There’s a certain kind of magic that happens when you stop trying to create or capture a perfect moment during a session, and instead, you simply allow the adventure to unfold.

As Jillian and I walked behind her dogs, Zeke and Teddy, during their session, this was something that we discussed whole heartedly. This concept of working with the dogs, and meeting them where they are at. As a professional dog trainer, Jillian lives this philosophy every day. And it was important to her that her session reflected the same approach; documenting her dogs simply being dogs, enjoying a quiet New England winter adventure together.

As mentioned before, Jillian, who is a professional dog trainer based in Fairfield County, Connecticut, is also the proud mom to two very good boys: Teddy and Zeke. Teddy is aptly named for his teddy bear-like appearance and demeanor, while Zeke has this contagious spice for life that you can’t help but smile at while watching him play and run around.

After having moved to New England for work, and with Teddy now starting to slow down with age and the harsh winters, it was becoming more evident that this New England chapter in their story as a family was starting to come to an end. With an upcoming move back south on the horizon, Jillian wanted to document her time together here with her boys, with the most quintessential New England backdrop possible: snow-covered woods, quiet trails, and her dogs getting to be just dogs.

Want to hear Jillian’s thoughts on her session ? Watch the video below!

What To Expect From a Dog Photography Session (It Isn’t What You Think)

One of Jillian’s biggest concerns going into the session was something I hear so often — “What if they [Teddy and Zeke] don’t cooperate?” or “I have this vision in my head for the images I want to create, but how are we going to do that?’

Just like almost every pet parent feels prior to their session, and despite all of our careful and meticulous planning during our consultation call, most pet parents still have a piece of themselves that aren’t 100% sure what to expect because they just don’t know what their dog is going to do. But, as your Maine Dog Photographer, Im here to let you in one a secret: having a photo session with a specialized dog photographer simply put, means that we get dogs. And we love them no matter what they do! The goal is never perfect obedience or perfect posing. It is allowing them to be themselves, and capturing moments along the way. There is no need to continually repeat taking photos to achieve perfect composition, or removing all the distractions out of the scene before hand when we’re adventuring. While both things are important and helpful, we have photoshop and post-processing magic for that, and our main goal is to create the best day ever for your dog.

When I say that you and your dog’s only job during a session is to show up and be yourselves, I 100% mean that!

Teddy:

Teddy, while getting up there in years, has a heart as big as he is large (and he is LARGE!). If you could imagine the sweetest, most-loving boy there ever was, it would be Teddy. His love and devotion to his Mom is second to none, and this was evident throughout the entire session. He rarely took his eyes off of her, and never got out of sight of her, despite being off leash. He wanted to be by her side every step of the way, and was so excited to see where we were going or what we were going to do.

Zeke:

Zeke is much younger than Teddy, but had a heart of gold. He lives for adventure, and playing with his squeaky purple toy. Having joined Jillian and Teddy’s family just last year, Zeke is the new member of the family, but fit in like he had been there all along. This dog’s spice for life, joy, and enthusiasm for anything and everything was contagious, and so fun to watch! Much like Teddy, he rarely took his eyes off of his Mom, and wanted to be exactly where she was. Since Zeke preferred loving on his mom or zooming around and adventuring, most of his photos captured these two things! We wanted to capture not only images that he was happy and confident in, but also images that captured what he loved most!

When Your Dog’s Photoshoot Becomes More Than Expected, And Why This Matters.

When Jillian saw the images for the first time, her reaction said everything.

She described the session as laid-back, amazing, and exactly what she had hoped for. What started as a way to honor their time in New England as a family, turned into something deeper; a core memory and moment shared of who her dogs are, who they’ve been to her, and how much this chapter mattered.

And that’s the power of sessions like this.

They don’t just document how things looked, they preserve a chapter in you and your dogs story, and how it felt, forever.

You don’t need a reason like a move, a milestone, or a diagnosis to book a session.

But when life does start shifting, when dogs age, seasons change, or chapters begin to close, these images become something else entirely.

They become anchors.

This session wasn’t about perfection.

It was about capturing a Dog Mom’s love for her two boys.

And that is exactly what we did.

Want to see some BTS of Jillian’s session and to hear her thoughts on her photos? Watch below!

All rights remain with the original music/audio copyright holder.

Your Dog’s Photos Are Art:

Whether you’re documenting a season of adventure, honoring a place that shaped your life together, or simply wanting to remember your dog exactly as they are right now, sessions are designed to meet you where you and you dog are at. And for Jillian, that was preserving her time in New England with her two best boys.

With this, came the excitement of exploring the endless possibilities of artwork design based around the portraits that we had captured together. Below, you will find a sneak peak into the design process for both Album and Wall Art design. Both of these pieces were designed from the very best images from the session, and provide a wide variety to capture all different moments and memories from our time together! Most clients decide to invest in both wall art and an album as they fall in love with the perfect number of images that allow for this; their standout favorites go onto the wall, and the rest of their favorites live perfectly in their album.

Album Design: