What do you say when your model is an older dog who has earned the right to speak without a filter (even if it's only body language)?  You say, "Nice to meet you, Ilsa! Who's your friend?"

Say hello to Ilsa and Bianca!

Rarely, and I mean rarely is the first image I take of a dog ever a keeper. But, Ilsa is a rare dog. I feel like I can see all her years of wisdom as well as her heart in that first image that we got.

And, Bianca? Well, Bianca is a beautiful dog that I don't think could ever take a bad picture. Look at that smile!

We did the session at Ilsa's speed and took breaks moving away from people, dogs, and squirrels at the park. I don't think Bianca even noticed. She had fun running, performing tricks, and posing (and posing, and posing some more). Good girl, Bianca!

Ilsa told me that she was only there because she needed to teach Bianca how to pose. Or was it that she was only there for the treats?? There might have been a miscommunication on my part. In any case, Ilsa allowed me to get some sweet pictures of her, too.

And, everyone was smiling in the group photo! Proof that "together is our favorite place to be." (I think Ilsa was the one that said that, but I could be mistaken.)

When you're the new kid in the family you kind of get blamed... for everything. Even when it wasn't you! (We've all been there, Astrid.)

This is (in order) Archie, Astrid & Phoebe. They play together, learn together, and now the older two have someone else to blame for eating the homework. ;O)

These pups get to try all the things. Archie, staying true to his heritage loves herding, but he's great at obedience training and pretty keen on dock diving, too. Pheobe has learned to pose while holding things in her mouth, but is always up for anything (like finding snake skins during a photo session!). Her dog mom says she can always make you smile and I found that to be oh-so-true in just the short time that I was with her. Astrid will get to decide what she likes to do soon as she watches her older siblings and contributes to family shenanigans for now.

All in all, these pups have a pretty good life. Make that a great life. They get to do all the things AND they have a dog mom who wants to do all the things with them.

Enjoy the good life, pups!

These girls are dog mom girls, and they're smitten with theirs. Say hello to Mozzi and Lotus.

Mozzi is a retired canine comforter for college students, but even though she's retired she hasn't stopped spreading good vibes. She's a playful pup and a cuddle bug, and follows her dog mom around making sure she's happy.

Here's a fun fact... Even though Mozzi was named after the beloved character on the tv series White Collar, she loves to sit on mom's lap and watch... wait for it... Law and Order! :O)

Lotus was a pandemic pup and proof that there were some gems that came out of that time period. With Kate being a yoga instructor, Lotus was named appropriately with her crazy legs and oh-so-soft ears. She keeps mom laughing with the way she lays and how she talks back with sass.

It was very hot the day of our session, but these girls had fun! They ran, played, posed with mom, and even tried bubbles for the first time... let's just say Lotus let us know that she's fine without the bubbles. lol

I loved meeting these two (and Kate, too of course)! But, seeing them with Kate made my heart smile. Even though they made it clear that they were independent and very capable of leading the way, these girls constantly (and secretly they thought) kept an eye on mom making sure she was happy and doing fine.

Take care girls! And, keep having fun!

I've had so many inquiries for end of life Zoe Sessions the past couple of months. At first I thought it was like when you buy a new car you suddenly see your car everywhere. We said good by to Dash in May and that's when the inquiries started.

It's always sad to say goodbye and it's never easy no matter how long you've known it was coming. It's even harder for those who have young pups who are told that that pup's life will not be extended much longer.

Sandy was such a happy dog and when we did a short photo session for her I wanted to make sure that happiness showed in the images. End of life Zoe Sessions are designed to capture all that you love about your dog while minimizing the effects of age or decease. So, we set out to get some images that showed Sandy at her best.

These two fun loving pups are called Ivy and Pete. 

Ivy and Pete's human stays very busy with them training and traveling to competitions. I love that these two are so active at a young age. You see, Ivy just turned a year old and Pete is only 7 months. I honestly kept having to remind myself that they were just puppies!

I honestly don't know who had more fun, the pups or me. ;O)
Don't grow up too fast Ivy and Pete!

