Pets & Their People

Confession, I’ve never had a pet (not even a fish). I’m pretty sure it’s because I had allergies from a very young age. For my whole life I’ve just adopted other people’s pets. My first adopted pet was Thor, a large, older German Shepherd that lived in the backyard behind us when I was a kid. I loved that dog. I remember I’d run up and down the fence line and Thor would chase after me. I pretended he was my dog. He never seemed to be the guard-dog that most German Shepherd are. Maybe he was just used to me.

I loved Thor, but I feared the Doberman Pinschers that lived next door to us. They always figured out how to escape the confines of their yard and were seemingly always on the verge of an attack. One of them snapped at me once, scratching my face just below the eye. It cemented a fear of the breed in my mind to this day.

Despite the unfortunate experience with the Dobermans, I have always loved dogs and animals in general. I just have too many allergies to have one living with me. I do, however, love when my sweet clients bring their adorable, loving and friendly pets to their sessions. I love these furry clients! I also love how excited their parents get about including their fur-babies in their portraits. If I were a dog mom I’d want my pup included in my portraits too!

Dogs are the most popular furry friends amongst my clients, but I also adore horses. I have always been fascinated by their regal nature and intelligence. Plus, I’ve yet to meet a horse that was not photogenic. I pinch myself every time a client asks to include these beautiful animals in a session. I had two sessions with horses this year!

As we celebrate what a great year 2018 was, enjoy this look back at some of my favorite sessions from the year, featuring some of the sweetest pets around! Also, scroll to the bottom of this post for my tips for including your furry friends into your portrait session!

When the sweetest pups ever make an appearance on wedding day, it’s just the best! I’m pretty sure Nova and Elliot would be friends if they ever met!

My cousin, Laura, is a veterinarian. She has always had the sweetest dogs! I call her German Shepherd-Husky mix my “god-dog” because I’m just that obsessed with her. When I flew out to Houston this week for a surprise portrait session for my aunt, I got to spend lots of time with this sweet fur-baby. I also got to meet her brother, Chuck, who is such a gentle giant. We were instant besties. Chuck obviously took posing lessons from his sister because he nailed the whole “smile for the camera” thing.

Tips For Including Your Furry Friends In Your Portraits

1. Let your photographer know in advance you want to include your pet. I always advise my clients to not begin the session with their furry friend present. It’s best to get warmed up and in the groove of the session before trying to get those shots with your furry friend. It will make you both more relaxed.
2. Bring treats and a special toy. We all get a little nervous in front of the camera and so do your pets. Treats and/or a special toy will go a long way towards getting your pet’s attention. It’s also nice to be able to reward them for a job well done!
3. Bring water, especially if it’s hot outside. Pets often get so excited with the activity of a portrait session;. All that excitement can also make them thirsty. Be sure to have some water on hand in case they need it.
4. Bring a friend to help. I recommend arranging for a friend, or family member, to bring your pets by for a portion of the session. This way you can focus on your portraits and not be worried about your sweet pet needing attention.
5. Don’t worry if your pet won’t sit still. When working with animals, I like to see what their natural personalities are like. Some are great at sitting still for a posed shot and others are more likely to want to explore! It’s best to work with their natural instinct.

Little Point Clear Senior Portraits

I met Mary Kathryn when she was a freshman in high school. Her mom, Kathy, hired me to photograph her annual cotillion ball that is part of her National League of Junior Cotillions program. Mary Kathryn was and still is her assistant for the ball. I always thought she was such a hard worker and mature beyond her age. I have seen this young lady grow up over these past four years and cannot believe how fast those years flew by! Mary Kathryn is such a joyful girl and I knew that we were going to have such fun at her senior portrait session! I also knew that Little Point Clear would be the perfect location for this shoot. I am so thankful that scheduling worked out for us to shoot there!

