LONG ISLAND NEWBORN AND PET PHOTOGRAPHER - LAURA PEA PHOTOGRAPHY - Blog

Evelyn's 1st Birthday at the Sunflower Field

10/23/2020

I've had so many memorable shoots with this family since I first met them at one of my pet portrait library programs! I always have so much fun with them! Last year's newborn session for Evelyn was a Fall lover's dream. We used pumpkins and hay bales and sunflowers, so this time we kept the theme going by visiting the sunflower field and pumpkin patch at one of my favorite Long Island spots, Waterdrinker Family Farm in Manorville.

We started out doing some family photos in the sunflower field. Then the rest of the family took a break to enjoy some of the fun stuff the farm has to offer, while mom Nina and Evelyn and I stayed in the field to take some individual first birthday shots of Evelyn. She's such a smiley baby! Sometimes it's a struggle getting kids to smile when I have my mask on to shoot sessions, but with Evelyn it was a breeze. She's just a naturally happy baby, so there was no problem getting her to have fun for our photos. Nina brought lots of stuff we had used at her newborn session to the first birthday session. I love when clients do that, it's always so sweet and sentimental.

After we were done with Evelyn's close up, we met back up with her dad and brother Owen and sister Juliette and we took a few more family photos in the pumpkin patch. Evelyn was very happy to stand up holding onto the big pumpkins and to spend some time sitting in the pumpkin carts! After we finished up, Owen and Jules were rewarded for their good job modeling by going back to play more on the farm!

Here are some of my favorite photos from this very fun session!

Schedule a session with me by emailing me at laurapeaphotography@gmail.com or calling (631)256-7476!

Dominic's 2nd Birthday

10/8/2020

Dominic turns 2 this month! This little cutie is the son of one of my best friends Dina and her husband Mike, and he has always rocked his photo sessions with me, from newborn to 1 year to Christmas photos to now! He's such a happy little guy and he's got a great smile.

For this year's photos, we decided to visit the duck pond in Stony Brook for some socially distanced photos. Dominic loves to visit the geese by the water near his house, so I had a feeling he would enjoy the pond, with its large population of ducks, geese, pigeons and swans. I've shot a lot of sessions at the duck pond and I'm always cautious when I go there because of an incident I had there once, involving a close encounter with a swan. Thankfully the swans kept their distance that day, but the ducks, geese and pigeons practically swarmed us at one point because a passerby had the unfortunate idea to bring out some food! Dominic loved it though and he had a fun time following around the birds, climbing onto stumps and throwing things in the water. Ah, throwing. A two year old boy's favorite past time.

Here are some of my favorite photos from Dominic's 2nd birthday session!

Want your own fun visit to the duck pond? Email me at laurapeaphotography@gmail.com or call me at (631)256-7476.

I've Been Nominated!

10/1/2020

I got an email recently that made me SO happy. I've been nominated for Best Pet Photographer on Long Island! The awards are presented by Bethpage Federal Credit Union. If you're an islander, you've probably seen these Best of Long Island signs occasionally hanging in your favorite local shops, in the Long Island Press, etc. I never imagined that one day I'd be nominated for one of these awards! When I heard, I went to my sister, "did you do this?" and she said "I didn't even know I could nominate you or I would have!". I'm still not sure who nominated me, but thank you so much to whoever did! I don't expect to win my first year in the running, but I'm completely honored to even be nominated in the Best Pet Photographer category.

If you'd like to vote for me or any of the other amazing photographers nominated this year, you can do so once a day every day from today, October 1st through December 15th! The link to vote is HERE.

Thanks to Bethpage Federal Credit Union for presenting these awards and giving Long Island businesses your support.

Vote for me here!

Caroline & Nathaniel's Second Birthday (feat. Benjamin Franklin the Dog)

8/26/2020

One of my favorite things about photographing babies is seeing them come back every year and watching them grow like weeds. I photographed Nathaniel and Caroline for the first time when they were teeny tiny week old newborns, then again for their 1st birthdays! Now they're 2 years old, running around with their big brother Benjamin Franklin the Airedale Terrier, who has been there every step of the way!

