In the last year, I’ve managed to convince nearly my entire extended family to gather for family photos. Maybe it’s an early-life crisis or maybe it’s the fact that I live a few hours from them all. Either way, having those images of all of us together pinned to my refrigerator is completely priceless.
It wasn’t until Ogilvy’s first birthday a few months ago that I started flipping through snapshots of him as a puppy — only to realize that my 20 lb baby Dane is now a 130 lb lap dog and that time has truly flown. In the process, it occurred to me that even though we do nearly everything together, we didn’t have many photos of both of us — it was always me behind the camera. So, last weekend we fixed that.
FixYourImages Photography owner and photographer Jennifer Starr met us for an Ogi-sized photo shoot on Saturday — big staircases, big fountains and big views at a huge monument: Kansas City’s Liberty Memorial. Jennifer specializes in pet photography and is just shy of a dog whisperer in my book. Despite Ogi going into full-blown giant puppy mode, she was beyond patient and caught some stellar snaps of my big buddy.
The gorgeous day actually got a little warmer than expected, but Jennifer busted out her tried and true tricks for capturing a composed, attentive pup even while he was panting and drooling everywhere we went. Once we could get him to sit still for more that a half second, I was blown away to see just how easily she caught great shots. Totally not a simple feat with a big guy that is so ready to play.
But, her grace with such an unfocused mutt isn’t shocking — Jennifer has been doing this for years. In fact, since she started in 2009, she’s met and photographed 789 pups including many in local shelters. “I saw countless posts on Facebook showing homeless pets who needed homes, but the photos were always poorly shot, blurry or with a depressing background like a cage,” said Jennifer. So, she solved the problem by volunteering her talents to help them find good homes. “A shining smile, pretty accessories and a professional photo can truly make a difference for pets in shelters and rescues.”
Along with national recognition for pet photography and photo restoration, her work with pets has inspired Going with Grace. Through this separate division of her photography company, Jennifer encourages having senior and ill pets photographed — providing a source of comfort in a difficult time through timeless, unique photographs. “I started received heartbreaking emails from clients who had pets with only days left on earth. I am very empathetic and compassionate and wanted to be able to help others by giving them memories they could cherish forever,” said Jennifer. She says people are always extremely thankful they chose to do the session and have the memories to hold close.
Custom sessions, Going with Grace sessions and wedding sessions at FixYourImages are all aimed at catching unbeatable moments of you and your furriest pals. While the sessions make amazing gifts (Mother’s Day is just around the corner!) or the perfect celebration of monumental moments like birthdays, adoptions or family announcements, they’re also wonderful for simply capturing a few photos of you an your beloved buddy on a sunny Saturday afternoon.
Before our wild and crazy weekend had ended, we were staring at Jennifer’s awesome shots of my over-excited beast — including a few amazing ones of me and him together admiring the city we love to explore. I couldn’t ask for anything better.
Except, maybe, for you to get some awesome photos too. Of course, Jen is just that amazing — and she’s giving one lucky Prettyography reader a free 30-minute mini session in a single location plus a free digital photo! Enter to win with the steps below by Wednesday, May 13, 2015. We’ll announce a winner shortly after!
This post originally appeared on Prettyography.
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