While things are very uncertain in the world around us, one thing we do know is that smaller businesses are being severely impacted by this worldwide health crisis. This is unprecedented, and something no one plans for. I’ve been brainstorming some ways we can continue supporting local, without even leaving our homes, and I hope that if you are able to spend money, you’ll make an effort to still spend locally when possible. If you’re not able to spare any money right now, I’ve included several FREE ideas for how to continue supporting small businesses, local artists, libraries and non-profits during the coronavirus shutdown.

Share Some Love

Maybe you can’t shop at your favorite local retail store or visit your favorite coffee shop or restaurant, but there are ways to continue supporting the businesses that add so much value to our communities.

1. Consider ordering gift cards from them to use or gift later. One of my friends suggested this and I LOVE THIS IDEA. Call and order gift cards over the phone, so you’re supporting them without leaving your home. Maybe you can even accomplish some very early Christmas shopping by ordering some local gift cards from your fave places??

2. Use delivery or pickup services. One of my favorite local pet stores, The Better Beagle Co in Oxford, CT, is offering delivery services to your home, and they’re even giving you a free bag of Primal dog treats with every delivery this month. Another favorite, Leaps & Bones in South Windsor, CT (and I’m sure ALL stores will do this if you ask), is offering a service to pay over the phone and they will load your car at their back door. They are also offering once a week delivery. The Mystic Pet Shop in Mystic CT is also doing curbside pick up AND is offering to work with customers who need to stock up but are low on cash right now. THIS is why we shop local. Call your favorite shops and ask. If they are open, offer to pay over the phone before arriving, get what you need and don’t touch anything extra, or have them deliver items to your car or your home.

3. Leave them some LOVE in the form of REVIEWS. Maybe you can’t go out in public to shop, maybe shops are closed, and maybe you can’t swing extra cash during an uncertain time to help someone else’s business. But here’s a FREE and super kind way to help: Leave REVIEWS. Go on Google and Facebook and tell your favorite local shops, artists, businesses, non-profits, etc., how awesome they are. This helps small business owners immensely in the form of social proof. Nearly all customers do online research before shopping somewhere or hiring someone, and having social proof helps businesses greatly in their marketing efforts to new customers. This is FREE, takes maybe 30 seconds of your time, and is a big help. You can even copy and paste your Facebook review to Google and help them double.

4. Partnerships: If you are a small business owner and are slow or shut down right now, use this opportunity to finally reach out to another business owner to form that partnership you’ve been thinking about for ages. If you’re not a business owner but know of some that may benefit from a connection, reach out! Create an introduction between two businesses who might be able to work together in the future.

5. Order from Etsy instead of Amazon. Many artists and creatives also sell online, using Etsy or their own websites. Try to order from them instead of going to Amazon, especially if you can wait an extra day or two for a delivery. Many talented creators can still work from home during this time and get products shipped to you, so if you’re using this stay-at-home-time to redecorate, organize your house, start a new hobby or do some fun craft projects, consider ordering from small time artists instead of giant box stores.

Libraries & Local Book Stores

If you’re not already familiar with these ideas, I’m about to BLOW YOUR MIND. A couple years ago I read a book in December and realized it was the ONLY BOOK I’D READ ALL YEAR. Gross. What the heck happened to me and my learning, thriving brain?!? So I committed to reading at least one book a month the following year. I read 17 books that year. Then last year I read 44. This year I’ve already read 18. Want to know my secret?

1. Libby: This INCREDIBLE app allows you to listen to audiobooks free from your local library on your smart phone. It’s extremely user-friendly, FREE, and you can hold up to 10 books at a time, so even if you have to wait a bit for a bestseller, you can basically have a constant stream of books to read. I am not kidding when I tell you that this app has CHANGED MY LIFE. *Also, this helps me continue to support my local library. I am a huge advocate for libraries, as they are an incredible community resource and have very limited funding. Every time you check out a book (or Libby audiobook), it helps them continue to get state funding.

2. Libro FM: Want to keep supporting your favorite local bookstores during the shutdowns? I have your answer. This app, similar to Audible, allows you to access audiobooks while supporting your LOCAL bookstore, instead of Amazon. Click here to get started.

