1-2 Days Prior
To Shoot

Prepping The Space
We will need about a 10ft x 10ft (2m x 2m) clear area. Most living rooms work well for this. Clearing the space prior to arrival will make everything much smoother. This normally only involves moving perhaps a couch and coffee table. Having a hard floor is much preferred to carpet, but we can make it work!

Prepping Your Pet
We will want to choose a time when your pet is typically relaxed, but not hyper. Taking your dog for a short walk prior to the shoot to get some of the wiggles and the zoomies out of their systems. Have the kinds of treats they like on hand, but avoid giving them treats before the shoot. We want them in a snacky mood!

Prepping Yourself
Here’s the thing you have to know about the shoot. Typically the animals have NO IDEA what is going on. They’re not used to being directed and told how to stand or which way to face — and we’re not going to teach them in one shoot! Your pet doesn’t have to be a model. We want to capture their personalities, and they show us that when they’re chill and happy… and the secret to getting that is when YOU (the pet-parents) are chill and happy. There’s going to be a lot of change going on, so some anxiety from the animal is totally normal! So put on some relaxing tunes and a pot of tea or coffee or a glass ofwine (no judgement!) and have a nice chill downtime prior to the shoot!

Once I Get There

Gear Set-up
It typically takes 30 minutes to unload the gear and get everything set up for the shoot. Typically this will involve a couple of light stands and background equipment.

Getting To Know You Time
Expect about 20-30 minutes of just sitting with you and your pet to get them relaxed and ready to enjoy the session! They get to know me, and I get a sense of them. Don’t expect all of your pets to be excited with this stranger coming into their house and setting up a mini-photo-studio. Sometimes pets can be suspicious about people invading their space. I understand those feels very well. The super-social pets can take less, and the truly fearful can take more… don’t worry! We are not in a rush.

The Shoot
The shoot itself typically lasts 30-45 minutes. Some pets are natural camera-hogs and will pose and pose and pose, but others just want a quiet afternoon with some snacks. We need to shoot at their pace. Sometimes that is fast and frantic, but sometimes it’s with a great deal of patience.

After The Shoot

Post-Processing
Image review is an extensive process. It generally takes about 2 weeks until you will see images for you to review and make print selections. I go through 3-rounds of review before I’ve boiled the images down to the best images from your session. After the images are whittled down I will go through 2 passes of post-processing. First to brighten eyes, adjust colors, and add contrast. Then secondly to add in any backgrounds and fix any stray hairs and put the final images together. 

Image Review
I do image review in-person or over Zoom where I can share my screen and walk you through images and we can see them individually or by “scene” to choose the right images for your space. This process generally takes under 1 hour.

The Best Part — PRINTS!!!
After your prints are ordered, expect 2-weeks until your prints are completed and ready for installation. Installing and hanging your prints is easy, but not everyone loves the process of getting out tools etc. If you would like the artwork to be installed for you, we can absolutely schedule a time for me to come and install the prints for an additional fee. Installation Pricing will depend on travel distance and number of prints to hang.