Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Looking for a holiday gift for the dog lover in your life? How about 2 gifts in 1?  I've created my first coffee table style photo book featuring the dogs of the West Suburban Humane Society in which 100% of the profits will be donated to the shelter!



Sunday, October 6, 2013

Look Beyond the Bars

I've created a coffee table book of my favorite dog photos that I've taken at the West Suburban Humane Society. This book is for sale and 100% of the profits will go to the shelter. It makes the perfect gift for a dog lover :)

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Tails on the Trails at The Morton Arboretum!


For the first time ever, and for one day only, The Morton Arboretum will be open for your pets to visit! We will add some hay bales, mums and pumpkins to the naturally beautiful backdrop for the perfect fall pet portraits! So stop by and visit us 



Monday, August 26, 2013

Happy National Dog Day!

National dog day is celebrated annually on August 26th, so get out there and adopt your next best friend today!!
BTW, this beautiful girl Jade is currently available for adoption at the West Suburban Humane Society in Downers Grove.....I'm just sayin'




Wednesday, August 21, 2013

K9 Fit Club - Westmont

I had the opportunity to shoot a Bow Wow Bootcamp session for Suburban Life Media over the summer.  It really looked like a great workout for both the dog and their owner! Would you workout with your pooch if given the chance? My husband and I run with our Soft Coated Wheaton Terrier and she loves it. If I had the money to go to the gym with her, I definitely would!
The following images are ©Shaw Media 2013 *All Rights Reserved*















Monday, August 12, 2013

Top 12 Worst Dog Food Brands

We all love our pets and want to give them the very best. With all the different types of dog foods on the market, it can be confusing! This list of foods/brands to avoid also lets you know the ingredients to avoid when shopping for the right food for your pet!

Top 12 Worst Dog Food Brands


Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Photo Editing

With my pet photography, my main goals are to show the animal's personality and bring out their natural beauty. The best thing I can capture is the reflection in animal's eyes. I want to see what they are seeing.

When it comes to editing, I like to keep it minimal. The camera can take a great photo, but it can never capture everything that the human eye can. I take the best photo I can right out of the camera, and use editing as a way to make that photo look like what I saw with my eye.  The longest process of my editing is removing a leash or cleaning up random drool or "eye schmutz."

I know the trendy effects and retro style filters are very popular right now, but I prefer to stick with the original and black and white versions for my pet photography. Don't get me wrong, I love creating photo effects and playing in Photoshop as much as anyone else.......I just think a lot of these looks are trendy, and we all know how it feels to look back at a "trendy" photo, say, 20 years later. I often question my high schools decision to go with the "laser tag" backdrop, but it was the mid '90s and that is what was popular.  The last thing you want to do when looking back at a photo is be distracted by backdrop or effects.















The above photo was taken at the Cantigny Dog Days event last week. This pooch had already had his portrait taken, I was just playing with him afterwards. I added some clarity, did a curves adjustment, and brightened up the eyes a little.