Dog Photography Blog

Break out the pinks & reds and shower everyone with LOVE! It is Valentine’s Day! 

For Blue’s portraits I broke out the pink seamless paper and box of Valentine’s props, then added in a strobe with a softbox to my left. Weirdly I typically light from the left, though this may be due to the layout of the living room. (I also light this way when I have more space hahaha!)

Blue gets excited when the camera & lights come out, and he happily works for sliced cheese. 

Ready to DIY your own Valentine’s dog portraits with your pup? 

• First start with lighting! 
  Are you going to use a flash or artificial light? They go everywhere in your house! If you’re using window light pay attention to your various windows. North & east facing windows will get loads of light in the morning, while south and west facing windows will get more light in the afternoon. Want even light? Face your dog towards the window for front lighting. Want a little more drama? Have the light fall more on the side of your dog for side lighting. 
  
  
• Backdrop time!
  This can be as simple as a white or grey wall, a draped sheet or tablecloth in Valentine’s themes, or a seamless paper backdrop. If you are setting up a backdrop, then position it where it gets the light that you want (unless of course OCF). If it is a wall, you may need to time your Valentine’s pictures earlier or later, depending on the light you get in the windows. 
  
  
• Add in props!
  If your background is patterned, opt for minimal props. If your background is a solid color, add in Valentine’s props. Pay attention to the size of your dog and the props. Big dogs with small props can look goofy, and big props with small dogs can overwhelm the scene and the small dog. 
  
  
• Break out the treats!
  Cheese, chicken, soft treats that can be broken in little morsels, treats that your dog will work for. Or break out the bestest toy ever if you dog would rather play than snack as a reward. 
  
  
• Ready your camera or phone
  Make sure your settings are ready BEFORE you add your dog into the scene. If you are using flashes/strobes make sure they are on & firing when you need them to. Make sure your phone is on the mode you want. 
  
  
• Finally, add in your dog!
  Ask for sit, lay, stand. Add in props, swap props, see if your dog will interact with the props. Remember keep it FUN! Reward frequently!  Gently reset if your dog moves, work on wait & watch me and notice when your dog has had enough of the posing for the day. (For Blue when he lays down its usually when he’s done working.) Give you dog the rest of the tasty treat you have, tear down the backdrop and work on the pictures!

Easy peasy! And a great way to celebrate Valentine’s Day!

Did you take any pictures of your pup with a Valentine’s theme? I’d love to see them! Send them over to

Happy Valentine’s Day from Blue, Kris & I! XOXOXOXOXOX

My heart is heavy this evening. A quick pop on Facebook brought me face to face with a GIANT merle dane face – Cash.  

This wasn’t a happy posting. Karla, Cash’s mom, was posing that this sweet giant gent had passed away in the morning. He was 10 years old. 

I met Karla and Cash back when the Dogs of MSP was a budding group, not quite to the bazillion people it got to before the pandemic. He was the TALLEST dane I had met, a lovely merle color. On one of those occasions, while the group mingled at Lakes & Legends (now Brühaven) I remembered that the weekly blog ring challenge was architecture. 

I asked Karla if we could borrow Cash for some pictures. She said sure! Here are the images from that day in 2017. (And the architecture blog post.)

As the years progressed to the current, I saw Karla and Cash occasionally. He had some health scares, but told them all he wasn’t going to depart any time soon. He got a dane sister and helped her to come out of her shell. He was along when Karla started a dane rescue. I wish I would have seen them more, but I’m glad I did get to photograph him those years ago. 

Run free Cash. Say hi to the ones who have gone before you – Mick, Icey, Axel and Bender – an all the others we have lost. 

Hug your dog deeply tonight and cherish them forever. 

You may know, or perhaps you don’t, but as a refresher either way, I volunteer on Tuesdays at Tri County Humane Society!

I arrive at 11 am, prime shoddy light time but it is an hour before they open so I don’t have to wrangle dogs when there are potential adopters mingling in the kennel areas. List and leash grabbed then I find each dog, then when I’m hot and sweaty I head to the cats & critters. 

There is an adorable teenie weenie “forest” adjacent to TCHS with a little walking path through it. This is where I lead the dogs, sometimes in the woods, frequently on the backside of the woods for ample light. 

In reality today’s lighting was harsh. Not directly overhead middle of the day, but heavily directional and bright. When I would aim to get the dog in the light, my shadow would drape over them. Or one side of their face was lost to the shadows. Or their face was dark as they were lit from behind. It took ample creative thinking for both the light and the dogs. 

This hunk above is Kofi! It is hard to tell with this crunchy lighting, but he has lovely dark brindle stripes on his legs. He enjoyed the turkey I had today and def knew sit. He does have allergies, TCHS will give you the info on how to manage them if you were to adopt him. PS – his adoption fee is completely covered! Just fill out the paperwork and he’s yours!

Next was a bouncy, pj wearing pup called Abracadabra! She’s a cutie patootie and working on growing her hair. Not sure if it was allergies or a skin issue, TCHS will let you know what you need to do to help her continue to clear it up. She LOVES food (if she has allergies you’ll have to be picky about treats she gets) and was eager to sit for turkey lunch meat snacks. She has a lot of energy and does pull on the leash, but I think she would be fun and spunky with some training under her belt. 

What a head tilt! This yellow lab colored mixed pup is Clyde. He’s got some scars from getting chomped on in his life before arriving to TCHS. (He was a transfer from another facility.) He was well mannered on leash, wasn’t interested in treats, and was more interested in being comforted than posing for pictures. He’ll need some confidence boosters to really help him come out of his shell. No reactions to other dogs in the kennels. He did howl though! 