3. Shop Local Online: My favorite local bookstore, River Bend Bookshop in Glastonbury CT, also offers online shopping, which is perfect at a time when sitting home and reading is actually possible! Try to choose local when you can, especially since many brand new books are the same price everywhere. Note that River Bend Bookshop is also offering curbside pickup, as I’m sure are many others!

performing artists, teachers, community organizers

1. Online Learning: I am blown away by the amazing ideas now being circulated online. I just saw an artist offering free online classes for children every day next week (I will link that here if I can find it again). They can watch online and use simple supplies from home to do art projects. BRILLIANT.

   • Use this time to download music from local musicians, take classes taught by local artists or educators, learn a new skill, etc.

2. Online Sharing: If someone is doing something brilliant and fun and creative online right now, share it. Share it, and leave them reviews, and make a list of all the people you can’t wait to see perform or teach live once this is all over. For musicians, comedians and performing artists, sharing their work online has an incredible ripple effect that can transform their career.

Restaurants

1. Order In: If you can get delivery from UberEats, GrubHub or Postmates from your locally-owned restaurants, do so and pay over the phone by credit card. Have them leave the food on the doorstep. TIP WELL.

2. Order Gift Cards: Same as above with local shops - ordering gift cards to use later at your favorite restaurants can give a quick cash flow to a business that’s hurting right now.

Many states have started shutting down restaurants and bars since I first drafted this, so I’ll also add to follow the above recommendation about leaving them some online love. If you can’t directly support them, leave reviews on Facebook, Google and Yelp for these businesses to help them with their marketing when they reopen. It may not feel like much, but it helps. If you have a friend that owns a business that has been forced to shut down, reach out to offer words of encouragement or even financial support if you can.

Non-profits

1. Donate Money, if you can. Places that serve the least vulnerable like Meals on Wheels, local soup kitchens, local animal shelters, etc. will need all the extra help they can get right now, since their services are going to be more complicated than ever to get to the people that need them in a sanitary and safe way.

2. Donate Items you have too many of, like toilet paper, paper towels, soap, and hand sanitizer. I know that the CT Humane Society and Protectors of Animals in East Hartford CT are both running low on hand sanitizer right now, and I am sure they are not the only ones. These places need to keep running, so making sure the staff and volunteers are safe is extremely important. If you have extra, share.

3. Use Amazon Smile if you need to order items from Amazon anyway. Simply type “Amazon Smile” into the search instead of just “Amazon.com” and then make sure your account is connected to your favorite local charity. This costs you nothing extra but every little bit helps for local non-profits.

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What other creative ideas have you done or heard about to support small businesses during this difficult time? Remember that these small businesses, community groups and non-profits are what make our communities strong, and this is a time for us to come together in creative (and virtual) ways. Please be safe, STAY HOME as much as possible, wash your hands, and do your part. If we all consider the greater good more than ourselves right now, we will get through this much faster and stronger. Sending love and lots of doggy snuggles to all of you ❤️

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Updated on 3/3/21 for Spring 2021

With spring fast approaching, it’s a great time to start thinking about your spring dog photography session. If you’re considering something unique, you’ll want to book very soon to take advantage of a couple limited-time-only photography opportunities! Book a fun beach session in March or a gorgeous cherry blossom session in April. Both only available for specific dates so don’t wait to book!

March Beach Sessions

You may not want to think about a beach session when it’s still a bit chilly in March, but did you know that in Connecticut, dogs are only allowed on most beaches during the winter months of each year? Hammonasset, Bluff Point and many others will stop allowing dogs on the beaches on April 1st, and they won’t be allowed back again until October. Book your beach session for THIS MONTH if you’d like to have gorgeous memories of your pup playing on the beach and in the water! I am available to travel all over the CT shoreline.

HURRY! Book your March Beach Session by Monday, March 15th for anytime from now through March 31st.

