As a business owner, I go to a lot of conferences and seminars and a consistent question is ‘what is your why?’ It’s a question I’ve struggled with constantly, I love my job, buy my ‘why’ was always elusive. Other business owners would give amazing responses and I always felt like a bit of a fraud because my only answer was that I just find joy in photographing dogs, but I couldn’t put into a sentence why this was helping my clients. 

Amy & Holly 🌈

Saying Goodbye

As my business started to develop, the inevitable started happening. Every now and again, clients would contact me to let me know they had to say goodbye to their beloved dog. And it was hard, each time, especially when it was unexpected. Dogs have a wonderful way of connecting with you and making you feel special – so each shoot I left feeling like I had made a friend not only of the dog, but also I came away with a lot of human friends too.

Jasper 🌈

Jasper

And then, it happened to me. Two years ago I lost my own boy, Jasper. I’d initially fostered him and wow, he was a steep learning curve, but underneath his issues, this incredibly happy, smiley, barky dog was so eager to please. And wow did he put me through the ringer, he had months of rehabilitation after something ruptured in his inner ear and he lost a huge amount of blood. Then a couple of years later, he had a stroke which was terrifying to see and one of the only times I’ve felt complete loss of control. After that, he wasn’t the same, he was still a happy chap, but gradually he started to loose control of his bladder, and I’d find him staring into a corner, and he’d seem quite surprised to find himself there. My previous partner made the very difficult decision that it was time to let him go. He was with us both, and all the other dogs at home, and I thought I was going to break. In fact, with hindsight, I think I did a little.

Caroline & Bentley 🌈

He is my why

It was only about a year later, when I was looking at one of the photographs of him, that it really hit home. His final gift to me was realising that I need to go through the pain myself so that I could understand my clients more deeply.  Having photo’s of him at his goofiest, his happiest, even the times when he came out of surgery, meant that I will always have very vivid memories of him.

Pals Maisy, Jasper & Woodley have been reunited. 🌈

Gone, but never forgotten

Our bond with our dogs is indescribable, I still feel like Jasper is just nearby sometimes and I find peace in that. Some people don’t understand it, and that’s okay. I’ve had to make some incredibly hard choices in the last couple of years, and having photographs of my dogs is priceless.  So now, when people ask me what my why is, I can say, without a doubt, Jasper is my why.

Please do take some time to read Amy’s Story too – Holly was an a dog in a million and photographing her was something I will never forget.

For anyone who has lost a dog recently, I promise you wont forget them, but each day, each week, it becomes a little bit easier to bear. 

Kerry x

It seems quite serendipitous that I’m sitting down to write this today, as a year to the date I made a decision that drastically changed the course of my life and as a dog photographer, the last 2 years have been difficult enough anyway! This last year has made me question a lot, given me times when I wasn’t sure if I could cope, but I have also came with some incredible memories. 

So lets start at the beginning!

January 2021

A year ago  I decided to leave my husband, we had been together nearly 22 years. It came as a shock to a lot of people, but I think I’d known for a while and it was incredibly tough, but also the right thing to do. It’ll come as no surprise that due to intermittent lockdowns and this, I didn’t really get out to photograph much as usual. In January, I did however have the pleasure of meeting someone who I had followed on Instagram without realising he lived just a few minutes down the road! That ‘person’ was Jasper (and his lovely human of course).

February 2021

Looking through the limited photo’s from the first couple of months, it’s funny to see that the only shots I took were of Jasper, and then Jasper’s new sibling Sunday! All the days were merging into one at this point, I’d had vague ideas of getting away for a while to either France or South Africa but of course travel was out of the question!

March 2021

I was finally able to get out and start shooting again and had the it was so much fun shooting for two brands, Reg & Bob who create hard wearing but beautifully colourful collars for dogs who love to get mucky! The other one was my good friend the Slumbering Hound who makes a heap of gorgeous things for dogs and who I’ve worked with for a few years now.

