There is nothing quite like having a pet. That kind of love is akin to having a child, best friend, mood enhancer and space heater all in one adorable little package.

I know my dog Cookie has been my everything since 2007 :). If only she would cooperate (she keeps waiting for the lights to shine on the ground whenever i have the camera in my hand) when I try to take her picture, my whole house would be wallpapered with her likeness. I know a lot of pet owners feel the same way. So that led me to start offering Pet Portraits! 

(Photo of Cookie by Jessi Marri Photography)

I have done a few in the past. Unfortunately they mostly seemed to be when a pet was at the end of their life, and the owner wanted to take advantage before they were gone. Those kind of sessions are very bittersweet. In the interest of preserving your pet, I want to encourage you not to wait. They are like children in that they grow and change fast, and once a period of their life is gone you can't get it back. 

As a way to kick off my new offering, I scheduled a few mini sessions a couple of weeks ago and had an amazing turnout. In one day I photographed 8 dogs and 2 cats, and a few of their humans too. I had such a blast and I can't wait to phootgraph more pets! They are quickly becoming one of my favorite types of sessions. 

Over the next week or so I will do a blog post on each one of these adorable furries, but for now here is an introduction.

First we had a couple of chihuahuas, Lana and Cooper.

Then I had a whole menagerie with one human! Two dogs and two cats. Needless to say, it was my most chaotic hour of the day

Next I had a dachsund mix by the name of Nico.

And then I met the beautiful and energetic Pep.

Followed by the totally mellow and sweet as could be Buddy.

And lastly, I had a visit from Navi, a gorgeous chihuahua and italian greyhound mix.

I hope you will check back in a couple of days to meet the humans that get to share their lives with these beauties. 

If you are interested in scheduling a Pet Portrait session, click here to go to my contact form. Tell me about your fur-baby and I can give you more information about booking and what to expect from your session. 

Today I want to share with you all my most recent personal portrait experience. Like most people, particularly women, I have a few body issues. I am self described as "camera shy". As is my boyfriend Dean. So far he has been such a trooper and sucks it up for me when I turn my camera on him. I however, still have a mini panic attack when I am at the target end of the lens. It is not an experience that is particularly comfortable for me. To be honest, that is a huge part of the reason I picked up my first camera in high school. When I was behind the camera I could be part of the fun, but still be comfortable at a time when discomfort in my surroundings was the norm. I am still to this day working on making myself take more behind the scenes images, and selfies with my clients to push my comfort zone. 

All this to say I am not one to be in front of the camera much. Because of my boyfriend's health issues soon after we started dating, I got a little perspective that has changed the way I look at family portraits. No matter that neither of us were particularly happy with how we looked at the time, I wanted us to have professional images of us as we are now. We will never again be at the place we are today, and I want to document the "now" for us to have forever. 

As I said last week, my friend Jessi and I traded a portrait shoot. Well this week I want to show off the great images she captured of us. I want to make it clear that these are not my images, I simply edited them. They were shot by the super talented wedding photographer Jessi Marri Becker. And I already have a few of them hanging in my home. 

If you are currently considering a shoot with myself, or any other photographer for that matter, ask yourself, what is holding you back? Are you worried about the way you look? Do you think that you need to lose x amount of pounds to deserve to look beautiful in photographs? I can honestly tell you, a professional photographer's job is to make you look good. If you have parts of your body you are not happy with, TELL your photographer. Before the shoot is best, but even in the moment. The more honest you are with your photographer, the happier you will be with the end result. Part of our experience that you are paying for is our knowledge of how to hide problem areas and highlight your favorite parts of yourself. We work hard to bring out our subject's personality in every image. 

I hope if you are considering hiring me in the future, you will drop me a line and talk with me. We can even set up a consultation in person. I want you to feel as comfortable as possible before you ever step in front of the camera so you get the most out of your experience with Stephanie Quates Photography. Click here to go directly to my contact page to start the process of planning your shoot.