Leo's Studio Christmas Session 2023

It was so good to see my client Annette and her adorable pup Leo for the third year in a row. This time was the first time that Leo came into the studio for his holiday photos and I was so excited to get him in front of my lights. Leo is 5 years young and full of energy! He always wants to be in his mom's arms and is happiest when he's stuck like glue to her side. We started off with a snowy wooden backdrop and experimented with an wooden crateto keep Leo in one place for photos. He wasn't exactly loving it and jumped out after one shot. 

Next we tried the trusty tiny gray pet couch I got to match the big chaise lounge all the dogs loved in the studio. This one is a little bit better of a size match for a small pup like Leo and he liked this one a bit better than the crate, but mom Annette still had to have a hand on him to keep him on it. Notice there's no mom hand visible in these shots. That's because I'm a certified Photoshop Distraction Assassin*.
(*certified by myself). 

After this, Leo needed a moment to himself. Modeling is hard, you need to give professionals their proper rest breaks! We let him roam around the studio for a little while to smell all the fun smells he could find. He took a seat in front of my grey chaise lounge and looked so darn cute I had to take a few shots of him. The problem was, there were some distractions in the background behind him (underneath the chaise lounge is where I store my many camera backpacks. I only have one back, so why do I have three camera backpacks? The world may never know). This is where Photoshop comes to the rescue again. I snatched Leo off of one background and popped him onto a few others, just for fun. 

Next he wanted to sit on his mom's lap for a while, so some clever cropping, a well-placed pillow and Photoshop again was used to make it look like he was sitting on a furry rug. After that, his mom Annette was ready to join him for a few photos that I didn't have to edit her out of, which is awesome! I love when pet parents join in for some photos, because it's so nice to showcase the special bond they have. Leo was in his bliss for these shots, because his mom's lap is his favorite place in the world!

At this point in the session, Leo was starting to really get comfortable in the studio and he was happy to sit on the chaise lounge with nothing needed to keep him there. The trick was finding out about Leo's secret obsession. Annette mentioned to me that he loves plastic water bottles!  I ran downstairs to my recycling bin and grabbed one that was ready to go out to the curb. It worked like a charm. Leo was so excited to see it and he had his eyes trained on me like you wouldn't believe. We got some great shots of him and he was handsomely rewarded with the water bottle at the end of the session to do with it what he pleased! Next year when I know Leo is coming, I'm going to make sure I hang on to my recycling!

​After our session, Annette and I worked together to design an adorable holiday card for her with Leo's photos, and one of my favorite products I offer, an image cube. It's a 4x4 wooden block with photos on each side and it's great for display on a coffee table or your desk at work, so you can turn it around to see your dog's adorable face at every angle all day long! 

Here are some of my favorite photos of the adorable Leo from our session!

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Email me at [email protected] or call (631)256-7476. Happy Holidays!