The pandemic made me realise just how fragile my dog photography business could be, so in March I launched a separate business for pet brands – mostly helping with content creation and social media engagement but I have also been doing website updates and proof reading. A couple of decades as a PA in the city has come in use for this! The website is www.kerryjordan.co.uk if  you want to check it out.

The year had already been pretty tough, I had moved out of my home, had moved in with one friend, and then my circumstances changed again so moved in with a second. I’m always going to be supremely grateful for the kindness I was shown in this period.

And then, the one thing you dread as a dog owner happened, and I had to say goodbye to my dear sweet Jasper. (As I’m writing this, that bloody Adele song ‘go easy on me’ is playing and not helping with the tears.) Jasper was 16 and had gone from a scared, barky, nervous dog to a happy little wiggle monster who was adored by everyone who met him. I had the honour of him being in my life for 10 years, but it didn’t seem long enough. I miss him, and I don’t think that will change, but sometimes I think he’s still around, I just can’t see him.

April 2021

April was a busy one and it’s the start of one of my favourite times, bluebell season! So lots of fabulous client shoots as well as brand shoots for my friend Debbie at Redhound for Dogs Whippet Attire, K9 Connectables interactive toys & The Lounging Hound and their beautiful beds.

May 2021

Well, May, what I can I say? Well, I think I said most things in the post Solo Van Tour but very briefly, as I wasn’t able to travel abroad, so I did something that was scary, but also amazing, and hired a van for a month to travel round the UK. I learned how to drive a massive van, I learned how to live in a tiny space, I had tantrums, I explored, and I found out a lot about myself and had the.best.time. I knew that it was unlikely that I’d get this kind of opportunity again for a while, and I would do it again in a heartbeat.

June 2021

With more of the restrictions lifted, I was super excited to go and see my dear friend Debbie at Redhound for another little shoot. I also had some beautiful new headshots done by Joanna Cleeve which I adore; to me they show a new person emerging, someone who is gaining confidence, who is yet to go through more hardships but knows her internal strength will carry her through (sounds a bit woo woo, but that’s how I feel when I look at them now!).

But the biggest thing was returning to a place which stole my heart, the Lake District, to look at properties! I found one that needed a lot of renovating, but was a good location in west Cumbria, close to the Lakes and the coast, and put in an offer. Little did I know just what I had let myself in for! 😂

July 2021

I don’t think I realised just how many brand shoots I had in 2021! I did my second shoot for the fantastic Nash Dog who make bamboo drying coats, which I’m reliably informed, even dry spaniel ears! As well as wading into a lake to get some cracking action shots for a client shoot and yet another visit to my friend and rock, Debbie.

On the 26th of July I celebrated another year of the day I created – National Dog Photography Day, which I started as a way to celebrate our love of photographing dogs back in 2018. This year it trended #2 on Twitter despite stiff competition from the Olympics! It’s talked about in national and worldwide press, and celebrities join in too so it’s pretty incredible to me to watch the day unfold.

August 2021

With the offer on the house being accepted, August was a bit of a whirlwind sorting out the logistics of moving over 350 miles away, as well as getting in some of my favourite walks and trying to see as many friends as I could. I managed to get some shoots in though thankfully as it was another of my favourite times to shoot, heather season!

September 2021

September saw me packing up a massive van and driving half way across the country on my birthday, what a way to celebrate! I moved into a house which needed completely stripping, was filthy and had some fairly big issues to deal with. But it was mine. September was also about taking a bit of time to breathe. The emotions of the year had been intense and sometimes overwhelming so I took time to walk in nature, and wonder where the heck I was going to start on the house. I hardly took my camera out in September, but just appreciated the moment….also, it rained a lot!

October 2021

This month there was a mini shoot for the lovely ladies at Country & Twee, a foraging day and a walk with someone who I can call a friend even though until October, we had only met briefly, the fabulous Rachel Spencer and Patch! Rachel (who helps pet businesses with PR) and I met at a conference, became business accountability buddies and the rest is history. I love the fact that I’m still meeting amazing people in my 40’s!

