You guys. This is one of my faaaavourite shots of my little firstborn. I took it when I was living in Calgary and was experimenting with the idea of offering studio dog portraits. Helo and I had so much fun playing around with lights and backdrops and styles. This was his favourite toy at the time- 3 of 
He won the tug-o-war, by the way
Helo turning TEN this month (we don't know the exact date unfortunately) has had me reflecting a lot on our little dog, our relationships with him, and how he has evolved with us over the years, and I can foresee writing a couple posts about these things.
When we got him, we did everything wrong. My mom and I weren't well-versed in the best practices for acquiring a new furry family member: I stumbled across his little face on the online classifieds- "ONE PUPPY LEFT FROM PUG X FOXTERRIER LITTER!" I couldn't look away. I showed it to my mom. We were both sold.
- Adopt don't shop. Well, fucked that up right off the bat.
- Don't buy from backyard breeders. They are part of the problem. Guilty.
- Do NOT buy an animal as a gift for another person, especially not as a surprise. Oopsies!
- Don't get a dog if you don't have pet-friendly housing. Ugh, striking out.
- Don't buy a dog if you don't have the financial means to take proper care of it, even in an emergency. Well fuck
(Of course there are no hard and fast rules about acquiring a pet but these are points that are always touted by animal rescue and welfare groups in an effort to reduce the amount of homeless and abused/neglected pets.)
We did everything wrong, and I would do it all again, because Helo turned out to be the best bad decision I ever made.
We are now well-learned in pet welfare best practices and are always sure to share nuggets of information wherever possible, and support rescue agencies as much as we can. Although I have given up professional photography, I am thinking of picking up my camera again and devoting it completely to helping animals. What do you think? Should I give it a try?
| Category | animalphotography |
| Settings | ISO 100 24 mm f/20 1/250 |
| Camera | Canon 50D |
| Lens | Canon EF 24-70 f/2.8L v.1 |
| Light | Two Bowens strobes, if I recall: softbox main & umbrella fill |
| Location | Calgary, Canada |
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