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Since May of 2015, my mom has texted me every Sunday night two words..."52 Frames??" She knows I've submitted a photo every week for the past 8 years to this special project and if I missed a week after all this time, I'd be devastated.
52Frames is a weekly photo challenge meant to foster creativity and hone photography skills. I started submitting to the project shortly after I started my business, when I realized a few months in that I had stopped creating artwork for myself entirely. Every ounce of my creative energy was being spent on my clients and I had nothing left for my own personal work. If it went on much longer, I was going to burn out on photography. I came across this group and it gave me a way to force myself to be creative at least once a week, so I would never fall into that rut again.
At least once every single week I grab my camera to shoot the weekly challenge. Sometimes it's well thought out, sometimes it's rushed at the last second on Sunday night (often after my mom texts me), but for the last 8 years I've committed to shooting something for the sheer love of the art of photography. Some weeks can be incredibly challenging (especially "portrait of a stranger" week), but it's always rewarding. It's made me a better photographer. It's made me friends, both in person and online. I love it so much, I've even become a patron of the project, and I volunteer on the Whittling Committee and run their Pinterest account.
This year I put together a collage of all 52 of my photographs I took for the project in 2023. If you want to see any of them larger or read the stories behind them, you can check out my 52Frames profile. And if you're starting your photography journey, or want a way to stay creative with your camera, the new year is a great time to start. Join us!
52Frames is a weekly photo challenge meant to foster creativity and hone photography skills. I started submitting to the project shortly after I started my business, when I realized a few months in that I had stopped creating artwork for myself entirely. Every ounce of my creative energy was being spent on my clients and I had nothing left for my own personal work. If it went on much longer, I was going to burn out on photography. I came across this group and it gave me a way to force myself to be creative at least once a week, so I would never fall into that rut again.
At least once every single week I grab my camera to shoot the weekly challenge. Sometimes it's well thought out, sometimes it's rushed at the last second on Sunday night (often after my mom texts me), but for the last 8 years I've committed to shooting something for the sheer love of the art of photography. Some weeks can be incredibly challenging (especially "portrait of a stranger" week), but it's always rewarding. It's made me a better photographer. It's made me friends, both in person and online. I love it so much, I've even become a patron of the project, and I volunteer on the Whittling Committee and run their Pinterest account.
This year I put together a collage of all 52 of my photographs I took for the project in 2023. If you want to see any of them larger or read the stories behind them, you can check out my 52Frames profile. And if you're starting your photography journey, or want a way to stay creative with your camera, the new year is a great time to start. Join us!
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It was so good to have Gianna and her two adorable pups Coda and Cadence in front of my lens again! This year mom Kim decided she wanted to do our photos back in the studio again since we did our session at Lake Ronkonkoma last year. Coda and Cadence spent the first few minutes re-familiarizing themselves with the room. It's been a few years since they were in there, so they had a lot of new smells to smell!
They wanted to go cozy for the theme this year, so Gianna wore some super cute Christmas pajamas. While Coda and Cadence did a thorough sniff inspection of the place, we started off with a few shots of Gianna on her own against a snowy wood background. Then each pup had their turn posing with their girl! We switched over to a red brick background that looked great with Gianna's pajamas and Coda and Cadence's adorable Christmas bandanas.
Then we did some individuals of Coda and Cadence on some of the most popular studio props, my grey chaise lounge and the tiny grey couch that matches it. Coda especially loved the large chaise lounge. In between shots he would jump up there and cuddle up. He got so comfortable during some of the shots, it looked like he was going to fall asleep!
Everyone did amazing, as always, and we got such cute shots. Here are some of my favorites we got that day!
They wanted to go cozy for the theme this year, so Gianna wore some super cute Christmas pajamas. While Coda and Cadence did a thorough sniff inspection of the place, we started off with a few shots of Gianna on her own against a snowy wood background. Then each pup had their turn posing with their girl! We switched over to a red brick background that looked great with Gianna's pajamas and Coda and Cadence's adorable Christmas bandanas.
Then we did some individuals of Coda and Cadence on some of the most popular studio props, my grey chaise lounge and the tiny grey couch that matches it. Coda especially loved the large chaise lounge. In between shots he would jump up there and cuddle up. He got so comfortable during some of the shots, it looked like he was going to fall asleep!
Everyone did amazing, as always, and we got such cute shots. Here are some of my favorites we got that day!
