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camilla and sarah ~ {Waterloo, Ontario pet photographer}

20 December 2011 – 11:37 am

strap yourselves in and make sure you’ve got the safety belts on tight because you’re about to take a ride in ultimate cuteness, the likes of which you will not have experienced before!

now, some of you who follow the scruffy dog facebook page will already have seen a couple of sneak peeks of these two darlings, but now you’re going to get to see a whole lot more!

we had so much fun at their shoot … well, perhaps not Vince so much, as he was designated as the chair-sherpa …

so this is Sarah …

and this is Camilla … a.k.a. Cammy.

and anyone who thinks that these two look alike couldn’t be more wrong.

Camilla is a foxy little girl …

… and Sarah is rounder

… with your typical corgi poof-rump … “does my butt look big on this boardwalk?”

you’ll see a lot of these looking-up shots since these two girls were pretty determined to stick near me.

still, we were able to get them out exploring …

Sarah is actually afraid of cameras …

… she’s skittish of a lot of things, even the sound of Velcro, and that fear was immediately noticeable as i took the gear out of the car.  in fact, she tried to hide in the scruffy dog mobile.  but with a few tricks and working with her energy, i was able to bring her around pretty quickly and she ended up being a bit of a poser.

these girls definitely love balls …

and that Camilla has a lot of giddy-up …

and check out that ski-slope tongue!

but Sarah’s no slouch either …

thanks for a fun afternoon, Jennifer and Vince, and for sharing not just your two little darlings but also your grandfather’s gorgeous property.  i’m looking forward to working on your big canvas and album!

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little lolli grows up ~ {Toronto, Ontario pet photographer}

19 December 2011 – 2:03 pm

with a heavy fall shooting schedule and now the post work on those dozens of sessions, we’re woefully behind in blogging.  in fact, the guardians of the next few scruffy faces you’re going to be seeing on the SDP blog have already received their full galleries and are in the midst of ordering …  yeah, that far behind!

i’m sure a lot of you will remember little Lolli from her puppy shoot last winter …

well, she’s grown up … just a little.

and although this little girl still goes like stink …

… she’s more able to multi-task … running, carrying a stick, and — what is not so readily visible — working on her complex math equations, all at the same time!

we started with some shooting indoors …

then, off to the great outdoors!

when Lolli’s parents mentioned the location they were considering, i was psyched … i knew Lolli’s colour would look fab with the red bricks!

and like any well-respecting retriever, Lolli has grown to love balls.

and b-i-g sticks …

i’m hoping Maria doesn’t mind me sharing a photo of her on the blog.  i don’t often post “owner” photos, and actually don’t often take this kind of “posed” shot, but i liked this …

and i loved Maria’s red boots.

as always, variety is big with a scruffy dog session, and this blue wall was a nice splash …

thanks for a fun afternoon, Maria and Andy.  i can’t wait to get working on Lolli’s Best in Show album!

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another weekly facebook recap ~ {Ontario pet photographer}

15 December 2011 – 10:34 am

over on the scruffy dog facebook page there are always lots of sneak peeks from client sessions … but i know not everyone is into facebook, so if you’re not, well, here’s what you missed in the last week!

first up, sweet little Maggie … i can’t wait to blog more images from this baby girl’s shoot.  Maggie is a Portuguese Water Dog, and an absolute blast to photograph.

but next to Indy the Boston Terrier, Baxter might take the prize of most expressive scruffy …

we had so much fun on Baxter’s shoot …

then there was Duke — a.k.a. Mr. Ears …

and his sister, Daisy — squirrel aficionado …

then there was Scout …

and resident scruffy merrick enjoying the holiday season … or not …

a glimpse of just one of the big canvases that have gone out to their homes recently …

another glimpse of big James …

and finally young Rico having fun at his scruffy session …

if you’ve enjoyed these sneak peeks, then mosey on over and join all the fun on the scruffy dog facebook page so you never miss a thing!

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orville love balls ~ {Waterloo, Ontario pet photographer}

9 December 2011 – 10:50 am

this is Orville …

you may remember him from his short train tunnel/graffiti shoot earlier this year.  Orville is also one of the KW Humane Society calendar winners, and is featured in the 2012 calendar.  adopted from the KWHS, Orville is — without question — leading the good life.

you could call him Mr. Happy …

… or home jester, as he elicits a lot of laughter from his parents …

Orville’s proud parents wanted more than the mini-shoot for the KWHS 2012 calendar, so we took their scruffy session to the park …

normally a ball- or toy-driven dog is a pleasure to photograph since you can more easily direct their attention.  but the kind of over-the-top ball-intensity/obsession that Orville has can make a photosession difficult … that is, until you have a good handle on his particular energy — if you don’t want every photo to look unnatural due to the extreme intensity and focus on the ball, you need to determine how close is too close before he starts to look unnaturally intent, how much you can manipulate the ball to bring his head to a more natural angle.

most of all though, it was about having fun chasing the ball …

thanks, Orville, for a fun shoot!

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and here is last week’s facebook recap! ~ {Ontario pet photographer}

7 December 2011 – 10:51 am

last week saw some pretty awesome scruffy faces on the scruffy dog facebook page.  if you’re not following SDP on facebook, then you’re missing a lot of sneak peeks, chat about dogs and photography, and well, just plain fun.  but don’t fret if you’re not a facebooker (how long before we see that noun in the dictionary?) … as always, i don’t want SDP followers to miss any fun … so here are the photos you missed last week on facebook …

the absolute gorgeous, scruffylicious Macy …

and the big hunk of the week was Charlie from his Karma Collar shoot


then there was baby Harlow … a whole lotta trouble dressed up in a whole lotta cute …

and the very handsome James again …

and a reminder that, although we can’t fit a shoot in for you before the new year, scruffy dog gift certificates are always available and make for a great surprise for Rover under the tree!

matea and merrick goobernuts mcscruffy, our two resident scruffies, were taking the change in weather all in stride … matea’s advice for the colder weather: be sure to have a good neck-warmer!

and the darling, wee Baxter … always keeping an eye on his parents, just in case i followed through on my threats to steal him …

and the incomparable Indy … being tortured and abused at her photo session … or so you’d think, given the disdain on her face.

James again, in the tall grasses …

plus a little before-and-after with a photo of James that i quite like … just to give you an idea of what goes into the scruffy dog photos, and what can be done with good post work …

and a closer-up of the intricate post work required to remove the leash as it lay across the very significant line of his shoulder … (i’m only showing you this in Lightroom; the final work of removing the leash required an edit in Photoshop).

and Macy again, catching some air …

and finally, merrick goobernuts after anesthesia to xray his severe underbite and a couple of worrisome teeth … happy to report that everything is fine!

hope you enjoyed this facebook recap.  stay tuned next week for more!  and if you don’t follow SDP on facebook but would like to be kept abreast with the SDP blog, remember, you can subscribe to the SDP blog via RSS feed or email!  simply scroll down to the very bottom of the blog and you’ll find the handy links!

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