There’s nothing wrong with styled sets or a seasonal backdrops. Yes, the matching pajamas are funny and festive. It’s all beautiful and whatnot…
But that is just not what I do and it took me years to come to this conclusion.
When you book a session with me, you won’t find a staged living room scene or a carefully curated holiday display. There won’t be props competing for attention or elaborate setups asking your dog to sit perfectly still under twinkle lights.
The story I want to tell isn’t about the season but the bond between you and your loyal companion.
The Quiet Language Between You
There is a moment that happens in every session. It’s very subtle and so easy to miss if you aren’t looking for it. The way your pup leans into your leg without thinking or the way your voice softens when you say their name. I will never expect your dog to just pose with you. I want him to connect with you. That connection, the unspoken understanding built over years of walks, routines, comfort, and companionship is what I want to capture. But the way they look at you.
Real Over Perfect
Dogs don’t care about matching color palettes or whether the blanket coordinates with the couch. They care about presence and closeness. Simply put, they care about you. So my sessions are built around that. We might walk a familiar trail or sit on your living room floor. We might let your dog climb into your lap even if they’re technically “too big” for that now. If your dog gets excited, we lean into it. If they get calm and sleepy, we lean into that too. If they rest their head on your chest and close their eyes, we pause and let that moment breathe.
Perfection isn’t the goal for any of my sessions. If the imperfect, unplanned kind of moments are what you are wanting to keep forever, then you are my kind of person.
The Spaces Where Love Lives
The most meaningful images rarely happen when everything is controlled but in between. They happen in the laughter when your dog knocks into you with their whole body and in the quiet when your forehead touches theirs but definitely in the way you kneel down to meet them at eye level without even realizing you did it. These are not staged interactions, but habits formed by love. Your dog has learned the rhythm of your life and you’ve learned theirs. Somewhere along the way, you stopped needing words which is the story I want to document.
Why It Matters
Dogs are with us through chapters. They are here for the big moves, the hard days, new beginnings, or just the quiet nights. They are witnesses to our lives. And yet, so often, the only photos we have are quick phone snapshots or holiday cards where they’re one part of a larger setup. But the bond you share deserves more than a themed backdrop. This deep and special bond deserves to be seen and remembered exactly as it is. Whether it’s messy, joyful, gentle, but definitely deeply personal.
A Session That Feels Like You
When you look back at these images years from now, I don’t want you to remember what props we used. Instead, I want you to remember how it felt. The warmth of their fur under your hand, the weight of them leaning into you, or just the way they watched you like you were their whole world. Because to them, that is exactly what you are. And that quiet, steadfast devotion? That’s more beautiful than any backdrop could ever be.
If you’re looking for perfectly styled scenes and seasonal themes, there are so many talented photographers who specialize in that.
But if you want photographs that honor the bond, the real, lived-in, deeply rooted connection between you and your loyal companion, I would be honored to tell that story. Just you and the love you’ve built together.