Join me for a luxury holiday pet portrait experience in a beautiful barn!
Together we'll make fun memories and gifts of your pets to cherish for many holiday seasons.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2019

KILLINGWORTH, CT

Limited sessions available! Book now to secure your spot.

BOOK YOUR HOLIDAY STUDIO SESSION

Join me in the country in a beautiful barn studio for a fun, private, classic and professional holiday photo session for your pets. Featuring two beautiful sets, tons of props (including hats, scarves, blankets, headbands and an awesome letterboard sign!) and YOUR PET as the center of it all!

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INTRODUCING THE LIMITED EDITION HOLIDAY 2019 SETS:

CLASSIC RED

Choose from simple red or red with snowflakes. Add any variety of adorable props, blankets or even a funny sign!

WINTER WONDERLAND

Simple and classic with a twinkly tree, wreath and cozy floor coverings. Add any props or a fun sign!

Use one or both sets during your session!

the studio space

Join me at my beautiful studio space in a gorgeous barn in the country. You’ll have the space reserved just for you during our session.

Location:
Connecticut Photography Studio
294 Route 81
Killingworth CT

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THE DETAILS:

SESSION FEE | $125

What’s Included:

• 20 Minute Photo Session (for 1-2 dogs or cats per family)

• 20 Minute Viewing Session (immediately after)

• 2 Beautiful Sets - Classic Red (with or without snowflakes) and Winter Wonderland

• Tons of awesome props (hats, scarves, blankets, headbands)

• Letterboard sign with 2 cute sayings to choose from

• A fun, private studio session with my undivided attention

• Delicious, healthy treats to get your pet’s attention!

PRODUCT OPTIONS:

Immediately following your pet’s photo session, we’ll view your images and choose your favorites. Then you can pick one or more of my awesome product options to turn YOUR PET INTO ART. Perfect for holiday decor and gifts for family!

• Set of 25 Holiday Cards | $60

• Three (3) 5x7 or two (2) 8x10 mounted prints | $70

• NEW! 8x8 Image Block (perfect for holiday decorating) | $80

All product purchases include 2 digital images for social media sharing. Additional digitals available for add-on purchase for $30 each. Digitals will be printable up to an 8x10 print size.

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I’ll help you design a beautiful holiday card for friends and family, and I’ll take care of ordering it and shipping it to you. I can even have the return addresses added to save you time. Here’s a couple examples of designs we can create:

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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:

When will I get to see my images?
Right away! After your professional photo session, you can take a break for a few minutes with your pet and I’ll get your images loaded onto my computer. Then we’ll look through them together and choose your favorites!

What can I do with my images?
Choose from awesome product options like holiday cards, mounted prints and a great new product: an 8x8 image block. Prints and image blocks make awesome holiday decor and gifts for family members, and don’t forget to send out some gorgeous holiday cards as well! I’ll design everything for you and handle the ordering and shipping. My standard products are also available if you’d love to have a classic piece of large wall art - available in a canvas gallery wrap or a metal print. You’ll be able to see and touch samples of everything right in the studio during your ordering session.

When will my products be delivered?
Expect product deliveries between 1-3 weeks after our session, depending on your order. Everything will be ordered immediately and you will have all gifts in time for Christmas and holiday cards no later than the second week of December, but most likely sooner!

What if my pet won’t cooperate?
To ensure the best possible outcome, try to exercise your pet before arriving at the studio. We don’t want them exhausted, but calm is always helpful when we have a short window. Brush up on commands prior to the session, especially “sit,” “stay,” and “lay down.” Make sure they go to the bathroom before coming into the studio so they’re not restless. But don’t stress! I have lots of tricks up my sleeve for working with animals and we’ll be able to get some fun images that show their unique personality.

Can I be in some photos with my pet?
Of course! We can include 1-2 human family members in the images due to the size of the sets.

I have more than 2 pets. Can I still participate?
Yes! Each additional pet is $25 extra. Due to timing restraints (because these are quick sessions), if you’d like an image with all the pets together or several of each pet, please speak with me about booking a full, longer session so we will have time to really capture all of your pets and create a beautiful group image.