I travelled back to Sussex for a couple of shoots and caught up with friends which was fantastic but I felt drained for days afterwards! I think the toll of the year was starting to get to me a little.

November 2021

My trip down south was at the end of October, so at the start November I popped in to see Debbie again and photographed some of her gorgeous new products in beautiful light. The rest of November was buckling down doing things on the house and exploring.

It was also the month that my divorce was finalised, a very strange feeling.

December 2021

December saw a mini “Petrepeneur” Christmas party with the lovely Rachel which consisted of much hilarity as we turned up to a ‘pod’ with no bedding, cutlery or plates! We hadn’t thought to check! So after a quick stop at B&M, we drank too much champagne from £1 mugs while we ate our microwave meals and sandwiches with a £3 cuttlery set. It was an absolutely brilliant night!

It also saw me back in Surrey for shoots and catching up  with friends, revelling in the practically balmy southern weather – the hounds were even coatless at one point! Unfortunately, it also saw me having to self isolate over Christmas, a pretty sorry affair and I saw the old year out with one of my best friends over Zoom.

There are things I wish hadn’t happened last year, and situations I would have liked to avoid, but mostly I tried to do what I thought was best knowing I don’t want to look back with regret. The positives are, I have still managed to make some incredible memories, I unexpectedly met someone who I really rather like, I’ve learned a lot about forgiveness and not holding on to negativity, and that you can’t always do what’s right for everyone.

I’m starting 2022 happy, healthy, healing and motivated. I’ve got some pawesome plans for the business which I can’t wait to share with you. If you have got this far, congratulations, and THANK YOU!

I sincerely hope that you are starting 2022 happy and healthy too!

Kerry x

Why hire brand photographer & why hire me?

The last 10 years or so has seen the pet industry boom and people, quite rightly, are treating their dogs as part of their family and not only want the very best for them, but also want to buy high quality products that last. So how do you help your dog brand stand out from your competitors? One way, is of course, imagery. We live in a very visual world, and when you have professional photography, it helps the whole look and feel of your brand feel elevated!

Why hire me? As you can see from the testimonials on this page, I’ve worked with dog brands for over 8 years now, and build up a close relationship with the brand owners so that I get to know exactly what they need from a shoot. I’ve also worked photographing dogs for over 10 years with private clients too so have photographed 100’s of dogs. Even if you don’t hire me, please don’t make the mistake that, for example, a wedding photographer can photograph for you, although they will know about the general elements of photography like light and composition, working with dogs is a whole different ball game! It’s the reason I would never do newborn photography, it’s a whole different skill set. You will need someone who has patience and understands an element of dog behaviour to make sure the dog models are comfortable and happy – which in turn will give you the best possible images. 

You aren’t local to me, can I still help your dog brand?

I often get dog brands contacting me, wishing that I could help them with their photography but thinking they are too far away. Here’s the thing, I work with a lot of brands remotely!

If you are wondering how that works, it’s quite simple, here’s brief overview.

We get to know each other.

I’ll send across my pricing proposal so you can see how I work and which package is best for you. We then have a call to a) make sure we are the right fit for each other and b) figure out the style and feel of the images you would like to achieve. Every brand is different, and whether you want fun, elegant or natural, we work together to make sure the shoot matches how you want your images to portray your brand message. If it helps, you can set up a pinterest board of images that think relay your company style.

Send your products to me.

Send a selection of your products to me via courier, the products which best emphasis your brand and your ethos and I’ll source dog models based on your target client and away we go!

I am a service based dog brand, can you still help?.

Yes, absolutely! Drop me an email as I travel round the UK a fair bit so I can try and tie in other shoots with yours. Same if your dog is an integral part of your brand and needs to be in the shoot, we can usually work something out!

What happens next?

