I am starting off 2016 launching a pet photography business – Bright Eyes Photos – because I have the pawsome opportunity to combine my twin passions growing up: dogs and photography! I’m serving the Washington DC, Northern Virginia and Maryland metro area! Shooting exclusively pets, I’m offering 3 special types of sessions—Classic, Memories and Seasons—that are at a location you choose where your dog or cat is most comfortable. I have a dog-umentary approach to capture what is memorable about your dog that you can have for yourself and family for a lifetime.

How does a session with Bright Eyes Photos work? I’ll walk through a typical Classic session I had last fall with my dog groomer and her 6-month old Welsh Springer Spaniel girl puppy, Willow. Willow lives in an apartment setting that I went early to scope out possible shooting backgrounds. Parks, greenery, trees made good back drops to bring out the fur in a dog and gives them some space to run around, chase balls and be silly.

Lighting and time of day matters! I like to schedule appointments during the late afternoons within 2-3 hours of sunset. These “golden hours” bring out the best natural light for our photo session.

I started with “getting acquainted” with Willow with my big, black camera hidden. I gave her a few tasty chicken treats (after checking with her mom that she’s not allergic to chicken) and threw a tennis ball around the grass which she happily chased. I slowly introduced the big, black camera with treats, of course!

We started taking photos on the grass. I positioned Willow’s owner on my right side with a squeaky toy and treats to get Willow’s attention. She was excited as you can see from her puppy ears flopping around.

Next, we moved to a beautiful huge tree. Willow is a natural born poser as she demonstrated sitting many different ways at the tree and as we moved around the tree, the sunlight changed to light up different aspects of Willow’s fur and beautiful markings.

It wouldn’t be a Bright Eyes Photo session without a close up of Willow’s eyes!

All this took an hour and Willow was tired after working so hard posing for treats! Done!

Did seeing Willow touch a nerve with you? I hope this encounter inspires you to contact me immediately to schedule a session with your own pet! julie@BrightEyesPhotosDC.com