Awww, who doesn’t love Dessert? Especially when it comes in a bouncy year old pup! Yes, this guy’s name is Dessert! When he’s in his kennel he’s standoffish, and growly. Don’t look at him straight on, be sideways in your approach and talk to him. And sneak turkey lunch meat snacks. Man did I think I wasn’t going to be able to get him out of his kennel as he was vocally fearful. But a few snacks later and I was able to hook him up and head outside. What a transformation! He was bouncy, interactive and just a big lug of a puppy. He solidly knows “sit” and will work for tasty treats. It is hard to see, but that patch of color on the white is brindle! 

This powerhouse, Scribble, needs some work on leash but he’s quite a charmer. Its hard to tell (dang harsh lighting!) but he’s actually a lovely dark brindle color! He sat like a gentleman for turkey lunch meat. He knows loads of tricks and has just enough puppy energy to keep you busy (he’s only 9 months old!). 

It is Lala! This lovely lady is petite and full of energy. Very food motivated and very driven to get said food. She did know sit and could be a energetic trainable dog. She had arrived as a stray so there’s not much known about her previous background. Her leash walking will need some work. But look at that face!!!! (Also, see how hard the shadows are on the left side of her face. That’s the not quite mid day light I typically deal with…)

Incoming! This bouncy bundle of fur is Hansel! Be aware he is a mouthy puppy! He will need ample work redirecting to appropriate toys not hands and clothing. He was very energetic – I think being inside the past couple of weeks has made him extra bouncy. Calm energy and boring chitchat and he turned into a chill pup. Since he is quite mouthy, TCHS is being extra cautious in case he nips or bites so you most likely won’t see him in the main kennel areas. Ask to visit him, bring turkey lunchmeat snacks and see if you can dog whisper to his heart. 

This BIG dude is Bear! He came in to TCHS as a stray so not much of his previous history is known. He is BOUNCY! He knew sit, but would also bark his displeasure that my treat delivery was slow. And bounced! He could spring up to look me in my face (I’m 5 ft 7) and was quite a pest and overeager about treats. He could use an energy outlet as well as ample training to get him to an epic dog.  Plus those ears – SWOON!

After a few weeks off, it is fun to be back in the swing of volunteering! Remember, I am at Tri County Humane Society Tuesday mornings, sometimes until 1 pm. Dogs I photograph could be adopted by the time you read this blog post. The best thing to do is to pop over to their website and check out all the dogs (and cats and critters) available for adoption. 

Seriously! I have LOADS of inspiration, LOADS of motivation to create some rather epic images. And then the temp goes up (yay, but a bit of boo as it means the snow will disappear) and the wind also kicks up. Which means 33 degrees feels like 27 degrees F. Still a brisk brrrrrrrrr!

Wind also means that saddling up my studio strobes with their softbox modifiers is a bad idea. They like to try to take flight, like big air filled balloons. Which means light stands and the lights they’re holding tend to topple. This typically results in death to the light. So that’s a solid pass for me. 

The evening sunlight has been very inspiring, how it tickles the grasses and branches as it proceeds to set in warm golden colors. The temperature, not so much. Until this week when we’re going to tap into the 40s! Then 30s, then 40s and then back just under 30, the weekend looks like 30s and then Monday we drop back into the teens. February averages in the 20s, March averages in the 30s. Am I antsy for warmer temps? Yes. Do I want the snow to depart before the end of the winter season (March marks the start of spring)? Nope. 

Winter should be 2-4 ft of snow, lovely hoarfrost and temps in the 20s up to 30s without a breeze. Thus far we hit classic subzeros, there’s perhaps 2 inches of snow and no more in the near forecast. 

Ah I’m rambling. 

I want the temp to mild out (if that means no snow, well…) and the breeze to cut so I can get to creating some epic images. 

The images that are hankering to be created:

• Downtown St. Cloud
• In the woods with a dreamy background
• Night time downtown St. Cloud
• Star trails / Milky Way – though these types of shots are better in the spring to fall
• Dreamy action shots with no feet touching the ground
• Sunrise with the strobe / sunset with the strobe
• Images made with the BEAST – the biggest lens I own, it’s been in the wild… once when Blue was a baby
• Waterfall + dog

And yes, I want to create a version of each of the hankering images with strobes. I want to learn, to grow my knowledge about off camera flash especially outside. If you ain’t learning you ain’t growing! (Or something along those lines haha!)

I’ve been working on a new editing style as well. Dreamy, rich in color, still playful and personality filled.

How am I going to create these images?

Blue & I will create them. It likely will be a challenge as he & I don’t frequently go out and about with camera in tow. We’ve never lugged out the lighting to toodle around with it and the camera. It can be done. I just haven’t attempted it as of yet.

Yes I know, I say every year I want to accomplish getting the strobes out into the wilds and nature and it doesn’t happen. I just need to pull up my britches, load up Blue, the camera & lighting setup and find somewhere we can practice. If you want to lend a hand, I would appreciate it (we would need to go through Blue protocol beforehand.)

Or…

If you want to lend your dog and your hands that would be MEGA AWESOME! Don’t worry, I’ll direct you what to do with the light. You’ll get to be a voice activated light stand. Those who already signed up for the model call, I’ll be in touch. 

Want to be part of the model network? There’s some cool perks! (Complimentary sessions to start!) Sign up here: 

Here are few more of the dreamy edited images! What do you think?