Client Session ~ Lily the French Bulldog

At the Gold Coast Pet Expo back in September I ran a competition to win a free photo session, of which Lily’s mum Tracey was the lucky winner! I was so excited to be photographing a French Bulldog as I’ve been eyeing this breed off for a while having long ago deciding they were very photogenic. I wasn’t disappointed! We started off at a local park where we let Lily have a run around. She was quite happy to bolt obligingly between her mum and her human sister!

She ran out of steam pretty quickly though (it’s hard work being so cute) so we switched to doing to some exploring of the park. How cool is Lily’s little harness, by the way?

Striding out to get to the other end of the bridge, it’s always more exciting at the other end!

Lily’s family are lucky enough to live in a lovely house with a fantastic outdoor area. The deck and surrounds made great backdrops and I especially love how Lily looks against the dark texture of the deck.

Especially in black and white!

Lily is three years old and along with the family cat (who is pretty much the feline equivalent of Miss Lily looks wise) is totally adored by her family. Their last dog was a British Bulldog so you could say they’ve definitely stuck with what they like!

Lily was an amazing model, with those huge ears pricked up all the time, she always looks alert!

Apparently her colouring is not very common in this breed, as she’s actually classed as a very lightly marked piebald. The only colour of her kind in her litter, her future family decided they wanted her as soon as they saw her! She was certainly named accordingly, although there is actually some black skin under that very bright white fur, you don’t see it unless she’s wet.

Along with a snuggle-able little chunky body, Lily has the cutest little tail and her black spot edged ears are quite a feature.

I love how she looks against the pale blue of the pool.

As well as good looks, Lily has a lovely temperament and was up for lots of snuggles when our session was over, I so wanted to steal her away with me! She is also very playful and energetic when it was time for her favourite game – chasing the water from the hose!

Lily was bred by Frogwyk Kennels in New South Wales – you can visit their site here to see more gorgeous French Bulldogs.

I’m coming to Adelaide! 26-28 November 2010

If you’d love some beautiful, creative and candid photos of your favourite furry friend then let’s book you in for a session while I’m visiting. These sessions will be priced at my regular rate and will include the usual:

  • Photographers time and talent
  • On-location photo session for 1-2 subjects
  • Shooting time 30 minutes – 2 hours
  • Includes 1-2 locations i.e. home, local park, beach and dunes, urban or city, foreshore etc
  • The best 30 images (more for extra subjects) are carefully selected and edited to perfection
  • A mixture of colour and black & white images

I’ll be in town from Friday 26th November until Sunday 28th November. The remaining spots I have are:

  • November 27th – Saturday morning 6am

Gift certificates are available and remember that although I specialise in dogs, I also love photographing cats, horses and other furry friends. I also really delight in capturing the bond between you and your pet if you wish to be involved in the session as well.

The price for the session will be $550 (which includes a huge $300 order credit to spend on whatever prints and products you like).

If this sounds like just what you’ve been waiting for, get in quick as the opportunity to have your precious pal photographed by an award-winning specialist pet photographer doesn’t happen every day! Drop me a line at pix@charlottereeves.com.au or call me on 0402 322 973.

Here’s a few of my favourites from recent sessions to get you thinking.

Client Session ~ Gus and Inca the Poodle x Golden Retrievers

Gus and Inca’s parents had organised a gift certificate quite a while ago, but with both of them working hard and trying to get their pair of rather furry pups looking good for the camera, it’s taken a while to get their session sorted. I’m happy to wait for when clients are ready though and of course the doggies must look their best! Our session was on a rather cloudy afternoon in the Gold Coast hinterland, what a beautiful location.

They also warned me that Inca especially was lacking a bit of training, so I was surprised to turn up to two rather well behaved and very cuddly pups! Gus (on the right) is the older of the two at 4 years old (Inca is 3) and the biggest as well. He was almost as tall as Luna, and reminded me of her so much when he greeted me at the front door proudly prancing around with a giant stuffed toy. Definitely a Luna moment, I wished I had my camera out at that stage.

These pair are lucky enough to have a massive backyard that runs down a slope into the valley, offering them wonderful spy-vision over the neighbourhood goings-on. Gus especially was forever racing off down the hill to check up on this or the other and patrol his territory!

Inca is more of a follower but still likes to admire the view over the valley. I just loved her curly Poodle tail!

The pair were kind enough to sit beautifully right next to each other for a photo, I didn’t even have to ask! What a pair of naturals!

With melting eyes like these, it seems like modelling would be a good career choice for them.

After they’d let off a bit of steam running around outside patrolling the yard, we moved inside. Coloured furniture can provide interesting backdrops, this grey outdoor wicker chair sets off Inca’s colouring perfectly.

Inside were some red leather couches that I knew would make fantastic props. Gus was quite happy to lay still and model for me.

Inca however needed a bit more coaching on the ‘stay’ aspect, we got there in the end though!

As a reward for co-operating with me inside, we headed back outside for some playtime fun. Gus loves his big red Wahu ball.

As well as rolling around on the grass being attacked by Inca!

The end. :)

Client Session ~ Pippi the English Cocker Spaniel

Meet Pippi, a gorgeous, super well behaved and very photogenic pup hailing from Sanctuary Cove towards the northern end of the Gold Coast. Pippi is lucky enough to live in a beautiful house with a backyard designed (I’m sure!) with photographing dogs in mind! Her house even backs onto a park where she regularly meets up with her doggy friends.

I just love the colour and texture of the deck which brings out her melting chocolate brown eyes.

She had the full range of expressions too, from the super cute puppy dog look…

To the happy-go-lucky, “I’ll do anything for a treat!” look…

Her colouring and markings means she looks just as good in black and white!

After hanging out in the backyard for a while, it was time to venture into the park for some chasing ball games, plus a quick bit of modelling on the park bench, complete with well-timed gust of wind to send those furry ears flying. Anyone would think we set up a fan!

Then it was back to the deck for a bit more modelling in the late afternoon light.

Before heading inside to check out the light there. Luckily there were some nice big windows, so Pippi got to pose on the couch.

The white tiled floor under a big skylight also made for some gorgeous light we just couldn’t pass up. I think Pippi was really getting the hang of the modelling part at this stage, and pulled out some cracker expressions for the camera.

With all the hard work over, it was time for some fun! In true spaniel style, Pippi just loves the water and couldn’t wait to get wet.

Diving into the pool enthusiastically after her ball, making for some really fun splashing shots!

What a girl! I just loved Pippi.