Shannon, Brendan and Gracie's Woodsy Session

Published on: December 23, 2022

Dogs Families Holidays Kids Long Island Pets

I love when people give the gift of photography. I don’t know one mom who thinks she has enough professional photos of her kids, so it's almost a sure bet that this a gift they'll love and appreciate. Shannon is a mom and a dog walker, and one of her clients got in touch with me this fall to purchase a gift card for her as an early Christmas gift. We arranged to meet at a local park with her son Brendan and their dog Gracie for some holiday photos. Since my dog is also named Gracey, just spelled a different way, we got to talking about dog names. It turns out, in addition to naming our dogs the same thing, we also both had Winnie on the short list of dog names!

Their Gracie is an adorable Yorkshire Terrier and she did amazing for her photos. We did some of the whole family, some of Gracie on her own, and some of Brendan and Gracie, to commemorate the very special bond they share. We had a great time talking while we walked and shot photos along the beautiful trails in the park. It was so nice to get to know this sweet family. Shannon told me she hadn't gotten professional photos done in so many years, so I was very happy to be able to capture some for them!

I love the way that Gracie was tilting her head in so many of these photos. I have an arsenal of silly noises I can make to catch a dog's attention. Usually once they hear a noise a few times, they get used to it and it doesn't get them to look anymore. That's why I've developed so many, and Gracie was interested in every one of them. If you're ever at a Long Island beach or park, and you hear a woman squeaking, whistling, humming, and generally sounding like an absolute weirdo, there's a good chance it's me trying to get a dog to look my way. It's all worth it for those adorable head tilts that all dog owners know and love!

Here are some of my favorite photos from our session!