client photo book | products

A few posts back I shared the story of Scruffy, and his incredible 20-years of life. After our Celebration Session (these are special sessions I offer for terminally ill or elderly pets where time is of the essence), Scruffy's mom decided on a beautiful 10x10 photo book to memorialize him. 

Like all of my books, Scruffy's is hardcover with a custom photo cover.

Inside, heavy-weight, lay-flat pages showcase the images beautifully. And I just love the full-page spreads! Each book I do is custom designed inside and out.

I love it when clients order photo books or large canvases — isn't that what professional pet photography is all about? To display your images and enjoy them as art? Rather than have her images languish on disc, Amanda will have this gorgeous photo book with a variety of images to remember her loyal companion by .... forever. 

For more information on my Celebration Sessions or to book your own, please visit my website!

Wags,

Stacey

celebrating 20 years of scruffy | burlington pet photographer

The end of a pet's life is such a difficult, emotional time. Each person's experience is unique, since each person's pet is special and the bond they share is so personal. It is a heartbreaking time. But when a client contacts me to capture the last days, and sometimes hours, of their pet's life, I feel so privileged — privileged to meet such an important member of their family, even if it's just for a short time, and honoured they would invite me into their lives during such a personal experience. It is so meaningful. And even though it's hard for me, too — there are always tears shed in the car on the way home — I just love being able to capture such poignant memories.

Amanda got in touch with me to book a Celebration Session for her cat Scruffy. These sessions are for terminally ill or elderly pets where time is of the essence. Scruffy was 20 years old — the oldest cat I've ever photographed — and had cancer. After booking the appointment, Amanda called a few days later to let me know Scruffy had taken a turn for the worse. An hour after speaking with her, I was on her doorstep with my camera.

Two days after our session, Scruffy passed away peacefully with Amanda by his side. After sharing two decades together, these two had a very special relationship. And despite his frailty and heavy medications that he was on, I saw glimpses of how Scruffy must have been during healthier days. His personality was still there.

This is one of Scruffy's favourite places — laying under the canopy of the hosta in the backyard.

Amanda ordered a beautiful 10x10 photo book with lots of images of Scruffy to remember him by. I say it over and over, but pet photography is so important — make sure you capture memories of your four-leggers while you can! Now everybody please go hug your pet!

Amanda, thank you so much for trusting me to capture such a precious time for you. And old Scruff man, even though you are no longer with us, it was truly lovely to meet you. You brought lots of happiness into Amanda's life for 20 years!

Wags,
Stacey

holly & leila | burlington ontario pet photographer

I met Dana and her two rescue cats, Holly and Leila, in their cosy fourth-floor apartment. Holly is a beautiful black-and-white long-hair, who is quite timid and spent most of our session tucking herself away into impossibly small spaces. Holly is more curious and playful — your textbook feline.

As an on-location photographer, I rarely get to see the spaces I will be photographing in ahead of time. It's always a surprise when I show up, which is really part of the fun. Sometimes I get super lucky with open spaces washed with light. Other times it's more challenging. But it's these tricky spaces that often result in the most interesting images, since I often end up in a room I wouldn't normally consider.

No matter the situation, I always make it work!

Let's start with lovely orange Leila, who was the easier girl to photograph.

Dana's apartment is pretty small and has only a few east-facing windows. To make it even more challenging, shy Holly was most comfortable in the bathroom — her favourite room — with the faucet running of course! The bathroom is tiny and has no natural light, but I didn't want to use my flash, since Holly was already nervous and the comfort of the pet is my priority. So, I spent lots of time laying on Dana's bathroom floor to get the shot. Ah, the glamorous life of a pet photographer!

And the two sisters together. What you don't see are the other two adults jammed in the bathroom with me, and the fact that I was standing on Dana's toilet! I think this is my favourite image from the day though because it really speaks to their personalities. I think this would look great framed and hung, where else, in the bathroom!

Thanks Dana, Leila and Holly for a fun afternoon!

Wags,
Stacey

what got buried | southern ontario pet photographer

Welcome to another edition of What Got Buried! I try to post daily over on the Happy Tails Facebook page, so if you want to have your nose to the ground on all the most up to date news and nonsense, high-tail it over there! It's a fun place and I would love it if you joined the pack.

Here's a quick peek at what's been happening at Happy Tails HQ. What you won't see is all the behind the scenes activity I have going on right now. I have a few special shoots coming up that I'm really excited about and I am mulling over putting together my first ever vendor booth for an upcoming event. It is a lot of work, so I haven't committed ... yet.