This time their parents joined in on the fun too and we got some super adorable family shots. Even though this year was a little different because we had to keep our distance, it was still so much fun for me to hang out with this awesome family! We decided to do the session in their backyard this year so we could all spread out and the twins and Benjamin could run around to their hearts' content! We started out doing some family photos, then the twins posed on their very cute little lounge set and in front of their playhouse. They also enjoyed some time on their tire swing pushing each other and giggling.

Near the end of the session, mom Sarah asked each of the twins to give Benjamin Franklin a kiss and of course they obliged. It reminded me of the sweet moment when they were tiny newborns and we were contemplating putting peanut butter on Nathaniel's head to get Benjamin to kiss him, but then he went ahead and did it all on his own. He has been the best dog brother right from the beginning!

Here are some more of my favorite photos from Caroline & Nathaniel's 2nd birthday session!

Want to book a socially distanced session with me? Email me at laurapeaphotography@gmail.com or call (631)256-7476.

I'm Back!

7/13/2020

I wanted to update here that I'm back to business! With the arrival of Phase 4 of Long Island's economy reopening, I'm able to get back to serving clients. I have several sessions that I was booked to shoot in March and April that were postponed because of the pandemic and I've been reaching out to those clients to get new dates on my calendar. I also have a list of everyone who inquired throughout the pandemic to see if I was available and I'll be getting in touch with them in the order that they inquired. If you're one of those people, you should hear from me soon!

Back to business unfortunately does not mean back to normal completely. For the time being, I'll have to suspend my studio sessions, as my studio is too small to practice social distancing. For my clients' safety and my own, I'll only be conducting outdoor sessions until such time as a vaccine is distributed. Since I work with newborns, I have always kept up to date on vaccines that can help protect my clients from harm. The last thing I would want is for one of my clients to get sick, so I want to make sure I am properly protected so that I can keep my subjects protected. So if you book a session, you can feel confident that I will be wearing a mask for the entirety of our shoot and I will stay the recommended 6 feet away at all times. For family sessions and pets, this is not too different from how I normally operate. For newborns I obviously usually do much more hands-on posing which won't be possible at this time. For any newborn sessions I take now, they'll be conducted like family sessions with the baby in parents' or siblings' arms for the duration. I can direct clients on posing from a safe distance away. I know this isn't terribly convenient and possibly not what you imagined for your photo session with your newborn, but I would rather my clients be a little bummed but know for a fact they and their family are safe at one of my sessions.

I look forward to a time when I can meet my clients normally, high five their kids, and hug them when the session is over. This is a really strange and difficult time in all our lives and it's been pretty tough for me to have to stop doing the job that I love. I'm really happy I can get back to it now, even though it's going to look slightly different for a while. Thank you so much to all of my clients who have been so understanding, and to everyone who reached out with interest during the quarantine! Knowing I had sessions to look forward to was very comforting in the scary times of this pandemic.

For fun, here are some of the photos I took during the lockdown. I kept shooting as much as I could to stay sharp during the long break!

Want to discuss booking a socially distanced photo session?
Email me at laurapeaphotography@gmail.com
or call (631)256-7476.

Tucker James the Shepherd and Family

4/27/2020

When Tucker's mom Caitlin emailed me a few days after the new year, I was instantly sad to read what she had to say. She was getting in touch to get photos taken of her, her husband Joe and her dogs, which normally makes me very happy, but the reason she wanted photos was because their biggest pup, Tucker James was sick. I get these kinds of sessions a few times a year, and they're always very bittersweet. I'm so happy that the family is going to get great photos of their beloved pet, but it's also very difficult to know that our session will likely be the first and last time I meet a very special animal.

