If anyone had told me I would be working towards being a pet-portrait photographer in 2024 when I first started as a newspaper photographer in the summer of 1997, I would’ve laughed in their face. Yet here we are with me working towards the goal of being a full-time pet portrait photographer here in Bend, Oregon. I’ll still be doing wedding and regular portrait photography until getting there but will start emphasizing it more and more.

Why? Because I love my dogs and have loved them over the years and know lots of people love their own pets. They live with us for such a short time in our long lives and are then gone. I feel it’s really important to have nice pictures of them to look at every now and then to remind us of how much we loved each one and to bring back the time in our lives they represent.

My pal was a German Shepherd named Kate. Seeing her nice pictures around the house always brings a smile to my face. Every picture of her represents a time and place of us being together. Luckily for me, I have really nice pictures of my dog because I was trained and worked as a newspaper photographer. Most people don’t have that training or experience. They have a bunch of iPhone snapshots of their dogs. Maybe some videos.

Maybe it would be good to have a super nice picture of your friend? Maybe with your family? How much are these memories worth to you?