Get in touch to book your pet session today!
Email me at laurapeaphotography@gmail.com or call (631)256-7476. Happy Holidays!
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I love doing this event at Barkfield Road! They're an awesome pet boutique in East Northport here on Long Island. They have really great products and they're very particular and knowledgable about the things they stock. I love shopping for my Gracey whenever I'm there. Thanks so much to Gabriella and Kevin for having me again to do this very fun event! It's always so great to see all the dogs come through in their Christmas best! Part of the proceeds every time we do this mini photo session event goes to the Dotty Fund. They're a great charity that helps local families who are in need of medical treatment for their pets. They help get them through emergency situations so that pets can stay with their families instead of ending up in a shelter. They do amazing work!
This year we had our event scheduled for November 18th. The response was amazing. We booked up so fast, that we decided to add on a date the week before on the 11th to try to accommodate as many pet families as we could. That one also completely booked up!
I brought three different backgrounds for pet parents to choose from. I also had a ton of different props, Christmas, Hanukkah and just plain winter-themed ones for people to include in their photos if they wanted. Popular ones this year were the lamppost and the letter box to Santa. It was also nice to see the outfits the pups came dressed up in, from sweaters to scarves to Santa capes. We had 25 dogs join us over the two weeks. Thank you so much to everyone who signed up and brought their pups for their Christmas photos!
Here are some of the adorable shots we got!
This year we had our event scheduled for November 18th. The response was amazing. We booked up so fast, that we decided to add on a date the week before on the 11th to try to accommodate as many pet families as we could. That one also completely booked up!
I brought three different backgrounds for pet parents to choose from. I also had a ton of different props, Christmas, Hanukkah and just plain winter-themed ones for people to include in their photos if they wanted. Popular ones this year were the lamppost and the letter box to Santa. It was also nice to see the outfits the pups came dressed up in, from sweaters to scarves to Santa capes. We had 25 dogs join us over the two weeks. Thank you so much to everyone who signed up and brought their pups for their Christmas photos!
Here are some of the adorable shots we got!
Get in touch to book your pet session today!
Email me at laurapeaphotography@gmail.com or call (631)256-7476. Happy Holidays!
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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!
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!
Get in touch to book your pet session today!
Email me at laurapeaphotography@gmail.com or call (631)256-7476. Happy Holidays!
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I always get an early taste of Christmas every summer when I meet my awesome client Kelly to take photographs of her beloved and beautiful Yorkies, Laci, Luci and Levi. Kelly likes to get her Christmas photos done nice and early in August, which is such a great idea! Every year I feel terrible when I have to turn people away for holiday photos because I can only take so many clients. I book up pretty early in the fall every year! Doing your holiday photos earlier than you might usually do them makes sure that while other people are scrambling mid-December, you're sitting pretty with your holiday photos already in the bag.
This year we stayed outside in Kelly's beautiful yard for photos. She had an array of adorable props all ready for us and of course, the L pups were all dressed to the nines. I look forward to seeing their fashionable outfits every year!
Their first outfits were an adorable green houndstooth pattern. Next they changed into their furry red scarves, and the girls even had furry red berets to match. Once we were all done with our Christmas shots, it was time to take a few photos to celebrate Luci's birthday. The girls got into their sweet pink houndstooth dresses and Levi donned his green bowtie to complement them.
These pups are so amazing during every photo shoot! They love to be together and they're just so darn cute, I can't take it. It's always so good to spend time with them and their super sweet mom! Here are some of my favorite photos we got that day!
This year we stayed outside in Kelly's beautiful yard for photos. She had an array of adorable props all ready for us and of course, the L pups were all dressed to the nines. I look forward to seeing their fashionable outfits every year!
Their first outfits were an adorable green houndstooth pattern. Next they changed into their furry red scarves, and the girls even had furry red berets to match. Once we were all done with our Christmas shots, it was time to take a few photos to celebrate Luci's birthday. The girls got into their sweet pink houndstooth dresses and Levi donned his green bowtie to complement them.
These pups are so amazing during every photo shoot! They love to be together and they're just so darn cute, I can't take it. It's always so good to spend time with them and their super sweet mom! Here are some of my favorite photos we got that day!
Get in touch to book your pet session today!
Email me at laurapeaphotography@gmail.com or call (631)256-7476. Happy Holidays!