It was so great to meet Tucker and his family. He's a big beautiful dark shepherd. He has two smaller dog brothers. Keegan is a black and white terrier mix, and Tucker is a Maltipoo. Yes, you heard that right. Tucker has a brother named Tucker. I waited about 15 minutes into our session, when I finally said "Ok, so what's the deal with you guys having two dogs named Tucker?". Caitlin and Joe both laughed and told me how they both used to live down in North Carolina where they were neighbors. The two neighbors met one day and got to talking and they found out they both had a dog named Tucker. From there, they fell in love, got married, moved to Long Island, and voila...two Tuckers. That's why they distinguish them as Tucker James and little Tucker.

All three pups were incredibly sweet and photogenic, as were their parents! They braved a super icy cold day to meet for our session at Blydenburgh County Park and they did such a great job looking at the camera for me. It also helped that we had some well-timed passersby to walk right past me to get all three of them staring in the same direction without me having to make my incredibly stupid noises for their attention!

I'm sad to say that Tucker is no longer with us, but I'm so glad that I got to meet such a sweet and wonderful boy, and I hope these photos make his family smile whenever they miss him. I know how devastating it can be to lose a pet. The whole reason I began doing pet photography was because I lost my cat Duchess and my dog Basil within a few months of one another. I'm glad that I can provide at least some small comfort to my clients when they go through a loss like this. Hug your pets close!

Here are some of my favorite photos from our very special session.

Like I mentioned in my last blog post, I'm not taking sessions at the moment. Due to the pandemic, I'm not allowed to shoot sessions for clients right now. I miss my clients and their babies and furbabies so much! I have no idea when I'll be able to get back to shooting sessions, but I will update you here the minute I'm able to take clients again! That being said, I do have gift cards available. If you want to pay ahead of time for a session with me, feel free to purchase a gift card! You can purchase in any amount starting at $15.

I also want to give a shoutout to Tucker's mom Caitlin who is a nurse. Thank you to her and all our healthcare workers who are on the front lines of this pandemic, saving lives and risking their safety to do so. We appreciate what you do so much!

Stay safe and healthy everyone!

Schatzie the German Shepherd

4/20/2020

When people get in touch with me to photograph a first birthday session for them, it usually involves cake and a toddler. This session, however, was going to be a little different! Karen got in touch with me to photograph her dog Schatzie's first birthday! She wanted to get photographs taken with her and her daughter Kayli! We decided to hold our session in Port Jefferson because it's close to both of us and such a dog-friendly town. We started at the park on the harbor and worked our way down to the dog beach next door.

Schatzie is a beautiful German Shepherd and she was very well-behaved for a young pup! She had a ton of energy and was up for anything we asked of her. She even let her mom tie balloons onto her collar for some festive birthday photos. She was also happy to share the spotlight for some photos with her family on the beach at the end of our session.

Here are some of my favorite photos from Schatzie's big day!

This is the part of the blog post where I usually say "Book your session with me today! Email me blah blah!" BUT unfortunately I'm not taking sessions at the moment. Due to this crazy pandemic, I'm not allowed to shoot sessions for clients right now. It's been a really rough go not being able to work and I would love nothing more than to get back to serving my clients and photographing the babies and furbabies of Long Island. I really wish I could tell you when I could get back to booking sessions, but I have no idea. All I can say is I'm so looking forward to getting back out there and capturing memories for you. What I can tell you is I have gift cards available. If you've been wanting to book a session with me and you have that government stimulus check burning a hole in your pocket, feel free to purchase a gift card to use at your next session. You can purchase in any amount starting at $15.

I hope you're all staying safe and healthy out there!

Purchase gift cards for your next session here!

Gil and Val the Cockalier Spaniels

4/8/2020

Before I met Gil and Val, I had never heard of a Cockalier Spaniel before. They're a cross between Cocker Spaniels and Cavalier King Charles Spaniels. Oh my goodness, what a great mix because these two were so beautiful and super sweet! They also had such soft fur. I could have pet those gorgeous ears all day long.

