Lin Lin’s session was bittersweet. The seven year old Chow Chow was diagnosed with a terminal illness and was going downhill quickly when her mom contacted me to have portraits taken to remember her sweet girl. In the days leading up to her session, Lin Lin didn’t eat much, but when I arrived, she loved eating the lamb treats I brought and ran around like she had never been feeling sick! It was a beautiful afternoon, and I think she knew how important these photos were. Only a week after I met Lin Lin and her family, she made it known that it was time to go, and her mom had to do the most difficult thing a pet owner can imagine–say goodbye. It was an honor to be able to document such a wonderful afternoon with this lovely dog for her owner.

Rest in peace, sweet Lin Lin, you are dearly missed…

She was all smiles with her fuzzy teddy bear ears, bright eyes, and blue tongue. This is one of my favorites…

Lin Lin’s brother, Mister, got in on the action, too. He’s great at “sit pretty!”

Rachel, Natalie, and Erin are three beautiful cats adopted from the Humane Society of Sarasota County. I photographed Natalie (formerly Smoky) and Erin during their stay at HSSC, and was so excited when their new mom contacted me about taking their holiday portraits. Cats can be a challenge to photograph in studio, but these girls were a fun and entertaining challenge! Erin and Natalie were a bit more reserved and needed more coaxing to model, but Rachel stole the show with her natural modeling skills. She was hilarious–one minute she’d be hamming it up for the camera, the next she’d hiss and walk away to explore and watch from a distance. Then she’d feel left out and would come back for more photos. Such a diva!

We’ll start with the beautiful Rachel. Can you believe that this girl is ten years old?

This sweet, shy girl is Natalie. As you can see, it can be hard to tell Rachel and Natalie apart! Natalie’s eyes are more green, though, and Rachel’s have a more yellow/gold tint.

And here’s pretty little Erin, who loves to be held and snuggle with her mom.

I loved putting the cats on the black background. I don’t use it that often, but when I do, I just love the results.

I hope you all have a great weekend and Happy New Year! Twenty-twelve is going to be great! :D

I could have photographed this girl all day! Pearl is a six year old Yellow Lab with a beautiful smile and a big heart. She has all the best qualities of her breed–she’s affectionate, friendly, beautiful, playful, and oh-so-eager to please. I just loved working with this sweet, sweet dog. Her equally-sweet mom, Kathy, won their session from Southeastern Guide Dogs‘ annual Dining in the Dark event, where guests get to experience what it’s like to be blind for a few hours, eating and mingling in total darkness. It’s a fantastic event that I hope to attend someday. I’m so happy that these two won the session–I couldn’t have asked for a better model than Miss Pearl!

First, Pearl showed me her great catching skills. She loves her tennis balls, and I love action shots!

And we couldn’t have a session so close to the holidays without putting some instruments of torture props on our model.

Don’t these eyes just make you melt?

Kathy and Pearl, thank you so much for the awesome session. I had a wonderful time working with you two, and I hope you love your albums and canvas!

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