What should I bring?
I will have lots of props for you to choose from, including hats, headbands, scarves, blankets and an awesome letterboard sign. However, if you have something specific you’d like your pet to wear, or a special toy you’d like included, please bring it along! Make sure your pet is dressed how you’d like (aka remove dog tags if desired, no harnesses, etc). Since I’ll be editing images and ordering products very quickly for you, I will not be removing collars, harnesses and tags in these images.

My dog gets nervous around other dogs.
No problem! Your reserved time is all yours with me in the studio and there will not be any other pets besides yours during that window.

How early should I be?
Please arrive a few minutes early to let your pet go to the bathroom outside and please clean up after your pet. Dogs should ALWAYS be leashed or cats crated until you arrive inside the studio space. You can come into the studio at your reserved time and we’ll get started right away!

I want to do this with my pet! How do I book my session?
Yay! I’m so excited to work with you! All you have to do to get started is click the green button below to contact me. Once you contact me I’ll send you a quote with a questionnaire, contract and payment screen and we’ll discuss the available times you can choose from on that day. Completion of the questionnaire, contract, and payment will secure your time slot. Sessions will be booked on a first come, first serve basis, so don’t wait!

I can’t wait to work with you and your sweet pets to bring you these fun and festive images for the holidays. I’m thrilled to be offering these unique studio sets to my clients this year, and I hope you’ll join us! If you have any questions please click the green button and simply add your question into the message section, or feel free to email me at jennifer@withloveandoats.com. Happy Holidays and I hope to see you in the studio!!

BOOK YOUR HOLIDAY STUDIO SESSION

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Today I have the pleasure of introducing one of my two winners from my Studio Session Contest. I am so grateful to everyone who took the time to enter and expressed excitement about my studio announcement and my passion project.

If you’re new here, you can read my announcement here and learn more about the project:

Blog Post: Now Booking! Studio Dog Photography Sessions!

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I received almost 60 applications for the contest, and I loved reading through all of your stories and learning about your dogs and why you were excited about the With Love & Dogs Project.

So many of your stories touched my heart and I hope I have the chance to meet all of you and work with all of your dogs someday. Today, I’m introducing sweet Mia the miniature pinscher, who was one of two winners of a free studio session. She was such a sweet girl and I loved getting to know her and cuddle with her. She was awesome during her studio session and I had so much fun working with her and her dad!

MEET MIA

Mia was adopted by a couple in their 60s in the summer of 2012, after they had lost their beloved yellow lab Zeke the previous fall. Her mom came home with her as a puppy, to the complete surprise of her dad, who was still heartbroken over the loss of Zeke. It didn’t take long for her to win not only her new dad over, but also their entire family with her sweet and sassy personality. Sadly, Mia lost her mom less than two years later when cancer took her only 5 days after being diagnosed. Mia couldn’t figure out where her mom had gone, and she and her dad helped each other through the difficult times after she passed. She became the best thing in her dad’s life, and he’d always say “everything happens for a reason and I don’t know what I would do without Mia.”

About a year later her dad also found out that his kidney cancer, that he had battled years prior, had returned. Every day Mia was by his side, giving him a reason to get out of bed and keeping him laughing with her minpin highjinks. He passed away only a few months later, and Mia was once again left without her companion.

A few months before he passed, Mia’s dad had told his son that Mia was a “once in a lifetime dog” and made him promise to take care of her when he was gone. He had never had a doubt that he would take her, and promised to give her an amazing life. So their son Bob took Mia into his home after losing both his parents (and Mia’s) and they were able to comfort each other through such a tough time. Her new dad says she’s the brightest spot in his life, and while she didn’t sign up for it, she’s been one heck of a therapy dog!

She was so much fun during her session and was a star in front of the camera. Congratulations to Mia and her dad for winning the Studio Giveaway!

This little girl can jump! She was so cute jumping for her dad and got some good air, which makes for awesome studio images.