Gil and Val's parents told me they'd had cats for a long time before adding a dog to their family. They finally got their dog Val and they loved her so much, that they were looking to get her a little brother within just a few months! That's when they got little Gil and he made the family complete! They were both born last year, so these two are really still puppies. For being such young dogs, they were so well-behaved during their session! They both did really well sitting and looking at the camera. We got through a bunch of different outfits and they even tolerated wearing my crown props I keep in the studio. Those are tough sell sometimes, so I'm so glad they were ok with wearing them! Of course, they got plenty of treats for a job well done!

If you want to follow along with Gil and Val's adventures, you can follow them on Instagram: @twocockalierspanielbuddies

Here are some of my favorite photos from Gil and Val's session!

Schedule your pups' close up today! Email me at laurapeaphotography@gmail.com
or call (631)256-7476.

Reilly the Puggle

3/27/2020

Reilly's mom Rita got in touch with me in January with some sad news. Her sweet puggle was sick and she didn't know how long she would have left with him. She wanted to get photos taken of him while he was still feeling like himself and looking like the handsome boy she's loved since he was a puppy. I get a few sessions a year of this nature, and they're never easy. I fall in love a little with every dog I ever photograph, so while I'm happy that their families are getting quality photos to remember their pet by, it's always sad for me to meet these sweet animals when I know their time is limited. I could barely believe that Reilly was sick because he was so full of energy and spunk during our session. I even had to crank up my shutter speed because he was happily running on the beach like a young pup.

We chose a beach that was close by Rita's house and one that her and Reilly liked to visit. I'm one of those crazy people who prefers the beach in the winter because it's so calm and serene and there are rarely ever any people to get in my backgrounds, so this was a perfect spot for me. Reilly had fun running in the sand and eating some unidentified dead sea creature that washed up on the shore!

When the light was getting a little darker, we headed over to Rita's house because she wanted a few photos of Reilly at home too. He relaxed in her beautifully decorated basement den and was treated to plenty of cotija cheese to get him to look at the camera. Only the best for this boy! Reilly did such an awesome job and it was so great spending some time with this sweet boy.

When I went to Rita’s house for our viewing appointment to show her all her images, Reilly jumped all over me and kissed me like we were best buds. Rita told me she was shocked because he never really acts like that to people he doesn’t know very well. I said “he smells a dog person”. I have to say, dogs do tend to love me. I think it’s because they can tell I love them so much. Also, I probably smell like other dogs 99% of the time! In all seriousness, my relationships with my clients and their pets is one of my favorite things about my job. If you are my client, I can tell you it is an absolute honor for me to become best buds with your dog. At the time of writing, Reilly is still with us and Rita told me he has his good and bad days. I hope he has a lot more good days ahead of him and special memories to make with his mama.

Here are some of my favorite shots from Reilly's session.

Email me at laurapeaphotography@gmail.com or call (631)256-7476 to book a session.

Bella the French Bulldog

3/4/2020

Usually when someone buys a gift card from me, I have to wait a little while to meet the person that they bought it for. Joel's daughter Donna reached out to me around Christmas for a present for her dad. I offer gift cards in almost any amount, so she decided she wanted to cover the entire session fee for her dad, plus some extra so he'd have a bit of credit to buy himself a few prints after our session. Well, Joel must have been pretty eager to get some photos of his French Bulldog Bella, because less than three weeks out from Christmas, he was in the studio with her and his wife Gloria.

I could tell Bella was very special to Joel. He even wanted a few photos of her and him together. I love when pet parents get in the photos too, so I was happy to hear he wanted to join in. Bella was absolutely adorable and such a good model. French Bulldogs have such adorable little faces.

After the session when I was dropping off their products, I got to see Joel and Gloria's beautiful lakeside home. Bella is certainly a lucky pup to have such a beautiful backyard to romp around in. While I was there, Gloria brought out a professional photo Joel had gotten done of his dog in the 1970s, a beautiful Siberian Husky. I think it's so great that after all this time, he still values photography and loves his pups enough to get a great headshot done of them. I'm so glad that my photos of Bella will hang close to that cherished one!

Here are some of my favorite shots from Bella's session!

Is your dog a beauty like Bella? Book a session and show her off! Email me at laurapeaphotography@gmail.com or call me at (631)256-7476!