Let's kick things off with my Chloe, snoozing on the couch the day after Daylight Savings earlier this month. While the rest of us lost an hour, her marathon napping ability helped her make it through the day with no noticeable side effects. The best bonus about moving the clocks ahead is more time to shoot in the afternoons with the soft, glowing light that I just love! Bring on spring!

I also met sweet Sophie in March. Her furrowed brow just kills me. She might look perpetually worried, but she is a happy little thing.

I think pink is definitely Sophie's colour!

I also spent time photographing adoptable cats at the Burlington Humane Society. It breaks my heart when I have to photograph an animal for a second time like seven-month-old Fernando. He was adopted, declawed (I won't get into my thoughts on this except to say that I don't agree with the practice) and then returned shortly after because he was "misbehaving" likely due to sore paws.

Adopting an animal is a huge commitment! If you know anyone thinking about adding to their family, please share this link to this great article about what to consider before adopting.

I also met Cocoa while I was there. She was happy to be out of her crate and took the opportunity to enjoy some fresh tap water — it's better than bowl water don't you know!

And finally, I dug into the archives to share this photo of scruffy Chloe, a wheaten puppy. The lens I used for this shot gives it a fun look — isn't she adorable?

With the longer days and warmer temperatures, now is the time to book a session if you are considering it! Just drop me an email or give me a call — contact info is available on the Contact tab up at the top there. I would love to meet your furry family member!

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Wags,
Stacey

adoptables | burlington pet photographer

Here is a quick look at some of the faces I recently had the pleasure of meeting at the Burlington Humane Society. I love my visits there — it's like pet therapy times six or 10 or 15, depending on how many animals I photograph!

I also met Jackson, a lab being fostered through The Dog Rescuers Inc., yet another fantastic local organization dedicated to saving dogs and placing them in loving homes. Jackson is a loveable goof who has a few food allergies that can be managed through diet — no medication is required. I just love his pink nose. If you are interested in adopting him, please contact The Dog Rescuers!

Hope everyone has a tail-wagging good weekend!

Wags,
Stacey

photoshop tips: make your pet's eys pop!

Okay, so here goes — my first Photoshop tutorial! Now, I should preface this with the following disclaimer: I am by no means a Photoshop expert. At all. There are probably processing gurus out there who would be mortified by my editing techniques and if that's you, then please avert your eyes for a brief moment while I finish this post. There are probably better ways to edit, but this is what works for me.

I'm going to start off with a really easy trick that anyone can do to help make your pet's eyes sparkle a little more. I use this trick on the photos I take for the Burlington Humane Society — since I photograph so many animals there (you can see some of them here and here), I can only afford to spend a minute or two processing each photo. This usually involves brightening them up, adjusting the white balance if necessary, popping the eyes and then optimizing for the web. That's it. I'll usually use more complex techniques on client images.

This tip works best on cats and dogs that have light-coloured eyes. I'm going to use this photo of Scout as my example (she has since been adopted!). This is straight out of camera — no adjustments.

Open up the photo in your editing software. I use Photoshop CS5, but any version or program with dodge and burn tools will work. After opening, go under Layer and click Duplicate Layer. This ensures you aren't working directly on the original photo.

Next, click on the Dodge tool in the toolbar — it's the one that looks like a little paddle.

Then in the top toolbar, in the drop-down menu, click Highlights. In the little box to the right of that, set your exposure. I usually go with around 8-10 per cent. If you choose a number higher than that, the results start to look unnatural. We want to keep the pop subtle.

Next, make sure you choose a soft brush in the Brush drop-down menu at the top left and adjust the size using the slider or the bracket keys on your keyboard.

Dodge the irises of the eyes lightly. A note of caution: if there are whites of the eyes showing, avoid dodging them or do it very sparingly. If you are too heavy handed, the result will not only look unnatural, it will look alien and just plain freaky.

After a few passes, here is my result:

After a quick sharpen and flatten, here is my before and after:

There you go! A super quick and easy way to add a little zing to your pet's eyes. Just remember not to go overboard. What do you think of this tutorial? Was it helpful? Leave a comment and let me know!

Wags,
Stacey

toby & bear | burlington, ontario, pet photographer

As promised, meet Toby and Bear, the feline brothers of adopted dog Nikki. Both have lovely soft fur and are so friendly. Toby, 5, is the more high-energy boy, but you would hardly know it from these first few photos. Am I keeping you up Toby?

Toby loves to be pet and he's just so handsome, you can't help yourself!

Bear is the younger brother at two years old. His favourite place is flopped over his mom's shoulder.

He also has the cutest paws. That is some toe hair!

Both cats were excited to be let outside. They are allowed to roam the backyard as long as someone is keeping a close eye on them. Of course, both immediately went into "hunt/pounce" mode.

And here are the kiddos all together ... well, as much as I could get them together!

That's one cute family!