This week I was fortunate enough to be asked to work with the fantastic guys at EzyDog to produce some lifestyle photos for use in their latest brochure. Most dog people should be familiar with the brand as it’s stocked in most pet supply stores in Australia, not to mention selected stores worldwide!

If you’re not familiar with the brand, EzyDog produce functional, comfortable collars, leashes, harnesses and accessories focused on the outdoor dog. Soft rubber neoprene (the same material used in wetsuits) is reinforced with nylon webbing for strength, with hooks and rings to make each item customisable and adjustable.

So onto the photo session! Billy and his Mum were chosen as the talent, with the aim of getting some outdoorsy style photos as well as some urban shots. I suggested Pizzey Park in Miami on the Gold Coast as the park location as it contains a fantastic off-lead dog area with cool features such as a pine forest, lake, paths and open grassy areas. Perfect! I actually found a video from 2007 of my two girls enjoying the park – you can watch it on YouTube here.

We met bright and early at the park and were delighted to discover the weather was going to co-operate – light cloud interspersed with patches of gorgeous early morning sunlight.

If there are any potential Gold Coasters out there thinking about a session with their pooch, please consider this awesome location! The pine forest was just beautiful in the early morning light and at this time of year with all the fallen pinecones on the ground, what a fantastic backdrop.

If you’re wondering what has Billy’s attention so firmly in it’s grasp in these shots, it was his new toy for the session – a DogStar Flying Disc. What a cool retrieval toy, he just loved it! Here he is with a similar product, the Fido Flyer. Billy was clearly asserting his ownership in these shots!

I just loved Billy, a two year old Border Collie x German Shepherd. How cool is his colouring! So energetic, but also so well behaved. What a great model.

Pizzey Park features a lovely lake complete with ducks, along with a cute little jetty sticking out into the water. We took Kaya and Luna to this park when Luna was just a little tyke, and soon had Luna jumping off the jetty fetching sticks – what a brave girl! You can watch the video on YouTube here.

Although I’m sure he would have been more than keen to do the same, there was no dock diving on the cards for Billy – he had serious modelling work to do. Our next location was urban Hedges Avenue in nearby Mermaid Beach. Pretty well known on the Gold Coast as the most expensive real estate in the region, Hedges Avenue is home to many flash houses and is constantly busy with walkers, joggers, cyclists and expensive cars!

I took advantage of the manicured sidewalks for some detailed product shots.

I also used some of the trendy houses as a backdrop for Billy and his Mum taking a stroll along the street.

Billy and his Mum are pretty dedicated running partners, so this was nothing out of the ordinary for them!

I couldn’t resist a black and white conversion on this street scene, the high key light suits it so well and I loved capturing the bond between these two.

By the end of the session, we’d pretty much managed to wear poor Billy out! There was just time for a couple more close-ups of the EzyDog collar and leash he was modelling.

And of course I couldn’t resist one last shot of the handsome Mr Billy.

What a fun session! I hope to be working more with EzyDog in the future, so if have a young, well behaved and energetic dog and live on the Gold Coast, keep an eye out for any casting calls I might put out there. Make sure you become a fan on my Facebook Page to stay updated!