A few weeks ago, my dogs were restless and needed a nice break from their normal stomping grounds. I felt the same way. Plus, I needed to make sure the location I selected for a commercial shoot was looking nice and spring-like.
We hopped in the car and went to one of my favorite shooting locations (I often recommend this secret place to my clients). As we walked to my favorite field, we turned the corner and I was almost blinded by...(click on the image above to continue reading)
Luke is a big ol' puppy with paws as large as my hands. I'm guessing he'll be a 90-pounder or so? When he came into the studio, I had to document all of his puppy goodness. I figured I'd give it a go with some video! As most of you know, I've really been playing around with video and trying to learn everything I can. This was a new experience in and of itself. Shot inside with only available lighting, I quickly realized I'll need to invest in some continuous video lighting if I want to replicate the look of the still images in the studio. Either way, we had a ton of fun and we ended up with a super-cute promo video. I especially love the end...
Pet Portrait Studio from Sarah McGraw on Vimeo.
And I'm sure you'd like to see a closer look of Luke's still images. I adore this big baby!
Thanks so much for coming along on this fun session!
I have the best doggies. Period. Haha! Everyone says that so it's ok, right? But seriously, they are our babies so of course we feel that way. :) We grow with them, learn from them, and share fun experiences with them. Sorry for the extra sappiness - I just got home from an Angel Session so I'm a little emotional. I'll try to stop. ;)
One experience that will rank high in my mental log was the recent and very rare snow storm that shut down our Southern city. It snowed for 3 days straight in Uptown Charlotte - the longest I've ever seen snow fall in a row. Yeah, not a big deal to people from the Mid-West or up North but, hey, let us have our fun. We got about 7 inches in our backyard when the snow and sleet finally came to an end.
Naturally, once the sun finally poked it's pretty little face out, I grabbed my camera, the dogs, and my hubby. Off to play...
Eva and Sadie had a complete blast! The snow made it extra fun to play keep-away. :)
As much as I hate the cold, I could shoot with a snowy background any day! What a gorgeous natural reflector!
The snow was a little crunchy because about half an inch of sleet slicked everything over. It made running a little tricky for the pups but made for some goofy shots.
Eva and Sadie looks so ferosious in this image but I promise this is how they play. Such goofballs!
See! Aren't they angels?!?! ;)
Like I said. Goofballs...
Sadie, of course, somehow found a stick despite the entire ground being covered with the white stuff. OMG. She is so stinkin' cute! And that sunshine. Ugh!!!
Eva is photo bombing to tell Sadie it's time to play again...
And they are back at it...
So what did your dogs do during the big snow storm of '14? Feel free to share pics over on Facebook!
Stay warm out there!
I know Angel Session blog posts can be a little sad. This one won't be too different but I promise there are plenty of smiles and laughs tucked away in these images! Rudy's mom contacted me just over a week ago and told me all about her baby boy. He's was a 13-year-old, 90% blind Maltese and had recently had 5 blood transfusions because an immune anemia disorder. Fortunately, I was at her house less than 24 hours later and got to capture some wonderful images of him with his lovely family. Sadly, today I got the word that he had crossed the bridge. :(
His mom couldn't have said it better - he is now pain-free and running with all of his friends...
This is my favorite of Rudy and his mom...
I'm so glad things remained fun and positive during the session. These smiles and kisses are etched into my memory now...
I told you I'd try to keep this from being too sad of a posting. With a face like Rudy's sister, Penelope, you can't help but laugh. This goofy girl has the tongue, legs, floppy ears, and dirty nose to cheer anyone up!
More Rudy lovin'...
We brought Rudy inside to give him a break from the stresses of the outdoors. He was just posing away once he relaxed on the bed. He even jumped in for a picture with his sis.
And even shared the love with her...
Another one of my favs with mama...
And because we have to leave on a fun and positive note, one last image of goofy Penelope. 
Run free sweet Rudy. You will be missed but your memory will live on. Hugs to your family. xx!!!!
An "overgrown fluffy Lab" was the description I got of Bailey when I got the session inquiry from her mom. With a description like that, I knew Bailey would be awesome! At 11 years old, she is still as bright-eyed and bushy-tailed as any puppy I've seen and was a pleasure to photograph. Unfortunately, when it came time to actually have her session, the weather just didn't want to cooperate. Dark grey clouds and threats of rain forced us to reschedule three times! That's a new record for me. Thankfully, on our fourth try, we lucked out with a gorgeous sunny day and mild temperatures. The wait was totally worth it!
So without further ado, here is Bailey...
We started Bailey's session at her townhouse and then moved on to one of her favorite walking trails.
The greenway was gorgeous and peaceful and we even encountered a few deer as we explored. Bailey wondered why we kept stopping and taking pictures instead of trying to walk the whole loop.
To end the session, we headed back home to a field behind Bailey's house.
She had never explored back there and her smile tells the story of how excited she was!!!