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I was back again at the Islip Public Library for another pet portrait program this year outside on their beautiful terrace. We did the program right on the cusp of spooky season changing into the holiday season, so we had two set ups available for patrons to choose from. We had 19 adorable dogs join us that day!
Thanks so much to the library for having me again, it's always such a fun event and great to see so many cute pups come out for a photo! Thanks also to library teen volunteer Dominick for assisting me during the shoot, and to everyone who brought their pup in for their time in the spotlight!
Here are some of the cute faces I saw that day!
Thanks so much to the library for having me again, it's always such a fun event and great to see so many cute pups come out for a photo! Thanks also to library teen volunteer Dominick for assisting me during the shoot, and to everyone who brought their pup in for their time in the spotlight!
Here are some of the cute faces I saw that day!
To be notified of all the events I’m participating in,
join my email list or follow along with me on Instagram!
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I'm so happy to announce I'll be back to Barkfield Road for holiday pet photo mini sessions on 11/11 and 11/18 this year. We had such a high demand for our planned date on the 18th that we added a second day the week before. As of 11/3, the 11/18 date is fully booked but there are a few slots left for the 11/11 date.
A portion of proceeds from the event will be going to the Dotty Fund. They provide financial assistance to families who need help paying for their pets’ medical care, so that animals are able to stay in their owner's care and not end up in shelters.
Half hour mini sessions are a $25 sitting fee, which will be waived if you order over $25 of photo products. 4x6 prints will be $10, 5x7s will be $15 and 8x10s will be $20. I’ll also be offering holiday, Christmas and Hanukkah cards in packs of 25 for $40. Metal ornaments will be $35 and image cubes will be $50. There will be new props this year for Christmas, Hanukkah and just winter themed shots. You're welcome to join in the photos with pets, but space is limited, so huge group shots may not be possible!
Products will take about 2 weeks to come in for pickup at Barkfield Road. Can't wait to see all the beautiful furry faces!
Click here to see the shots from last year's event!
A portion of proceeds from the event will be going to the Dotty Fund. They provide financial assistance to families who need help paying for their pets’ medical care, so that animals are able to stay in their owner's care and not end up in shelters.
Half hour mini sessions are a $25 sitting fee, which will be waived if you order over $25 of photo products. 4x6 prints will be $10, 5x7s will be $15 and 8x10s will be $20. I’ll also be offering holiday, Christmas and Hanukkah cards in packs of 25 for $40. Metal ornaments will be $35 and image cubes will be $50. There will be new props this year for Christmas, Hanukkah and just winter themed shots. You're welcome to join in the photos with pets, but space is limited, so huge group shots may not be possible!
Products will take about 2 weeks to come in for pickup at Barkfield Road. Can't wait to see all the beautiful furry faces!
Click here to see the shots from last year's event!
Call 631-651-9292 to book your session!
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I was back at the Middle Country Public Library for another pet portrait program this year! We held our event in their beautiful outdoor Nature Explorium again. This space is so great for this program because there are lots of different spots all over the explorium for patrons to choose from. Also, it's completely fenced in, so pets are free to shed their crates, leashes and harnesses and roam the area! Many of the families who come to this program have been back year after year and it's always so great to see that. I was also happy to see a lot of new faces this year too!
Many times when I do this program at libraries, people assume you can only bring dogs, but all pets are welcome! This year we got mostly dogs, but also a cat and a turtle who showed up (the turtle is fiercely private and didn't sign a model release, so you won't find him in the slideshow, sorry)! Our biggest this year was a huge Great Dane and our smallest a tiny Chihuahua. It's always such a great time when I'm able to do these programs because I get to be surrounded by adorable animals all day.
All families who came to the program got a free 8x10 and an email with the digital files of the photos we got. Thank you to all the families who brought their pets, thank you to the Middle Country Public Library for having me and especially to librarian Sara Fade who was the one who first asked me all those years ago to do this program! Ever since then, I've added more libraries to my list every year and it's become one of my favorite things I do in my business. If you'd like to see a program like this at your local library, send them this link and tell them to get in touch!
Here are some of the awesome shots we got at the pet portrait program this year!
Many times when I do this program at libraries, people assume you can only bring dogs, but all pets are welcome! This year we got mostly dogs, but also a cat and a turtle who showed up (the turtle is fiercely private and didn't sign a model release, so you won't find him in the slideshow, sorry)! Our biggest this year was a huge Great Dane and our smallest a tiny Chihuahua. It's always such a great time when I'm able to do these programs because I get to be surrounded by adorable animals all day.
