Category: Long Island - LONG ISLAND NEWBORN AND PET PHOTOGRAPHER - LAURA PEA PHOTOGRAPHY

Zoey, Hero and Robin at Blydenburgh County Park

7/26/2021

I met these sweet pups and their parents at Blydenburgh County Park to do a long-awaited session that we'd planned all the way back in 2020. Zoey is a black Lab/Chow mix, which is exactly the mix that my dog nephew Ash is, so I have a lot of experience photographing a dog with fur like hers. I couldn't believe how soft and fluffy she was, and she was so amazing at posing. Her doxie siblings Hero and Robin might be much smaller than their big sister but they more than make up for their small size with big personalities. Dachshunds are especially fun to photograph with their long beautiful snouts and big expressive eyes.

We went for a walk in the woods for our session and even though we got a particularly hot day in May, these pups were up for any challenge. They even did a great job posing on the skinny long bridge on the trail. I thought I might have to do a ton of intricate editing to get shots of all the dogs looking at the same time, but for the most part, they did such a good job posing together that my compositing expertise wasn't even necessary!

Here are some of my favorite shots from this fun session!

Get in touch to book your pet session today! Email me at laurapeaphotography@gmail.com or call (631)256-7476.

Mama’s Pet Session at Blydenburgh County Park

6/17/2021

Meet Mama! She’s a beautiful 11 year old pit bull and an absolute sweetheart. Her mom Elizabeth got in touch with me to take some photos of Mama to be displayed at her wedding in October. Her photos will be featured on the table number cards so that Mama can be a part of the big day. We met at Blydenburgh County Park and the weather had been looking a little iffy. But we persevered and only felt a drop of rain or two and we were able to get some great photos of this adorable girl.

Elizabeth had some very cute props for us to use, like wooden signs and some flower crowns she made herself for Mama to wear! She was so patient and took every one in stride. Even though she isn’t a young pup anymore, she was game to go everywhere we led her and she sat beautifully for our photos. We got some nice shots of Mama on her own and also some very sweet photos of the special bond she shares with her mom Elizabeth.

I’m so happy I was able to help capture some special memories for Elizabeth and Mama, and I can't wait to see some snapshots of how the photos are incorporated into their special day!

Here are some of my favorite photos from our session!

Pet Portrait Program at Islip Public Library 6.12.21

6/1/2021

I’ll be back at the Islip Public Library for another pet portrait program on their beautiful outdoor terrace. The program will be on Saturday, June 12th from 1pm to 4pm, by appointment. Please keep 6 feet of space between you and other patrons. Any pets are welcome, but please make sure they’re restrained with a leash or in a carrier to keep everyone safe. Appointments are available now to Islip patrons but will open to out-of-district patrons on June 9th. You’ll receive a free 8x10 and a digital file of your photo!

You can register for the program here.

Here are some photos I captured at this program in years past!

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Spring Pet Portrait Program at Middle Country Public Library 5.22.21

4/12/2021

I was on a four year streak of doing pet portrait programs at the Middle Country Public Library, until last year (I think you know why we skipped a year haha). Even though the pandemic is not over yet, we're getting back to it with an outdoor program this Spring! On May 22nd from 11am-2pm I'll be photographing pets and their families outside in the library's Nature Explorium!

This year instead of first come, first served, photos will be taken by appointment. COVID-19 protocols will be in place, so please come wearing your mask and practice social distancing from others. Pets should be clean, well-behaved around other animal, and in a cage or on a leash to attend.

Get more info and sign up for your time slot here.

I'm so excited to be doing this program! Not being able to do photo events last year was a huge blow to my business. I really missed meeting so many pets and people. Hope to see you there!

Seth's Christmas and Family Session at Prosser Pines

12/21/2020

My sister, brother in law and my nephew accompanied me on my shoot at Prosser Pines with our friend Lauren this year. When they were there they took a walk around the preserve and afterwards said "Ok, can we do our Christmas photos here too?" Of course! It's such a beautiful spot for it!

Lisa had the idea to use Seth's Little Tikes car in the photos and put some of my little tree props on it as if Seth had gone to the woods to chop down his own tree. The problem was that his car is green with yellow dinosaur scales! But that's where Aunt Laura's years of Photoshop practice came into play. It was more time-consuming than my normal edits but I was able to turn his car red to match her vision for the photos. We wrapped a string of fairy lights around it to complete the look and Seth was happy to pose in it, because he loves his dino car! He wouldn't wear the trapper hat we brought for him, but that's ok because they still came out super cute.

