shine pet photos | modern pet photography

My friend and fellow pet photographer Sarah let me know a few months ago about a national competition in search of the next emerging, fine-art pet photographer. I’ve never even used the words “fine-art” to describe my style of photography but decided to give it a go.

They announced the winners of the competition last week and I found out…. I WON!

(Click for a larger flyer)

I think the coolest thing about winning this competition is that I get my own art opening during the Culver City ARTWALK on Saturday May 30th. My photography will be showcased at the Royal/T during the ARTWALK and for 4 weeks after - it’s truly an amazing space!

I’ll be at the Royal/T on May 30th from 12-7PM for the opening, and then afterwards from 7-10PM for the after party with open bar. The party will also feature a multimedia showcase of the other 4 finalists (including my homie Nicole! Congrats chica!)

So please consider this your invitation to come hang out and party your face off! Mark Saturday May 30th on your calendars. And if you can’t make it on the 30th, maybe you could swing by and check out the show another day! Congrats to all the finalists and thanks to the judges over at Unscene and Royal/T for choosing my work. It is truly an honor to be the winner of this amazing competition.

Remember my gorgeous cat client Mickey from awhile back?

Well I’m happy to report that our cancer survivor extraordinaire is healthy and doing great! His mom and dad ordered a coffee table book and this was a really fun project for me because:

#1: This is my first cat photo book! (And I hope it’s not my last)

#2: His mom and dad were so adorable and wanted fun quotes, songs, and names incorporated into the book. So I got to do a lot more design work on this one and loved every minute of it.

And of course, I had “Hey Mickey you’re so fine, you’re so fine you blow my mind!” running through my head the entire time I worked on this.

Click on the cover to see the book!

I love coffee table books. Love designing them, love putting all the photos together like little puzzle pieces, and love seeing the finished, glossy product.

How gorgeous is this family?

Ok so as a designer and art director, here’s the most important tip I think there is when you’re designing a coffee table book:

KEEP IMPORTANT ELEMENTS OF YOUR PHOTO OUT OF THE GUTTER.

Avoid doing this like the plague. It’s just really bad design, and you’re ruining what’s probably a perfect, gorgeous photo when you do this.

That’s pretty much it : )

It’s only the beginning of October but the holidays are just around the corner!

Which means if you’re a past client or a client early next month, you have the opportunity to get some pretty cool holiday cards featuring your beloved fur babies this year.

I love these cards so much because they’re non-traditional and chic but still so festive.

These are just a sample of my favorite designs but to see the rest check out my website.

And please keep in mind that you must have your orders placed by Saturday November 15th. Happy shopping! : )

PS: I wish I could say I did, but I did not design these cards! Lord only knows I wish I had the extra time to design templates : )

I absolutely LOVE it when clients decide to get coffee table books. Not just because it gives them the opportunity to showcase the best photos from our session in an amazing, personal book, but because I love laying them out! Designing the books is such a wonderful combination of my photography and design backgrounds and I love taking the time to lay the photos out so they tell a compelling visual story.

I call the first draft “the director’s cut” because it’s completely my vision — my favorite photos, my favorite layouts, my favorite order of photos. If it were up to me, the book would go to print this way. But usually clients ask for minor changes here and there - mostly swapping in their favorite photos - and that’s great! The coffee table book is all about telling their personal stories.

This is the director’s cut of Michael and Dexter’s book.Throughout our shoot, Michael told me so many stories about his relationship with Dexter. We definitely tried to capture some of those moments and I tried my best to convey those little vignettes in the design of this book. The “greeking” you see is placeholder text for Michael to include his own writing.

I love Michael and Dexter! These photos might be some of my favorite to date. As I designed their book and relived their beautiful relationship, I realized I really, really, REAAAAALLY want photos of me, the BF, Maeby and Zoey. I’m definitely hiring someone in 2009 for some photos!

By the way, I’m taking a mini-vacation until next Monday — my mom is coming to LA from Philly for the first time today in the two years I’ve lived here! We will enjoy the sights and sounds of LA this week and then fly to Arizona to see my sister. So if I don’t respond to emails now you know why. : )

Until next time.