Slice of Nice

Have you ever wished you were a model?  That everyone was clamoring to get your autograph or put your poster up in their room?  Or are you more of a stop and smell the roses kind of person?  Morgan was only 8 weeks old when we started doing photo shoots with her.  At this age, she wasn’t exactly sure what she wanted to be when she grew up.  She truly loves to model, but she has a lot to explore and do, so she felt it was time to stop and smell the fake flowers!  Never mind that there was a photographer (namely me) on the other side of the camera, throwing monkeys, making kitty noises and in general making a complete fool of herself trying to get the attention of an 8 week old puppy.  

A few pictures later, I’d lost her attention again and she decided it was time for a break.  You know models have the right to break, it’s in their contract.  It says, that when the photographer isn’t being creative enough or if they’ve lost the ‘moment’ they can take time to regain their focus so that they can give their best.

As a photographer working with models, you really have to know how to motivate your models.  You have to get inside their heads and speak their language, stroke their egos.  Obviously, I’m not speaking the right language as I snap this beauty.

Finally!  A moment later and my young 8 week old pup is sitting tall, putting on some good expression and enjoying the screaming of the monkeys as they are thrown!  Working with models is always a challenge, but a rewarding and fun one.  So, remember, stop and smell the fake roses every once and awhile!

Click on the last picture if you would like to order this Slice of Nice card for your Valentine!

Get this card in our store for Valentine's Day! Click on shop.

  It’s a great sign isn’t it?  I found it at Michael’s one year and Duncan was kind enough to model it for me.  I wanted to do this picture because I’ve always seen all those videos where they are holding up signs instead of speaking.  I thought it was great that Duncan could finally “speak” with words.  I Love You is definitely what Duncan wanted to say, well, that and “do you have any cookies”, but I couldn’t find that sign.

So, this picture became one of Slice of Nice’s Valentine’s cards for this year!  The inside reads: Be Mine.  You can pick it up in the Slice of Nice store here.   We can send it out for you or send it to you so you can give it to your Valentine!  And remember if you use this as part of your Valentine’s experience you will be supporting the National Canine Cancer Foundation also!

Alot of people that I talk to about what I do are always amazed that I find dogs easier to take pictures of than people.  We always have a great working relationship, but we do have our fair share of out takes.  So, between now and Valentine’s Day, I’m going to share several of the potential shots for our V-Day line up and some of the out takes for your fun and enjoyment!  We’ll start with the prep shot for this card.  This one was taken right when I brought the sign home, as you can see, Duncan wasn’t quite in the modeling mood at the time…

Prep Shot for the VDay card

You can also see the patch of hair that is missing on his leg, this was for an IV.  In January 2007 he had his spleen removed because he was diagnosed with Hemangiosarcoma.  We were hoping to get it all out by doing the removal, but Hemangiosarcoma Cancer is very aggressive and it had already spread.  Duncan’s last formal photo shoot was this Valentine’s one.  He fought the disease as long as he could and we lost him March 2007.  This is one of the reasons that we feel very strongly about supporting the National Canine Cancer Foundation.  A Cancer diagnosis is a very devastating one because most owners don’t know that dogs fall victim to it.  Duncan was our third Canine Cancer diagnosis and while we knew who to turn to and what to do, we still lost in the end.  If you have any questions about a Cancer diagnosis, please feel free to contact me.  While I am only a photographer, I can point you in the right direction of questions to ask your vet, how to find out some good information and things like that.  

Visit the Slice of Nice store and get your Valentine’s Day cards!!

Merry Christmas!

This is Bella and Duncan.  Bella is the one that is giving you the big Christmas smile!  Stephanie brought over her crew of 5 wild dogs for a photo shoot and this is the best one of the lot.  I’ve really enjoyed Bella’s smile!  So, in the words of Bella and Duncan - Have a Weinerful Christmas!

  This is Maggie the working Schnauzer.  She works at the Powell Chiropractic Clinic in Phoenix, AZ.  Her Mom takes her to work and she visits the patients with her on a daily basis. They used a picture from this photo shoot for their Christmas Card this year!

I just loved Oshi’s bandana that she brought to her photo shoot!  Fleas Navidad, it’s the dog’s version of Feliz Navidad!  You can find the full lyrics right here, as sung by Celine Dion!  (LOL)

 The story of the Pirate Elf is a fine one to see.  One of my favorite clients calls me up and wants some pictures of her Dad’s dogs to give to him for Christmas.  They were out of town and the girls were taking care of them, so they invited me over.  The trio of dogs so didn’t know what to make of me and then there was the Psycho Kitty.  Also involved in the days mischief were Judy’s two dogs who know that when I come over, there is some dressing up that needs to be done.

We got all set up and took some nice portraits of the three little ones while the other two looked on.  Then as we moved to change the background to a Christmas theme is when all Hell broke loose.  Psycho Kitty was flushed out from under the couch and she went up and over the railing where the two big dogs were waiting to chase.  So, Judy, her sister and I all went over the railing after the dogs to save Psycho Kitty.  As it turns out Psycho Kitty didn’t need saving, she bounced all around the house with dogs in tow and then hopped back over into the living room where she originally was.  This time she sat in the window panting very loudly for the remainder of the time I was there.

With the panting in the back ground we decided to dress the dogs in Christmas garments.  The other two little ones wanted nothing to do with that, but this one, she loved the elf ears and they loved her.  So, I did my typical - I hit the screaming monkey on the ground so it would start and then I threw it in order to get the little dogs ears up. Well, when the ears go up, PIRATE Elf comes out!  A Yo Ho Ho and Pirate Elf is ready to go!  One of us noticed the similarity and the laughter didn’t stop for the rest of the photo shoot!

Being a Dog Photographer, there’s nothing like it!!

And on to the start of Chanukah!  Daisy and Zeke are our Jewish Golden Retrievers and they would like to wish everyone a Happy Chanukah!