You may know this guy as Downtown Henry, but he's so much more than a title. Henry is the most fun-loving, hard working, squirrel distracted, handsome, and yes, derpy dog I know. When you have this much going on, girls want to kiss you and guys want to walk you. ;O)

Did you notice Henry's ears? Every time I see this guy, Fabio comes to mind. I'm showing my age saying that name, but for those who don't know, Fabio was known for his long hair often filmed blowing in the wind. That's Henry's ears. Long and luxurious ears that frankly have a mind of their own.

What I love about Henry is he's completely smitten with his humans. He's an only dog so he might be considered a bit spoiled, but when it comes to his humans Henry is always by their side spoiling them right back.

Keep doing what you love, Henry. There are so many more adventures ahead for you.

This is Denver! He's all business in the front and party in the... well, he's also got a party side. Don't believe me, just watch his tail!

​Denver is a therapy dog with too many initials after his name for me to try and remember them all here, but because he has a business side opposite from his fun loving side, he's one of the best in the therapy world.

When Denver poses for the camera he's all business. He has such a handsome face and he works it.

But, when Denver plays, he can't keep the huge grin off his face! 

Even with his friends, it's either all fun and games, 

or "give them your best Bogart, Bogie."

Whatever the situation calls for, work it, Denver. You're beautiful inside and out!

This handsome dog is Jager. What a stud muffin! Look at those ebony ear curls! Did I mention he was handsome?!

Jager is one of those dogs who is lucky enough to be equipped with everything a dog needs to be able to spend time outside in the snow with his humans. A sturdy build, thick fur, and dog parents who don't mind the cold! (You need all three of these if you want to build a snowman.)

Jager is a traveler (with his humans of course) and isn't shy when it comes to the camera. He would make a very handsome leading man in any movie and he doesn't mind sharing the spotlight.

During his snow session this fluffy dog had fun in all the fluffy snow. He was happy to pose when his dog mom asked him to and I know he was thinking, "I wonder what's next!" Once we told him we got the shot his smile was huge curious as to where we were taking him next.

I'm with Jager... Love, laughter and new adventures in new places. It doesn't get better than that.

This dog isn't a die hard fan of snow, but you'd never know it. It's because her love for her dog mom outweighs having cold paws when she could be doing indoor dog sports like barn hunt, scent trial and rally (to name only a few). Raven loves hanging out with her human and she's happy to go anywhere or do anything with her.

She loves to play as much as she loves to work and considers both a big win. But, playing or posing, I think it's obvious, Raven is a gorgeous dog (and, I don't think she even knows it!)!

Dogs and humans are made for each other. They make us laugh, they make us cry and they make us better humans. In return they just want to be with us. Whether its doing dog sports or just hanging out on the couch these two are inseparable. 

I do what I do because I want clients to have images that show without a doubt just how much their dog loves and adores them. That they truly love playing, hunting, working, or just hanging out on the couch with them.

When someone asks how I came up with my pricing I could wrap it up in one sentence...

There are several pricing models that photographers will use depending on their own personal circumstances.

​Some photographers want to schedule as many clients as possible and deliver digital images from an online gallery.  These photographers are usually on the lower price end. The gallery might include every image taken at the session (up to a thousand images for a wedding) including images where people have their eyes closed, or kids doing something other than what you'd want them doing in a portrait for your wall. It's up to the client to weed through and decide what they want.

Higher end photographers photograph only a few clients a year, so they need to make sure that those clients are going to be willing to spend more to make sure that they can still make a living with their craft.  Everything is personalized for the client, sometimes including traveling halfway around the world. They only show the client the best of the best images (And, there is usually champaign and expensive chocolate at the reveals. Love it!)

My business practice is somewhere in the middle. 

First and foremost, when a photographer sells you a print, you're not paying just for the paper that it's printed on.

They're selling you the image that's printed on that paper along with everything that went into creating that image.

A photographer's camera and equipment, schooling, trade seminars, mentors, and online classes all cost money. After this there is:

- The photographer's time (before, during and after a session)
- The costs for a phone line, marketing, and insurance all go into the price of an image as well.
- Monthly subscriptions for websites, editing software, gallery sites, archives for client images
- If the photographer has a studio, then there is rent to pay and employee salaries.

​ After all of the obvious and not so obvious costs are added together, you can then add the cost of printing the products themselves. In the end, a photographer needs to pay their bills just like everyone else so we can't expect them to charge what the big box stores charge.