We also took some sweet family shots of the three of them, but most of the photos were about Seth, because he's obviously the star!

Here are some of my favorite photos from our session!

Happy Holidays!

Happy Thanksgiving! 2020

11/26/2020

In a year as hard as 2020 has been, it can be kind of hard to feel thankful. The year started off very rough for my family when my grandmother entered hospice care in January and we lost her in early February. Shortly after, the quarantine started and it seems like it's been a real downhill slope since then. But there have been bright spots this year, and there is still a lot to be thankful for.

Even though I haven't seen much of my family this year, we're all still relatively healthy and most have managed to stay virus-free. My friends and I have managed to stay connected digitally instead of in person, and I'm happy that they're only a text or a FaceTime away. Although this year will be so different than others when it comes to meeting for a Thanksgiving celebration, I look forward to next year when we can hopefully get together without any fear.

Since March I've been staying with my sister Lisa and her family to watch my nephew Seth during the week so my mother who usually watches him won't be exposed to any germs. Even though it means we have to stay six feet from my mom, I'm grateful I get to be with Seth every day and that I'm quarantining with my sister who's my best friend, even if we've been driving each other a little crazy. I'm so thankful I have my girl Gracey here with me. She's the most affectionate and silly little dog and I love her so much.

I'm thankful my business has survived a year that has been the death of many small businesses. I had so many inquiries and reschedules from the lockdown, that I booked up really quickly for the year once I was able to work again. I've worked with so many wonderful clients this year and I also created so much personal work with the downtime I had, which was so invigorating creatively.

We didn't go out much at all this year, even after the final phases of reopening happened. We've been very cautious. But we did go out one day after taking Seth's Christmas and some family photos at Prosser Pines to visit Fink's Country Farm. We thought he'd be overjoyed to see all the animals, but his favorite part was actually the pumpkins. He has a real affinity for them like his Aunt Laura and it was so adorable to see how happy he was running around and patting all the pumpkins in sight. That's a memory I'm thankful for. I hope you all have a safe and happy holiday!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Stella's First Christmas & Family Session at Prosser Pines

11/22/2020

Little Stella is so smiley because this year is her First Christmas! Actually, she's just always smiley because she's a super happy baby. But she was really happy to go with her big sister Addison and her mom Lauren (one of my besties) and dad Mike to Prosser Pines this year for family photos!

Every year there seems to be one spot that get super popular with my clients. One year it was Blydenburgh Park, another year it was Islip Grange. This year it was definitely Prosser Pines in Middle Island. I always give clients a few suggestions based on the kind of backdrop they want, and this spot was the big hit this year. I think maybe because it's in the woods where we can spread out and there aren't a lot of people there, so it turns out to be a good venue for photography in the age of COVID-19.

When we met for this session, the leaves were at their most beautiful I think. The color of the fall foliage was so gorgeous, and the girls did such a good job!
Here are some of my favorite photos from our session!

Get in touch here to schedule your session!

Brody, Augustus and Family at the Stony Brook Duck Pond

11/18/2020

I've been following Brody on Instagram for a long time. Not only is he super cute but he and his mom Debbie are out there doing a lot of good. Brody is a registered therapy dog. He regularly visits the Stony Brook University Hospital to cheer up the patients there. The kids there especially get a lot of comfort from Brody.

Right now because of the pandemic, Brody and Debbie aren't able to visit the hospital to do their important work and I know that they're definitely missed by all their friends there. They can’t wait to be able to get back into the hospital and bring comfort to people who desperately need it. I really admire what they do and I hope they can get back to their very inspiring work soon!

We met at the Stony Brook duck pond to do these photos. The light was beautiful and my subjects were so sweet. We did some family photos, then some super cute shots of daughter Lauren and her boyfriend and their dog Augustus, all in adorable matching outfits! Then Brody joined in for some solo shots, some portraits with Mom and then a few photos with his dog nephew Auggie!

It was so nice get to know this family and their sweet pups. Check them out on Instagram: @adailydoseofbrody and @augustus_frenchieboy to follow along with these adorable boys!

Here are some of my favorite photos from our session!

Get in touch to book your family and pet session!

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.