This left photo is so goofy and cute and Mia’s dad thought it would be great for a meme…like what is she thinking?? What would you put in a doggy thought bubble in this image?

We used Mia’s favorite blanket from home that she always sleeps with, and it matches her fur perfectly. It ended up being the perfect addition for her studio session with the gray backdrop and her beautiful coloring. Plus it made her feel more at home :)

Sweet Mia got so relaxed that she laid down and I was able to capture her *almost* sleeping on her favorite blanket. And I always try to capture an image of doggy paws in my sessions, because I really think it’s something nice to have in an image collection. Doggy paws are so sweet and they’re something not often captured. Am I the only one obsessed with paws? Haha maybe. If you’re like me comment below so I know I’m not the only one!

This is Mia’s favorite toy - her “monster.” I told her Dad to bring anything she really loves, as I tell all my clients for studio and outdoor sessions. It can be really fun to capture dogs playing around like they do at home and it gives me a chance to capture their true personality. Mia was quite happy to hang out on her blanket in the studio and play tug with her monster with her dad.

And of course….here’s Mia’s special image for the With Love & Dogs Project! During our Pre-Session Consultation, her dad and I worked together to choose the perfect quote for her. This is one of the quotes I’ve been dying to use, and when I realized it was from the book “The Minpins” I knew it was meant to be for Mia, a minpin herself :) I made a little cape for her and created a simple magician set to have some fun with this image. What do you think?? I loved the way it turned out and it was her dad’s favorite image from our session!

At the end of our session Mia ran over to the other side of the studio space to look outside, and I was just quick enough to change all my camera settings to grab this adorable image. The studio is a beautiful renovated barn that’s full of bright light and provided an interesting contrast to the darker studio photos. Isn’t she so cute looking out at the pond out back?

Congratulations to Bob and Mia on winning my studio session contest! I had so much fun with you both and I’m so glad we had the opportunity to work together and create fun images for you to cherish forever. Plus we created a really awesome image for the With Love & Dogs Project that I’m thrilled to have in the collection. Thank you again to everyone that entered and I’ll be sharing our other winner very soon!

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Interested in booking your own studio session and being part of the With Love & Dogs Project? Contact me today and let’s chat about your dogs and how I can help you capture them in photographs that you can cherish forever.

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Earlier this summer I had the pleasure of meeting George and Gracie and their wonderful parents for a beautiful evening at Brooksvale Park in Hamden. We’d had to postpone our session three times for rain and thunderstorms, so I was so happy to finally meet all of them and get to play around with sweet George and Gracie. They were such a fun family and I loved the personalities of these two lovebugs.

(See the end of this blog post for a before and after collage of how I made this image happen)

These pups were so wonderful and sweet and had such stunning fur coloring! Gracie is serious and ladylike and George is a silly, free spirit who eyes every movement in the distance, hoping there’s a person he can go say hello to.

George really seemed to enjoy hamming it up for the camera and being a goofball.

Gracie was a little more more hesitant with her smiles at first, but I won her over with the treats and got some fun, joyful ones of her too!

We took some lovely family photos as well. I always try to convince all my doggy parents to get in some of the images, because someday you may really enjoy having photos of you and your dogs together.

We were able to get four different “location” looks from one small park. We started in an open field, then found a great barn for a backdrop, and then headed over to the little pond area, where we did some portraits with the water in the background and some on the bridge. This was such a great little park in Hamden.

I ended up with a lot of wonderful images of George and Gracie together, but this one was my favorite. They’re a little off center (perfectionist eye) but I kind of love the quirkiness and sweetness of it. Part of the fun of dog photography is capturing them being themselves, and these two were just having a grand old time running around the park and hanging out with their humans. We did put them on this bridge for photographs, but I never force dogs into a particular position. I just let them have fun and let their personalities come through. I love their smiles in this image, so to me it’s perfect.