She seriously explored every nook and cranny she could get to! I think I had as much fun as she did!
Bailey, it was so wonderful to FINALLY spend and afternoon photographing you! I hope you have since recovered from all the excitement and I can't wait to see you again!
Jack Russells and Labs are probably two of this county's favorite breeds. They are both so happy and playful and evoke such a sense of joy. I was so excited to spend an afternoon with both when I got to photograph Scooter and Lucy!
Scooter is the perfect name for a Jack Russell! He definitely scooted around chasing his ball and working off his Jack Russell energy. He is such a cute munchkin!!!
Gotta love his smile! :)
Lucy is a black Lab mix who was adopted from the Humane Society of Charlotte. This sweetheart is unbelievably good and I just fell in love with her!
Every so often she will show you her go-go-gadget ears! :)
Meanwhile, Scooter was strictly business and made sure someone was throwing his ball at all times. He loved my Kong tennis ball more than any of his own so I left it with his as a parting gift.
This looks like it could end badly. No fear...neither one of us got injured!
He's saying, "Hey! Are you getting this?!?"
Sweet babies!!!! Look at Lucy sitting pretty!
Lucy will charm you in a SECOND with this precious smile...
And on the other end, she is making snow angels. With no snow. And just one wing. ;)
On the left, no silly noises. On the right, weird noises coming from the camera lady. I can almost hear the "Argh?" from the two of them.
Thanks so much for such a wonderful afternoon! Scooter and Lucy were such a joy to be around. Their 2-legged parents are very lucky! Slobbery kisses!
Morgan and Sam are quite the special pair. They are the two oldest pups in a pack of five - yes, five! They are buddies and love to chill together while the other three "kids" do their young-dog thing. Sam, the oldest, has an *adorable* gray face (I'm a sucker) while Morgan is a super cozy, fluffy, black fur-ball. Back in August, these two had a surprise session for their mom's birthday/Christmas gift. She was away for the summer working on a ranch in Jackson, WY (my favorite place in the world) and missed her pups dearly. This gave us a wonderful opportunity to sneak in a session without her knowing.
Their dad *might* not have been able to wait till those special holidays to unveil the surprise though. ;) Well, now that the secret is out, I'm happy to share their beautiful faces with the world. Sorry I made their mom cry when she saw the pictures but I hope she cherishes them forever. <3
Morgan is such a sweetie pie with the cutest smile and to-die-for ears. Is this not a face that gets what it wants?
Like I mentioned, I am a sucker for gray faces. So when I saw Sam for the first time, I melted a little on the inside. I heart older dogs! 
We had our session at Latta Plantation and spent most of the shoot along the lakefront. Morgan was, um, a little obsessed with the water and stared longingly at it...
Just the thought of going near the lake got her super excited...
And then she was pooped...
I just want to grab her and cuddle with her fluffy fur!
Now Sam wasn't as excited about the water as Morgan was. However, he agreed to pose his handsome face in front of the lake for me!
Sam was much happier hanging out where there wasn't risk of him falling in the water. He was all smiles on the dock.
I just want to give his little face kisses!
Thank you for such a wonderful session! I'm so glad I got to spend an evening making some wonderful memories for Morgan and Sam's mom! {{{HUGS}}}!
A couple weekends ago, we made the long trek to upstate New York to spend some time with my husband's family. We decided to bring along the dogs thinking they would have a blast running around with their 4-legged cousins, checking out the horses (and hopefully not rolling in poop), and running around in the big fields. Unfortunately, the trip didn't start out so great for Eva and Sadie. About 5 minutes after arriving, poor Eva got caught in the electric fence and it scared us to death! That pretty much assured us that she wouldn't be going anywhere near the fenced-in horses (and their oh-so-attractive poop). That same day, Sadie was struck with a bout of nasty diarrhea and had several accidents in the house (including one in my husband's suitcase - gross). The following day, Sadie's diarrhea continued and Eva ran into some concrete landscape edging and scratched up her face. Ugh. The poor dogs!!!
On our last day in New York, we figured they needed to have a vacation from their vacation. We decided to scope out a park with some gorgeous shoreline along Lake Ontario and allow the pups to go swimming. Eva LOVES to swim and she would fetch sticks all day if we let her. Sadie, on the other hand, had never been swimming in a large body of water so this was going to be an experiment (and hopefully not end up like the rest of their trip so far). Well, she didn't think twice about running in! She acted like she has swam all of her life. I'm so happy they got to finally have some "vacation" time! :)
The BFF's...
Sadie had so much fun in the lake. The cool water was refreshing and she wouldn't stop running!
But I managed to steal a quick pic during a brief moment of rest. Lol!
Back at the house, Eva and Sadie got to do more of what they love and play in the gorgeous fields in the backyard. The sun was setting and the grasses just glowed! They had so much fun running around chasing the frisbee...and each other!
All this swimming and running around made them super tired for the ride home. I think they slept for 4 days afterward!
The end!
