Several weekends ago I attended a workshop by one of my favorite photographers, Shannon Sewell, whose style has always been an inspiration to me.  The subjects we photograph and the way we photograph couldn’t be more different but I believe it’s important to push yourself beyond your comfort zone and try new things – I am constantly pushing myself to learn and grow as a photographer.  Shannon photographs stylized and posed children, which is a 180 degree difference from candid pet photography, but I have loved her work for years and holy cow did I learn a lot from her.

I met lots of great local children’s photographers and the most amazing thing happened.  While watching the other children photographers attending the workshop, I saw just how passionate they were about what they do.  You see, I’ve always loved pets, I’ve always known I want to photograph pets and pets with their people.  But this drove home for me that I really am doing what I love because watching the other photographer’s faces light up when they spoke about what they do – I know I feel the exact same way about what I photograph.

At the shoot I was taking photos and watching Shannon work with the models, but out of the corner of my eye, I couldn’t help but see the cute doggies that kept walking by us on the trail.  Then I saw a baby goose by the lake, so I decided to step away from the workshop for a few minutes to photograph the baby goose.  And in that moment, I knew my heart is in the right place and that I am exactly where I need to be photography-wise, niche-wise and career-wise.  This by far is not my best image of the day, but it sure is my favorite.

Oh how I love me some Goldendoodles and Golden Retrievers!  They are so full of personality, spunk and have a zest for life that is contagious and makes me grin ear to ear.

I ask each of my pet photography clients to fill out a little bit of information about their pets prior to their session – I truly love reading about just how much my clients love their pets and why!  I want to share what their parents had to say about Cody and Cassie because I think they sum it up perfectly…

“Cody is very, very sweet. Loves everyone and expects the same in return – he will talk to you if you ignore him! He has so much personality I don’t know where to start. When he’s excited he’ll sit and stamp his front paws back and forth on the ground like he might burst at any moment. When he’s begging to be petted and you stop, he’ll immediately look around at you as if to say, “What’s the problem? You stopping already?”  Cody loves his plush toys but only gets to enjoy them for a short time before Cassie rips them apart. He’s probably happiest when he’s lying on the grass in the front yard surveying his domain. He doesn’t fetch and is scared of loud noises – basically a failure as a sporting dog, but somehow manages to sweep everyone off their feet with his handsome face and gentle manner.

Cassie is the wild one. She’s super sweet, and has way more energy than Cody. She doesn’t care about other dogs but loves Cody to death. She cocks her head when you say something she recognizes.  Cassie got all of Cody’s retriever genes. She will fetch a ball over and over, expecting a treat with each return of course. Her favorite toy is the one Cody’s currently playing with, especially if she hasn’t pulled the stuffing out of it yet! She pretends she’s an independent type but will follow you around the house all day.  These two are basically inseparable, and share everything, I bet you’ve never seen two dogs sharing a steak bone before…  They both love to explore outdoors an would like nothing better than to go off-leash and go exploring.  They both LOVE to swim. This is the one area where Cody excels at fetching — he beats Cassie to the stick every time and plays some great keep-away games with her (poor Cassie!).”

Cody has Lymphoma and has been receiving chemo since the beginning of the year.  I am hoping with all my might that he makes a full and permanent recovery.  Please send this beautiful boy some happy and healing thoughts if you can!

Caring Hands Animal Hospital in Centreville, Va is having their 14th Annual Open House & Dog Wash event this Sunday, August 22nd and there’s going to be lots of fun events and activities for families, dogs and children!

I was so excited to be able to donate a special little something to their silent auction because all of the proceeds go directly to help local dog rescues like the Northern Virginia Sheltie Rescue, the Homeless Animal Rescue Team and Friends of Homeless Animals.  If you are looking for something fun to do with your dog this weekend while supporting a great cause that is very near and dear to my heart, please check it out!

The photo above is Miss Kiki using her favorite toy as a pillow.  She cracks me up!