(See the end of this blog post for a before and after collage of how I made this image happen)

This was such a fun session and we ended up with so many beautiful images! George and Gracie’s parents ordered a beautiful album and several prints to remember our session and see their sweet pups in print every day. Check out a sneak peak of their album (click on the video link below)! Albums are consistently a favorite client product and are wonderful for truly capturing the story of the day and enjoying a large variety of images.

Thank you Ed, Tami, George and Gracie for choosing me to be your dog photographer! I had such a great time working with all of you!

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The Making of Art Worthy Images: Before & Afters

In almost every session with multiple dogs, the owners ask me to capture both dogs together. This makes perfect sense, because it’s often difficult to capture this yourself with a phone camera. Dogs are usually moving around, and typically don’t want to sit perfectly next to each other. I always aim to get the dogs together naturally, but I also want them to enjoy themselves during our sessions, so their true personalities shine. Excessive posing and forcing them into positions can make a lot of dogs anxious. So if they won’t sit perfectly together, no problem. I tell clients that this is where a little Photoshop magic (and strong editing skills) come into play. As long as I can get your dogs to be in the same area, and I capture the images from the same place, I can make this wonderful magic happen in post-processing. This is one of the differences between “art worthy images” and simple snapshots. And this is how I maintain the relaxed, fun environment I work hard to create at my sessions - by letting the hard work fall on me, not my sweet doggy subjects.

Not only did I take the best two images of the dogs separately and composite them together, but I did major leash removal work in these images. Your dog’s safety at our sessions is always my #1 priority, so if your dog can’t be off leash, I use more Photoshop magic (and again, well-oiled editing skills) to make gorgeous images without those pesky leashes.

Let me know what you think! Do you like seeing before and after collages? Do you have two (or more) dogs that won’t sit together, or dogs that must be on leash? Please don’t let those things stop you from reaching out to book a session. I take pride in capturing your beautiful dogs just as they are, and then working to create magic later. That’s why it’s called ART :)

Interested in booking your own outdoor session? We can go on a hiking adventure, to a park, to your home, to the beach…the possibilities are endless! Contact me today and let’s chat about your dogs and how I can capture them in photographs that you can cherish forever.

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Looking for something fun to do with your dog this fall? I’ve compiled a list for you of some awesome upcoming events all over the state that are dog-friendly and fun and benefit many wonderful local organizations.

I’ll be attending a bunch of these events with my own booth, so I hope you’ll stop by, say hello and get a doggy treat if you attend! I’d love to meet you and your dog! Plus I’ll have lots of artwork and album samples to check out if you’d like to see and touch some of my heirloom products in person. (If you’re wondering where I’ll be, look for the pink “VISIT ME AT THIS EVENT” graphics below.)

Do you like knowing about all these events? I’m hoping to do this every season, so if you like this and/or know if any upcoming events I should include, please comment below and let me know!

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Is your Connecticut business or organization hosting a dog-friendly event? Please let me know if you’d like to collaborate! I love attending these awesome events and letting my clients and followers know about them!

Also if you’re a local Connecticut business looking for images of dogs at your shop/restaurant/brewery/winery/hotel/event venue, I’d love to chat about working together to create beautiful images for your marketing materials, website and social media! Dog owners are always looking for pet-friendly locations close to home, and I’d love to help you show them what you have to offer. If you’re interested, let’s chat!

Email me at jennifer@withloveandoats.com or use my contact page by clicking here.

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September is here! Can you believe it?!? It’s time to start planning your fall sessions and I’m now booking for September and October. Fall sessions will fill up fast, so contact me today to make sure you get a spot!

Fall is one of the prettiest times for photographs in New England, and if you’re interested in images for holiday cards or gifts, this is the perfect time. I only take a limited number of clients each season, so that I can provide each one with a personalized and exceptional service. If you’d like to be one of them, contact me today to book yours! I can’t wait to get to know you and your dogs and play around in the leaves with them!

Both outdoor and studio sessions are held year round, but this is the time of year to begin thinking about getting your dog’s photographs taken before the holidays. Not sure if you’d prefer an outdoor session or a studio session? Contact me today and let’s chat! I would love to learn more about your dog and figure out what’s right for you.

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