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April Cherry Blossom Sessions

I am thrilled to announce that for the first time, I’ll be offering Limited Edition Cherry Blossom Sessions at Wooster Square in New Haven. The gorgeous pink cherry blossom trees are only in bloom for a very brief period each year, and they are also tricky to find. Wooster Square Park is completely surrounded by them, and is simply stunning when they’re in bloom. The images below were taken last spring at the tail end of the blooming period, so if we hit the peak dates right this year, you’ll like get even more pink than you see below. These limited edition sessions will only be available for one week in April and I will only be able to book a small amount of sessions, so don’t wait!

DATES: Week of April 19th (Monday-Friday)
TIMES: Evenings - Starting at 6:00pm
LOCATION: Historic Wooster Square, New Haven

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March Beach Sessions and April Cherry Blossom Sessions will only be available for a limited time and to a limited number of clients, so they will be booked on a first come, first served basis. Please don’t wait if you’re considering one of these unique sessions this spring! I am also currently booking my normal spring outdoor sessions at locations of your choice, so if you’d love your session at your home or favorite spot, contact me and let’s get started.

Sessions are $250 and artwork pricing begins at $350. Clients typically invest between $700-1500 on heirloom artwork and albums after their session. Click here to learn more about pricing and what’s included with your session fee.

Not sure which type of session is right for you and your dog? Contact me today and let’s chat! I would love to learn more about your dog and help you figure out what’s best for you. I can’t wait to work with you!

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I had so many incredible sessions this past fall season, and I was so busy that I’m just finally sitting down to share them with you! This session took place in early October, when we still had so much beautiful green in the trees with just a hint of yellow starting to pop in. Madison wanted some images of her sweet Sydney, who is such a beautiful and sweet 11 year old pup. She’s a mix between a Golden Retriever and a Saint Bernard, making her gorgeous with some very unique features.

We did Sydney’s session at Bluff Point State Park in Groton, because it’s a place that Madison loves bringing her to play in the water. Sydney is definitely a water dog, and really was happiest once we let her play in the ocean!

Isn’t she just so beautiful? I’m obsessed with the beautiful white and spotted fur on her chest and her hints of white on her face and paws.

We captured lots of fun, playful images of Madison and Sydney playing together on our hike through the park and at the beach. These two are so cute together and Sydney is such a playful girl. Even though she’s starting to slow down a little at age 11, she definitely played like a puppy throughout our whole session.

Definitely my favorite image of the day. It ended up being Madison’s favorite too and it became the center image of her 5-image wall collection! (If you want to see the full collection I’m sharing it at the bottom of this post!)

Images like these make awesome album spreads because they show a cute series of playful images together. In fact, these images in this format are exactly one of the album spreads Madison chose and I love them so much! (Her album video is shared below as well so you can check it out)

This is definitely another of my favorites. Just a beautiful, classic portrait of a happy dog in her happy place :)

And sometimes when you try to take some more posed shots, you get a goofball dog who just wants to bark at her mom, which make for adorable images too!

Another favorite! There were so many beautiful ones from this session. This was actually the first time Sydney sat down since we arrived at the beach part of the park to finally give us a seated image! She just wanted to play too much. Even in this spot she only stayed like this for about 20 seconds. Being a dog photographer is basically all patience, patience, patience and then being very quick at the perfect moment.

Once we had a bunch of adorable portraits of Sydney alone and with Madison, we finally let her swim. When I do beach or lake sessions I typically try to get some portraits before letting the pup swim, so that if clients want photos with their dog (which I highly encourage) they don’t get soaked, plus then we have a few dry images of the dog alone! We all know how long it takes dogs to dry off, so I try to save swimming for later in the sessions.

I think she was trying to tell me to stop taking photos of her and throw the damn stick already.

I had Madison play casually with her and throw the stick so we could get some cute candids of them playing together.

It’s important for me to capture your dog’s personality, so I spend a lot of time at sessions just letting them play and be themselves. This usually means I’ll have my clients play with them and I’ll capture lots of candid images in the process. It also allows me to get some action shots as they’re running (or swimming!) back towards us.

Wait or maybe this is my favorite image? Since I make the rules here I’m saying it’s totally fine to have 10 favorites. There’s never a need to pick just one!