All families who came to the program got a free 8x10 and an email with the digital files of the photos we got. Thank you to all the families who brought their pets, thank you to the Middle Country Public Library for having me and especially to librarian Sara Fade who was the one who first asked me all those years ago to do this program! Ever since then, I've added more libraries to my list every year and it's become one of my favorite things I do in my business. If you'd like to see a program like this at your local library, send them this link and tell them to get in touch!
Here are some of the awesome shots we got at the pet portrait program this year!
To be notified of all the events I’m participating in,
join my email list or follow along with me on Instagram!
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Meet Killian Tiberius Orick Judge, the little guy with the big name! This beautiful boy is the son of my friend Wilhelmina. You might remember her adorable maternity session with her sweet pack of pups last year! She and her husband Patrick welcomed this adorable little guy this year to round out their beautiful family. Big brother Phoenix even got into on some of the fun of our photo session because he’s all about his baby brother. I think Phoenix might have actually thought the session was for him because every time we took Killian off to change an outfit or backdrop, Phoenix came by to get his own close up!
We started off with some family shots of Killian with proud mom and dad (and big brother Phoenix was always close by)! Then we moved onto Killian’s turn in the spotlight. He was nice and sleepy so we were able to do lots of outfits and backdrops, and even got to feature some special toys that mom and dad passed down to him. These and other sentimental items like handmade quilts and blankets always add a sweet emotional touch to newborn photos, so I love when clients want to include things like that.
Killian did such an amazing job! I especially love the shots of him in the puppy outfit. Here are some of my favorite shots from our session!
We started off with some family shots of Killian with proud mom and dad (and big brother Phoenix was always close by)! Then we moved onto Killian’s turn in the spotlight. He was nice and sleepy so we were able to do lots of outfits and backdrops, and even got to feature some special toys that mom and dad passed down to him. These and other sentimental items like handmade quilts and blankets always add a sweet emotional touch to newborn photos, so I love when clients want to include things like that.
Killian did such an amazing job! I especially love the shots of him in the puppy outfit. Here are some of my favorite shots from our session!
Welcome to the world, Killian!
Get in touch to book your newborn session today! Email me at laurapeaphotography@gmail.com
or call (631)256-7476.
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It was so good to see Gianna and her two adorable pups Coda and Cadence again. We met for a photo session at Lake Ronkonkoma. The lake is a great spot for pet photo sessions because dogs are allowed and it's so big that there are tons of areas with beautiful backdrops for photos. Gianna was recovering from a sports injury at the time of our session, but she was a trooper throughout the whole thing. I've photographed this trio several times over the years and every time I see them, it's very apparent to me the bond they share. These dogs certainly love their girl!
We started with some photos of the three of them together, then did individual portraits of Coda and Cadence. They looked so adorable in that golden hour sunset light. Then we did more photos of all three of them, then some shots of Gianna with each pup. After that, we did a few solo portraits of Gianna on her own while the dogs took a break to run in the sand! After we were done with Gianna's portraits, she joined them for a walk up and down the shore of the lake for some candid shots of them together. We ended the session with a few photos of Coda and Cadence sitting lakeside, all nice and tired out from an active session. I always make sure to shoot for variety in my sessions, in groupings, backdrops, composition, etc. so that my clients have a lot of types of photos to choose from. That way, photos can easily be used in collages or albums and not look too similar when grouped together.
These three did an amazing job as always! Here are a few of my favorite photos from our session!
We started with some photos of the three of them together, then did individual portraits of Coda and Cadence. They looked so adorable in that golden hour sunset light. Then we did more photos of all three of them, then some shots of Gianna with each pup. After that, we did a few solo portraits of Gianna on her own while the dogs took a break to run in the sand! After we were done with Gianna's portraits, she joined them for a walk up and down the shore of the lake for some candid shots of them together. We ended the session with a few photos of Coda and Cadence sitting lakeside, all nice and tired out from an active session. I always make sure to shoot for variety in my sessions, in groupings, backdrops, composition, etc. so that my clients have a lot of types of photos to choose from. That way, photos can easily be used in collages or albums and not look too similar when grouped together.
These three did an amazing job as always! Here are a few of my favorite photos from our session!