I’ll organise the shoot models, location, and times and when the shoot is over I’ll select the best images and you’ll be sent a gallery link where you can choose your favourites based on how many images in your package, and choose to purchase more if you want.

If you’d like to know more – you can see why I think you should work with me here: https://www.furandfables.com/shoot-overview/brands/ 

Or drop me a message to kerry@furandfables.com, I’m here to help 🙂

 

Beautiful Bluebells

During lockdown, I had a really big burst of inspiration – I rediscovered the stunning bluebell woods within walking distance of our home. I went there as often as I could to document the lifecycle, which is really short, and get some shots of my hounds posing. It made me realise that it’s been a long time since I’ve felt that drive to photograph just for myself. I absolutely love my job – I think maybe when I’m photographing for clients that fulfils my creative need to a certain extent, but it means I forget to go out and photograph just for the fun of it! You can see my project here: https://www.furandfables.com/the-bluebell-diaries/

For this post though, I wanted to put together a little gallery of my favourite action shots, both from my project and from client shoots too, because who doesn’t love to see dogs having fun in such a stunning location. I hope you enjoy! (You can click on the images to view them bigger)

Do you have a favourite? I’d love to hear which one it is in the comments.

Kerry x

Meet Bernie, the St Bernard! Bernie’s human mum bought a gift voucher for her partner and wanted to do a bluebell shoot, however it wasn’t meant to be. Bernie had some complications and we had to bring the shoot forward, and I was so nervous about how he would be on the shoot.

I needn’t have worried! Bernie had a pace maker fitted and was like a new dog! He gets tired quite easily, but that’s to be expected for a dog his age, look at this happy face.

The shoot took place in the garden of the family home as Bernie couldn’t walk too far, and the temperamental British weather was kind to us with some beautiful early morning golden light and frosty ground. He was joined by Luna the Cavapoo who is nervous of dogs, but adores Bernie, the gentle giant that he is.

My job can be difficult at times, I get to work with dogs who are in the prime of their lives who are cruelly taken away from us too soon, to older dogs who may not have much longer, so when I get to do a shoot for a dog who has turned such an huge corner it’s a really amazing feeling.

There’s one thing for sure though, Bernie absolutely adores his human – the bond was so visible to see. The above shot makes me giggle – Bernie has had this bib (pretty necessary for a big dog who produces a lot of drool!) since he was a puppy when it was far too big for him – he obviously grew into it!

Here’s what Bernie’s humans had to say about the experience:

“Kerry was amazing to work with, very professional but also fun and caring!

From various emails and phone calls before the shoot to helping throughout the process she was great!

We have one dog who is very nervous and one was is very old and was very unwell, she helped to put them both at ease on the day and moved mountains to make sure our shoot was done earlier than originally planned. Her website is very easy to use and very professional given she runs it alone! Everyone commented on our photos and how beautiful they were! We will defiantly be rebooking her in the future!”

If you’d like to book a shoot, drop me an email to kerry@furandfables.com – I can’t wait to hear from you! Kerry x

Professional Dog Photographer right on the Surrey, Sussex & Hampshire borders.

I love working with brilliant dog brands, and I’m lucky enough to be able to be quite choosy on who I work with. So when I was asked by Nash me to do their launch photography and sent me the details of their dog drying coats, I was sold! Responsible packaging, using natural bamboo & twin layered they sounded fantastic. There was one thing though, it was a week before Christmas and they were hoping to launch in the new year, could I do it they asked? Well I was certainly going to give it a try!

After chatting with them to find out how the look and feel of the shoot should portray their product (luxury, practical, stylish, active) I enlisted the help of my water loving top dog models Eko, Boris and Twiggy the spaniels, and Laula the Nova Scotia Duck Toller.

Because the courier managed to not deliver on time (of course, just before Christmas, did anything get delivered on time!?) we went ahead with the lifestyle section of the shoot anyway, which of course, for a dog drying coat, involved lots of wet dogs! I think this is the first time I’ve been thankful for the grey miserable weather we have been having.