Getting together for a portrait session with Mary Kathryn was just like a visit with friends where you happen to take pictures. Mary Kathryn is my second senior portrait client this year that is a horseback rider. She rides competitively and says that she hopes to one day turn her love of animals into a career. I love hearing high school seniors talk about what they are passionate about. I have no doubt that whatever she ends up studying that she will do well.

Photographing this session at Little Point Clear was such a treat. I have photographed a portion of a wedding day at this venue, but hadn’t had the opportunity to do a portrait session there before. I love the all-white exterior and the lush greenery that spills out of the flower beds. It rained the afternoon of this session, but you couldn’t tell by the time we arrived for the shoot because the sun dried things quickly!

There is something extra special about getting to work with the same families year after year. I could barely contain my excitement when Kathy emailed me about this shoot. Thank you Mary Kathryn for such a fun senior portrait session! I hope it was a great start to a fabulous senior year!

Looking for a fun senior portrait experience? Contact me for availability for senior portrait sessions!

Now booking for fall 2018 and spring 2019!

Special thanks to Little Point Clear for letting us shoot at their beautiful property!

 

Spring Hill College Summer Engagement

It was the eve of Kelly’s graduation from medical school. She and Philip headed to Dauphin’s in downtown Mobile to meet her family for drinks. It was also her mom’s birthday celebration. Since it was a nice spring evening, they decided to park a few blocks away and enjoy the walk to the restaurant. Kelly didn’t know that Philip had a walk in mind for a very special reason! They ended up walking through Bienville Square and when they reached the fountain at the center of the park, Philip stopped and asked Kelly a very special question. And she said yes!

I ask every couple I work with to tell me their proposal story and I never tire of hearing them! I love that Kelly and Philip were able to go celebrate with her family right after the proposal. Kelly told me that she knew Philip was the one early on in their relationship and was friends with her sister and brother-in-law before they even started dating, which means there’s a whole lot of excitement for this sweet couple and their families!

I absolutely LOVE that Kelly and Philip brought their adorable chocolate lab puppy, Mud, to their engagement session! He is such a lovable puppy and so well-behaved! Philip told me he loves to take Mud with him when he goes hunting and I could definitely see that they share a special bond. Word has it that Mud will make a special appearance on wedding day during portrait time and I’m so excited about that!!!

These two were so at ease with one another in front of the camera. Seriously, don’t they look like they could have stepped out of a catalog?! I was so impressed that Philip agreed to don a blazer for the first half of their session…in August! I just love that pop of blue against Kelly’s cream dress so much! After spending this time with these two, I know that wedding day is going to be nothing short of fabulous!

I love when I’m able to capture an in-between moment like this one!

Kelly’s colorful earrings made the perfect background for a ring shot!

This type of soft, golden light makes my heart happy! I could have stayed in this spot forever!

Y’all, how adorable is Mud?! I wanted him to be off to the side, but this is what I captured and I love it even more than if he was to the side as I originally planned. I got lucky that he happened to walk right to the perfect spot on his own! This is why when you work with dogs you need to let them do their thing and see what happens.

Recently engaged and looking for Mobile Alabama Wedding Photographers?

Contact me for availability! I’d love to chat with you about your special day!

Downtown Mobile Senior Portraits

William’s mom contacted me for a senior portrait session for her son the same day as Megan’s mom. Two senior portrait sessions in a row. I was excited! I LOVE photographing high school seniors. Both moms booked sessions with me the same day, within only a few minutes of each other. I opened up each contract to enter their contact information in my client management system and discovered both live on the same street! Crazy, right? Well it gets crazier!

Both moms also put on their initial contact form that they found out about me via word of mouth. One must of have gotten my name from the other was my initial thought, but at Megan’s session she didn’t mention giving my name to anyone. Then, at William’s session, his mom told me how they found out about me and it wasn’t from Megan. Finally, I had to tell Karla, William’s mom, about the crazy coincidence. And would you believe that these two booked their sessions completely unaware the other had booked a session with me. And they are in fact neighbors and their children grew up together. Is that the smallest of small world stories, or what?!