I love a good shake-shot image series! Whenever I do swimming sessions, these are a MUST. They are so funny and make perfect album spreads. Plus, most of my clients have never seen a still shot of their dog’s face mid-shake and they are hilarious.

A few more action photos before we ended our session. Sydney would’ve kept swimming all day if we’d let her.

One final shot and then she was done. We definitely exhausted this girl between the hike and all the swimming. I think it’s safe to say she was living her best life that day :)

Thank you so much Madison, for trusting me to capture these precious memories of you and your sweet girl. I had SOOOO much fun with the two of you!

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Heirloom Artwork

This set of 5 canvases is quickly becoming my most popular client wall collection. It’s so hard to pick just one favorite (obviously I have this problem too), so choosing this collection, plus an album, means you don’t have to! Madison chose her 5 favorite images to turn into canvases for her home. At her Viewing Session I helped her narrow down her favorites and then used a special pro software to show her various options with different images to see what she liked best. I typically spend a couple hours with each client at this Viewing Session to make sure their wall collections and album designs are perfect. I want you to LOVE your heirlooms because they are made to last forever! This album cover is the “Sand” linen and perfectly compliments our beach session.

Here’s a little video to show you what’s inside her album if you’d like to see how I typically design them. Every one is customized to best tell the story of you and your dog, and I work with each client to make sure they love every single spread and the overall story the album tells. This one is filled with so much cuteness!

Do you have questions about albums, artwork, my photography experience or how to get started with booking your own session? Contact me today and let’s chat about your dogs and how I can help you capture them in photographs and heirloom artwork that you can cherish forever.

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I’m so excited to introduce the second 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!

And if you’d like to read about my first studio contest winner click here.

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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 Sadie, 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 amazing during her studio session and I had so much fun working with her and her parents!

MEET SADIE

Sadie’s story touched my heart so much that I knew I had to meet her and photograph her for her family. She was rescued from a life of abuse and neglect in San Antonio, TX. When she arrived in Connecticut she was pregnant, had mange, and was scared of men. Her puppies all got adopted quickly and she was the last one left. Amy saw her online and convinced her husband Jason to go and see her. Amy said that when Sadie’s beautiful brown eyes met hers it was love and first sight, and they brought her home the next day. Since her adoption four years ago, she’s warmed up to men and gives love to everyone she meets. When Amy’s mom passed away unexpectedly, she wouldn’t leave Amy’s side and got her through the toughest days. She continues to sense when her mom is sad and comfort her through the difficult moments. Even after all see went through as a young pup, she exudes so much joy and love and is truly one of the sweetest dogs I’ve ever met. She plays like a puppy, loves giving paw and kisses, and poses perfectly for treats!

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

Sadie had so many adorable, happy and goofy expressions and was just a star in front of the camera!

I was so excited that Amy and Jason were game for a whole bunch of family photos. They even coordinated their outfits perfectly! I love including dog owners in images, and these ended up being some of my favorite family photos ever.

It’s nice to do both family photos and individual ones with each parent. If you’re considering a pet portrait session, I hope you’ll also consider joining in on the action! Aren’t these just so adorable? Sadie really loves her parents :)

Honestly I couldn’t choose between these so I had to include them all. Sadie was so cute and perfect - she looked at each parent, at me, and kissed their hands. Is this girl not the sweetest little thing?!?

I love to capture images of your dog’s tails and paws if possible. As a dog photographer, these are my version of what wedding photographers call “detail shots.” They make wonderful additions to an album and if you’re anything like me (and like Sadie’s owners) you absolutely love every little feature of your pup. Someday you may really love to have a close up image of those things you don’t ever want to forget.

Sadie’s dad Jason is in the military so we ended our session by taking some photos of Sadie posing with his uniform and the flag. Thank you so much Jason for your service to our country!