When the coats arrived I was so impressed with the feel of them, and I’m happy to report, that the dog models humans were massively impressed with their drying quality!

Boris the Spaniel’s mum couldn’t believe how quickly his ears dried (as well as everything else obviously) in just a short car journey, she said they usually take hours! Laula’s mum is a convert too – considering they are a new brand, to have such amazing feedback is so great to see.

As well as doing a few shoots in the car, we decided the other place a dog drying coat would come in handy was probably at the pub! Any excuse 🙈😉

The Nash brand also now includes drying mitts and covers for dog beds/car boots too so you can have a full selection. I also know they have been very kind to my dog models so they really are a lovely brand. It’s been a pleasure working with you Nash!

You can find Nash at www.nashdog.co | Instagram | Facebook 

If you have a dog brand who could benefit from a professional photoshoot to not only help you stand out from your competitors, but also help you stand out to your clients, drop me an email to kerry@furandfables.com and I can send you my price list. You can also check out what I can offer you here: https://www.furandfables.com/shoot-overview/brands/

 

 

Meet Monty. Monty is a coated Xolo – a breed I hadn’t come across before! Monty is smart, funny, has a plethora of gorgeous expressions. Monty is also anxious and a little skittish. He is pretty wary of new people and definitely doesn’t want to be touched if he doesn’t know you. He’s also very food motivated.

I learned all this on my initial call with Monty’s mum, so I knew to go into our shoot with some yummy roast chicken and a calm attitude (very difficult for me when all I wanted to do was cuddle this gorgeous boy). Before long, Monty was clambering on me to get to the chicken, and I knew we were going to be okay!

During the shoot, I kept my distance and kept calm, eventually though he was readily running up to ‘the roast chicken lady’ and even let me scratch his chin. The best feeling in the world though was when we moved location to a few minutes down the road to capture Monty in the red ivy in one of the gorgeous streets of Midhurst. When he saw me walking down the street, he almost pulled his human off her feet to come and say hello (I’m under no illusion that the chicken was the main event for him! 😉

Isn’t it amazing that dogs can make us feel so loved just by wanting to say hello!?

So if you are worried about how your dog would respond to a photoshoot, it will honestly be fine! I have had owners who think their dogs are too ‘naughty’, too nervous, are anxious of other dogs. By talking to you, we figure out the best way for the shoot to happen to make sure you are both completely relaxed.

If you have any questions at all, please don’t hesitate to give me a call or drop me an email! You can find full details of the packages I offer here: www.furandfables.com/shoot-overview/dog-photography

I’m based just near Haslemere, Surrey, which borders West Sussex & Hampshire.

Kerry x

It’s taken me a while to put this post up, over a year in fact. Mainly because I wasn’t quite ready, which seems ridiculous as this didn’t happen to me, but what did happen to me was that I broke a little bit, and even now, sat here writing this, I can feel that tingling in the nose which means I could tear up at any moment. So I’ll hand you over to Amy, who wrote this post, and you will understand my emotional response. –

Professional photography, and why a mobile camera is never enough.

By Amy Wilton
August 2019.

So I have been thinking about writing this for a long while. We are so fortunate that in this day and age we have so many ways and devices that can capture moments. From top of the range DSLRs, simple compact cameras, tablets, and mobile phones. The list goes on!

We’re so lucky to be able to capture snapshots of life so readily. My phone is absolutely full of photos! However I also do photography myself, so whenever I can, I always ensure I take good quality photographs of my beautiful hounds (and family, when they’ll cooperate) on my camera. I used to be better at ensuring I made time to take photos for me, but the last year or so life has got in the way in one way or another.

That said, I did have thousands (and I mean thousands) of photos of my beautiful dogs. Especially of my special oldie dog Holly. We rescued Holly when she was 7 years old; she’d spent all those as the victim of unscrupulous breeding. She’d been pushed from pillar to post, each one breeding another litter from her. By the time we had her, she was a poorly skinny scrap of a dog. Her teeth were rotten and you could see most bones in her frail little body, and yet, she was the sweetest little thing with a heart of gold.

