When I arrived, as would be expected with a puppy and a cat, Barley, the corgi puppy was sooo excited and Ernie needed a bit of time to warm up to me. I typically sit and allow the cautious one to approach me on their own terms which worked well with little Ernie. He definitely seemed intrigued but just needed to be in charge of meeting, as per usual for our feline friends.
Typically I like to start in the living room to get some images of everyone on the couch, the area where most families spend a lot of their time cuddling up.
Cats hate this. How dare their paw-rents want to pet them!
But the thing about cats, is they tend to become less and less interested as time goes on. So it can be a good idea to start with them when the session is fresh.
Barley was just so stoked about the toys and treats and squeekers! He was totally into me, which is great! But it also means that he wanted to jump off the couch REAL bad, to play with me, vs cuddle and be loved on by his paw-rents! (How dare they!)
We did our best here! Ernie was happy to be coaxed by some fresh chicken and perhaps enjoy the solitude of not having his little brother in the picture (who was fully enjoying running around with his toys!)
Since this was Christmas time, Joanna and Josh had a beautiful real tree set up in the corner of their dining room which begged to be photographed. Ernie had already beat us to the punch by sitting in a mandarin orange box underneath it at the back. I’ve worked with enough cats to know that he was quite content there and any attempt to move him would likely make him disappear completely. So we laid a blanket in front of the tree and did our best to wrangle the ball of energy that is a 10 month old puppy! The photos didn’t exactly turn out “picture perfect” but they sure made me laugh!
We threw up the white flag by the Christmas tree and went to try our hand on the bed in the master bedroom. Joanna and Jeff had a brilliant set of shelves attached to the wall leading from the bed to the window, on which Ernie confidently perched himself. This is where one has to be creative! Clearly bringing him down onto the bed in this moment would result in a lot of resistance and so there he sat, in all his glory, above us all!
Once Ernie saw that Barley was getting some chimkins down on the bed, he became a bit more interested in participating. We took a few snaps while he involved himself in the most cat like way, moving down no more than one shelf/step down towards the family!
The reality is, cats are cats - a) you cannot force them into anything and b) sometimes it’s an accurate representation that they do things on their own terms, even within their own families! And it’s completely ok :)
The energy seemed to soften here on the bed and we were able to capture a few more relaxed images with some time and patience. The end result was impressive to all of us I believe! This is where magic is made :)
Next, since both Barley and Ernie spend time in the backyard, I was elated to be able to shoot outside, especially with a cat! There is something about the juxtaposition of felines and the outdoors that is so magical.
Ernie quickly found a safe spot beneath a Adirondack chair which almost made me giggle like a little girl. The white snow against his handsome face was so perfect.
Barley was in the mood to play and fetch - naturally! I took advantage of the moment to try some action shots. The majority of times, 1 in 20 will be in-focus and usable, but consistency is key, and the puppers never seem to mind!
Next we moved the beautiful Adirondack chairs and brought out some cozy throws to try our hand at family portraits. Ernie was happy to be swaddled in his dads arms while we attempted to coax Barley into the photo by throwing a ball through the chairs (all his paw-rents idea.) It worked in its own way which is completely authentic and perfect :)
You can see the happiness is Joanna and Josh’s eyes (and Ernie’s) watching him be his silly goofy self. This is [one of the reasons] why I love this work!
At a certain point without any coaxing from me, Joanna and Josh went with the energy, pulling each other close while they had the attention of barley (notice the ball in hand) and Ernie and created, in my mind, the pièce de résistance.
A portrait of a real life, magical, perfectly imperfect family.