On top of that crazy coincidence, Karla found out about me through yet another neighbor connection! This time the connection was with a neighbor that used to live in the neighborhood I grew up in. She was a friend of my moms and although she moved away from the neighborhood before I was old enough to remember her, I’ve always known her name because mom always said she was the friend who taught her how to hang wallpaper. As Karla told me about her friend, she said, you probably won’t recognize this name…and as soon as the name came out of her mouth, I exclaimed, “The wallpaper lady!!!” Needless to say, this session was off to such a fun start and we ended up discovering we have yet another mutual friend in common before the session was over.

William is a basketball player and let me tell you he has the height for it! I loved that he brought a basketball to his session in downtown Mobile. Shooting in downtown really is so much fun. There are so many different areas and you can get a variety of backgrounds in one block alone. William wanted a city setting for his session, so my ultimate goal was to get us down to Cooper-Riverside Park so that we could really showcase the buildings of the city. Just as we arrived at the park, a train decided to come along and block the entrance. I felt a few rain drops and was worried the weather would end our session before the train moved on. But it turned out to be fortuitous because the rain brought the perfect amount of clouds over the sky that made for some fun portraits!

I love senior portrait sessions because they let me be creative with whatever the senior brings to their shoot. I get to showcase different sides of their personalities and I enjoy hearing their ideas for their portraits. Thank you William for such a fun shoot!

I saw the texture of this wall and knew I needed to stop for some black and white portraits! This is one of those times where I saw the image in black and white more than color. For my photographer friends, these shots were lit with a bit of on-camera flash to add a bit of dramatic side light. They turned out to be two of my favorites from the whole shoot!

I am obsessed with this metal wall/siding!

Another moment of me “seeing” in black and white. When I spotted this parking garage area I made a quick detour for some more dramatic portraits. William totally nailed the “model face” expression. I told his mom that I think he might have missed his calling!

William is a pro at spinning the ball and nailing the “model face” expression at the same time!

Contact me for more information on Mobile Alabama Senior Portrait Photography!

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Countryside Senior Portrait Session

I get so giddy every time I get to do a high school senior portrait session! These sessions are some of my favorite because senior year is such a special time to celebrate. Endings and new beginnings all rolled up into one. I love when seniors want to incorporate something into their session that shows their personality and/or something they love. Megan has been riding horses for nine years and she wanted to have her beloved horse, Rocky, and her pup, Molly, be part of her senior portrait experience. The result is a collection of portraits that are so Megan!

This sweet young lady loves to be out in a wide open space riding Rocky. Molly is their sidekick and roams the fields alongside them when Megan is out for a ride. Rocky has been in Megan’s life for five years, but this was their first portrait session together. To say I was excited is an understatement. I adore horses! They are so smart and majestic! Some of my all-time favorite photographs in my portfolio are from sessions that have involved horses, so I knew this was going to be another one of my favorite sessions.

When we pulled up to the field Megan wanted to shoot in, I was so excited to see the high grass. Although I was slightly worried about snakes, I knew that the high grass was going to give us such a magical look in the photos! We spent half our time in this one field before heading to a second private property location for outfit two. It’s not always necessary to have two locations for a portrait session, but in this case I love the variety that it gave to the collection of portraits. I hadn’t seen either of these locations prior to the shoot and they did not disappoint!

Megan is quite an accomplished young lady. She was recently one of 10 high school students included in Mobile Bay Magazine’s 2018 Wonder Kids feature! I loved her enthusiasm for riding and I have no doubt she applies that same dedication in the classroom. Megan said she’s not sure which college she’ll be attending next year, but I know that she will do great things wherever she goes!

Megan, thank you for such a fun session! I hope it was the perfect kick-off to your senior year!

Rocky (above, left) and Molly (above, right) were superstars!

I loved Rocky’s “smile” trick! He is one smart horse!

Yearbook deadlines are often before Christmas for Mobile Alabama Senior Portraits.

Contact me today to make your reservation for late summer/early fall!