So there began her rehabilitation, and our bond. Immediately, I was the one out of the whole of my family she bonded to. Anywhere I’d go, Holly would follow. Another room, the bathroom, my sweet shadow would follow. A few months in, she then started to be able to detect when my blood glucose levels were going out of range (I am a type 1 diabetic) and would warn me before I got symptoms.  Her story was then shared and she won the Daily Mirror’s Animal Hero Awards for ‘Caring Animal of the Year’ in 2015, and then appeared on ITVs ‘The Secret Life of Dogs’ in February 2017.

I always made sure I took many photos of this special girl on my camera, but equally I wanted photos of Holly and I together. Sometimes handing your camera over to someone else, no matter how hard you both try, just does not quite work. Not quite the angle, the focusing being a little off, despite the amount of times you try to explain ‘Put the square in the view finder on the eye…back button focusing.” Etc.

So you then resort to phone photographs, which are great. They’re instant, easy to set up and you can just hand it to someone to point and shoot. You can share them straight to social media, even better. However, if you do photography, you’ll know the quality in the photo just never quite compares.

So I knew at some point I wanted to commission a professional photographer to take photos of Holly and I. Someone I could put complete trust in, and I knew would take the photos that I was truly after. Along came Kerry. I had long admired Kerry’s work and after winning a family photoshoot a few years ago, and her becoming a friend. I just knew I wanted her to take some of Holly and myself together. To help capture and put into a photo, that bond that we had.

The shoot was booked in for the Sunday and had been for a while. I then got a hospital app through for the Wednesday prior to have my troublesome wisdom teeth removed, and I thought, “Yeah I’ll be fine!” Actually, I was released the same day then readmitted to hospital on the on Thursday with a huge infection.

I managed to leave hospital late on the Saturday, but of course didn’t tell Kerry, or reschedule. I still looked like a hamster with very puffy cheeks but I thought, time is not on our side. If I rearrange, I don’t know when the opportunity to do this will be. Driving over, we had road closures that made us over half an hour late, so arrived rather frazzled. But we still went ahead, despite everything.

I am SO glad we did. Just over a month later, my poor girl had to be let go at age 15 ½ years. Those photos became invaluable. So many memories and emotions tied to them. My heart broke in two; this sweet little girl who had been there for me throughout my teen and adult years was gone.

It meant choosing photos was hard. Really hard. I couldn’t actually choose until nearly a year later. The photos were so beautiful; but it was so painful to look at that them when it was so raw. But when the time came Kerry was there, understanding and supportive. I am over the moon with my photos.

So all I can say to anyone thinking of doing a photoshoot is don’t hesitate, book one. Phone photos just don’t compare. You never know when you’re going to lose a loved one. Once they’re gone, they are the things you truly cherish.

October 2019

 So I finished the above post, not long ago and had been meaning to send it to Kerry. But I hadn’t, for one reason or another. Again, life gets in the way. So, as I hadn’t, it wouldn’t be right to send it without adding the following. It has the made the above even more poignant, and tinged with ever more sadness. But some things need to said. 

 A week or so ago, I messaged Kerry in floods of tears. My Grandad was right at the end of his life. He was young really as far as Grandad ages go, at only 72. But the chemo that was supposed to help knock the cancer back had done the opposite and caused his kidneys and liver to fail in less than 2 days. I knew when I saw him in hospital; it would be for the last time.

 I had to go back home, and through tears I started going through photos of the happier memories, and the way I wanted to remember my Grandad. Not the very poorly, weaker version of him I had seen the previous day. When photos are important to you, you seek solace in times similar to those. So that is what I did.

