha!And we of course needed to get an image of all the single ladies (all the single ladies)...excuse my Beyonce moment...I can't wait until Lulu, Bailey, Charlee and Lillie's artwork comes in! It's going to look amazing on the walls and the album is simply gorg!!!

Shelby - Angel Session

In the midst of a busy Spring season, there is always time to squeeze in an Angel Session. Of course I don't like to. Not because of scheduling, but because I wish my clients were never faced with the situation. It is beyond heartbreaking to hear the story of a pet having to say goodbye too soon. It's always hard to grasp. Why? Why are they with us for such a short period of time? It's just not fair. Shelby was recently diagnosed with terminal cancer. It took the vet almost a year to diagnose the problem and by then, the tumor was too large to remove. Shelby just started chemotherapy and, fortunately, hasn't had any side effects.

We are all so happy that she still has a smile on her face...

Shelby has so much soul behind her eyes. They seem to go on forever... We started off the session a little on the rocky side. Shelby was so stimulated by the new environment, she was a little over-excited and distracted. Once we pulled out the Buddy Biscuits, she was all mine! :) Shelby was so beautiful in front of the yellow flowers. I think she was made to be photographed here. Even the pretty pink and yellow collar accessory matches wonderfully. Love!Please send positive thoughts for Shelby and her family. She is deeply loved...

Puppy Love's Hard to Ignore

I've been wanting to make a promo video for McGraw Photography for years. I'm such a control freak that I've wanted to do it myself even though I have no idea how to shoot video, much less edit it. Well, that's where Creative Live comes in. Creative Live is an online classroom for photographers, videographers, designers, etc. If watched live, their classes are free. You also have the option to purchase each class so you can refer back to it over and over.

When I've watched Creative Live in the past, I mostly tuned in to watch classes on photography. Well that all changed when I decided to watch Rob and Vanessa's course on video fusion - a mix of stills and video. That class really got me thinking that it would be possible to make a video for myself. However, I was also put in the mindset that, "oh, I don't have that equipment, I don't just want to do slideshows, etc."

Fortunately, Creative Live came to the rescue again when I watched Hailey Bartholomew and Sue Bryce's course on show reels. Those fabulous women showed me that I didn't need a ton of fancy equipment and the shooting was WAY more my style (especially with dogs that may be a little hard to direct). I was completely inspired and decided to pick up my camera and play around!

Now keep in mind this is my very first video. I was by myself (which can be difficult with a dog) and I only used my 5D Mark III, my 35mm lens and the strap around my neck. I eventually want to get a Fig Rig for smoother movement but I need to make sure I would use it enough (or convince my husband I would)! Anyway, I hope you enjoy my happy girl, Sadie, playing with me in the backyard...

I am truly inspired now and I can't wait to make a "real" promo video for my business!

Puppy kisses!

***EDIT*** I just wanted to touch on a couple things people have had questions on! :) This was shot on manual exposure with manual focusing. I forgot to manually set my white balance - oops! - so it was on auto. The video was edited with iMovie. Oh, and the song is I Adore by Mindy Gledhill and it was licensed from Triple Scoop Music. I think that's it! :)

Dog Fancy!

When I first started my photography business, one of my goals was to have an image published in a national magazine. At the time, my focus was architectural photography so my dreams revolved around being published in magazines such as Metropolitan Home, Dwell and Architectural Digest. As times have changed and my focus has solely become pet photography, my dream publications have also changed. Now I dream of being published in Dog Fancy, Bark Magazine, Modern Dog and others. A couple months ago, one of my dreams became a reality. I got an email informing me that one of my submissions to Dog Fancy was accepted into the magazine and that it would be featured in the September issue. I was so excited when I received my copies in the mail! One of Boss's pictures (see his blog post here) was the image they chose and I'm sure he is so proud to be featured on two pages in this national publication!

Boss' mom even sent over a couple pictures of what the new-found fame has done to his self-image. I sure hope he can bounce back from this... BOL!

Jack - Angel Session

Jack's life began in a rough fashion. He was found on a road in Chicago and was very sickly with bugs and parasites. He couldn't gain weight and the vet said he wouldn't grow bigger than 40 pounds. Fortunately, after a couple of years, he bounced out of the illnesses and shot up to 85 pounds. He spent the next few years traveling with his mom and getting all the love in the world. Unfortunately, back in March at only 8 years old, Jack developed a small tumor under his skin. It quickly grew and, despite removal, more and more began to appear and spread throughout his body. It was almost his time to say goodbye to the beautiful life he had lived.

Jack, his mom, and I spent a lovely evening together photographing Jack in his favorite spots around his yard. As Jack hung out, we got to reminisce about his puppyhood, his travels, and his current love for Vienna Sausages. I'm so glad we got to honor Jack with a very special photo shoot before he had to say his final goodbyes two days later. Rest in peace, sweet boy. You will be missed.

I love Jack's eyes. He is so inquisitive and I love how he still showed some puppy-ness in there.It was uncomfortable for Jack to lay down so he spent most of the session standing up. He took advantage of a quick massage to relax his muscles...Jack also got to hang out with his kitty friend!Oh so happy!!!I hope Jack's mom will treasure her images for years to come. May they bring some peace in this difficult time.

Jack's session was booked and shot on the same day. I will do whatever I can to photograph an emergency session as soon as possible. If you are ever in this situation and time is of the essence, you and your dog will be my top priority.

Ruby and Leo - Family Time

During our recent trip to New York, I was lucky enough to spend some quality time with my 4-legged niece, Ruby, and 2-legged nephew, Leo. We had a nice little photo shoot and tried our best to get some images of the two of them together. However, they both seemed to have other plans! Lol! When I was photographing one, the other would be across the field. Most of what I was able to capture were the brief moments they crossed paths or when Leo would give Ruby a treat. I think we still got some cute images and I seriously love these two! I love how Leo is so curious about Ruby. Children at this age always are so interested in what their furry brothers and sisters are doing.Isn't my little nephew adorable?!?Ruby isn't too shabby either! BTW, I loved all the "cotton" that was falling down from the Cottonwood trees...

I can't wait to see how big Leo has gotten next time we go up to New York. Hopefully I can get even more pictures of the two of them together!