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the making of art-worthy images: composites

For Sadie’s image for the With Love & Dogs Project, we chose this beautiful quote that had special meaning to Sadie’s mom, whose own mom passed away recently and this was a quote she had hanging up in her home. I wanted to incorporate confetti, but it’s usually a tricky element for most dogs because they often want to eat it or are confused by what it is! I took some photos without the confetti first to get a cute look, and then used several confetti images to create the one final image for the project! The “blooper” images ended up serving a dual purpose. I used the confetti from the various images to create a composite that became the beautiful final image, but Sadie’s parents also loved the blooper images so much that we made an entire album spread out of them!

Here’s the final image of Sadie for the With Love & Dogs Project! Her parents were thrilled about how it came out and ordered a large print of it for their home. I’m really excited about how it came out. Sadie was such an amazing studio model!

Sadie is an incredible dog. I had so much fun working with her and her parents and creating beautiful images, prints and an album for them. It was truly such a pleasure and I hope to work with all of you again!

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hEIRLOOM aRTWORK

Sadie’s parents ordered some beautiful prints and my Signature Album, which is an absolutely gorgeous 10x10 album with thick pages and stunning cover options, plus it comes with its own album box. Amy is a graphic designer and was really excited to design a cover for her album, so she created this lovely paw print with a heart and Sadie’s full name. They chose the Plum linen cover with Silk pages, and I am OBSESSED with how this album came out (like I really had a hard time giving it to them and not keeping it for myself!). This is the upgraded option of my two albums and I love creating these for clients. I also offer a less expensive Signature Book (a great option if you’re also investing in wall art), but the Signature Album is truly a gorgeous heirloom to cherish forever, and I love creating these for clients. If you’d like to learn more about artwork options, click here to view my artwork page, or click here to contact me with questions!

Check out the video below to watch me flip through Sadie’s full album!

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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. I would love to work with you!

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This year I introduced holiday mini sessions in the studio and it was a huge success! I had 8 dogs in the studio and we had so much fun creating fun and festive holiday images for holiday cards, Christmas ornaments, holiday decorations and prints. I only offered a limited number of time slots and they all filled up within three days, so I can’t wait to offer even more next year.

Thank you to everyone who came to the studio to be a part of my first ever Holiday Session Day. It was such a pleasure working with all of you and your sweet pups. Check out some of the cutie patootie photos of these sweet dogs and their families.

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This handsome boy is Enzo - he’s only 1 year old but he did amazing posing with a Santa hat and with his sweet parents for a lovely family photo - perfect for Christmas cards. This was my first time working with Enzo and I can’t wait to work with him again for a future outdoor session because he is the sweetest!!

I was so honored to have three former clients (with five awesome doggos) attend my Holiday Mini Session Day. Here’s the adorable George and Gracie, who you may remember from this summer and their fun session that was featured on my blog. Click here to check it out! George is a total goofball while Gracie is much more sophisticated and serious, so these photos capture their personalities perfectly.

Honey and Baby are sweet sisters who did so great modeling for the camera, and their family got in on the action too! Baby is very tiny and has some medical conditions that make being around other dogs tough, so we put her in a little blanket filled basket so she wouldn’t be at risk. I think it fit her perfectly and looked adorable!

Champ and Carrie were 2018 With Love & Oats clients and they were just as wonderful as always! Carrie wasn’t a big fan of wearing any of the props but she definitely wowed with some beautiful smiles. Her big brother Champ rocked the Christmas wreath though! I always love working with these two pups and their dad.

Sweet little Mia also came back for her second studio session of the year! She was one of two winners of my Studio Session Giveaway and she’s also on the blog! Click here to check out her last studio session and her image for the With Love & Dogs Project. She was very fashionable in a number of outfits, including adorable Burberry and Santa coats and a tiny Santa hat!

Everybody did a wonderful job with their photo sessions and I loved having all these sweet pups and their families in the studio for my first Holiday Mini Session Day. I can’t wait for next year’s holiday sessions, and I may be announcing more themed mini session days in 2020! If you’re interested in being a part of the holiday ones or other themed session days, click the button to join my email list and be the first to know about what’s new!

I hope everyone has a joyful and peaceful holiday - however you celebrate - and a Happy New Year! Thank you all for an amazing 2019.

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