 Then I came across some of the first photos Kerry had taken for my family. I won one of Kerry’s competitions back in 2014 for a family photoshoot. So we packed up the family, including my Grandad as he was visiting with the hounds, and had this shoot on the beach with Kerry. To this day they are still my favourite of all five of us (plus the hounds!) together. The ones especially of my brother, my Dad and my Grandad are truly special.

 So I guess this is a thank you to Kerry. Three loved ones she’s taken photos of for me have now been cruelly taken away from me. But I have some beautiful photos to remember them by. Thank you doesn’t really quite cut it does it?

 So if you’re reading this and are thinking “Maybe I should book that photoshoot…” please don’t delay and remember time is precious. The memories captured are priceless.

---

I’ve been photographing dogs for about 6 years now, and I’ve lost count of how many clients have contacted me to say their dog has passed, not all old either, some in the prime of their life. Every single time, it breaks a little part of me. Firstly because I bond with the dogs I photograph, but secondly it reminds me that my own dogs wont be around forever. If you’d like to know more, or want to book a shoot, drop me an email to kerry@furandfables.com and lets create memories. 

Kerry x

There are so many reasons to book a professional photoshoot of your dog; memories – as a nation of dog lovers, we all want to make sure we have something to remember our dogs, our furry family members,  when they are no longer with us. Other reasons could be capturing that puppy stage, or the later years. Whatever the reason, there’s something inside you that longs to have a piece of photographic art, something more than a camera phone snap.

What happens on a dog photoshoot

Firstly, we have a call about the personality of your dog way before the shoot. That way, if you have eg a nervous dog, I wont go in for cuddles straight away, you can relax knowing that I’m aware of all your dogs likes and dislikes so that they can have the most comfortable experience possible. Rest assured though, your dog will be adored – friends have lost me on countless occasions when I have made a mad dash to see if I can say hello to a dog so to call me a dog lover is an understatement! #crazydoglady

What to bring on your shoot

You don’t need much! If your dog has a ‘Sunday Best’ collar, that is always great. Any of their favourite toys, poop bags, and high quality treats (although I bring them too) and of course a lead. I encourage you to be in at least one image, whether it just be your boots or your hand, or an image of you walking and interacting with your dog. Most people don’t like themselves in photographs, I would prefer you to have this  this kind of shot than to not have it. So maybe wear your best walking boots, just in case!

On the day of the shoot

In the pre shoot call we talk about the best location for your dog. If they are nervous, I know about out a plethora of beautiful places that are either secure, not very well known or both. Otherwise, the sky is the limit, the below above was taken at Chiswick House in London where gorgeous Ezra spends many of his days. 

If your dog isn’t able to go off lead, no problem! The image below of beautiful Monty was on lead!

How we get the shots

Once we arrive at the location, after getting your dog accustomed to both me and the camera (some dogs find a big black box being pointed at them a little intimidating), we start with a few very basic & easy shots, moving up to more difficult ones once your dog is comfortable and happy, this is where you will probably getting into some odd positions on the floor!

I use different methods depending on your dog and it’s personality but it usually involves manoeuvring into position with treats or toys and then either I make one of many unusual sounds to get your dogs attention, or if we have more than one family member, they can stand behind me as a focus point. In 6 years of dog photography, I have found ways to always get the shot! 

But what if it rains?

I know that some dogs love water, however my aim for the shoot is to make it fun for everyone involved, humans too. The weather forcast is usually very changeable so I usually make a judgement 24 hours before the shoot as to if the weather is too bad for your time slot, and we will either rearrange for a different time that day, or a different date. 

What happens after the shoot?

After the shoot I give you your goody bag! I’ll always try and have products samples with me so that you can check them out and have a think about what will be best for your home. I’ll then choose the very best images of each setup we have done, and then edit them to a high standard – either 25 or 35 images for your gallery depending on your package.  About a week later I’ll call you to talk you through your online gallery and how to use it and give advice on any products you have been thinking about. 

So what are you waiting for! Click here 👉🏻 shoot details to choose your session & lets get you booked in!

Kerry x