I Heart Faces Pets

I love viewing the submissions and winners of photo challenges.  I Heart Faces is a website that has photo challenges weekly.  I just love seeing the work of other photographers around the world.  I am just not someone that ever takes the time to actually make a submission to the challenges.  This week, however, the challenge is pets.  I just feel compelled to enter this time with my sweet Buddy.  Buddy is simply the sweetest, most obedient dog I have ever owned.  He is a 9 year old Longhair Dachshund.  We rescued Buddy 2 1/2 years ago from a couple who was divorcing.  Neither one had a place to keep him so we were able to bring him into our home.  We were told that sweet Buddy had spent his entire life in a crate.  He was purchased to be the pet of the father's children from a previous marriage.  The children came to stay with him every other weekend.  With the exception of the 4 days a month the kids visited their father, Buddy lived in a small crate and was only let out to go to the bathroom.  Yes...he even ate in his crate.  He came to our home very meek and full of anxiety but we surrounded him with love and attention.  It is so much fun to see more and more of his true personality come out all the time.  He is such a dear little dog.

I took this image of Buddy about 6 months after he came to live with us.  I wanted to capture him as the regal king that we feel he is. I wanted to share the image so that I could share his story.  He has had a difficult life, but he is certainly loved and spoiled now. If you are interested in the rest of his story, I have more below the image...  I titled this image:

Dog Show Winners Have Nothing On Me

A few months after I took this image of Buddy, he fell victim to IVDD (a degenerative disk disease fairly common to Dachshunds)  We let him outside in our backyard and he didn't come back in.  We found him in the back of the yard at the bottom of the hill.  He was paralyzed in the lower half of his body.  I had such a crazy mix of emotions.  I was devastated for him but I was also really angry that this poor dog that spent most of his life in a crate now couldn't walk. 

We are blessed to see a holistic vet, Dr Ward at Plano Animal Clinic.  Dr Ward uses cutting edge treatments for these dogs to get them to walk again.  He uses lasers, nutrition, and natural supplements to heal the spinal cord.  We had to bring Buddy to Dr. Ward three times a week.  Did I mention Buddy's injury was the week before Christmas last year?  Well....it was the week before Christmas.  Dr. Ward and his staff came into the office even though they were closed for the holidays just so they could treat Buddy and another Dachshund who also had IVDD.  I can tell you that it was a process and it didn't happen overnight, but our Buddy is now walking and running again.  He just recently has gotten strong enough to jump on the couch again.  I would say he is about 95% of where he was before the injury.  I never thought he would walk again, but our sweet boy had an inner resolve and he never gave up.  He now runs and plays with his brothers just like he did before.  We are so thankful to Dr. Ward and his staff. 

I have a huge portrait of this image of Buddy in my house.  Whenever I look at it, I think of the determination it took this sweet dog to overcome a meaningless life for 7 years, and then to overcome paralysis after he had only been free for 18 months.  He is a model for strength, determination, and never giving up.  Like I said...dog show winners have nothing on Buddy!

Aimee

Senior Spotlight - Ellie, Lovejoy High School {Lucas Senior Photography}

Meet Ellie - a Class of 2015 senior at Lovejoy High School.  Ellie braved the ice and snow and cold and came to us for her session in February.  Needless to say, due to the ice and snow, we weren't able to do her session until March.  Ellie has an amazing sense of style and just completely natural in her own skin. She had some specific ideas of what she wanted in her senior session and we had a great time planning and implementing her ideas.

Congratulations on your upcoming graduation Ellie - I can't wait to see the mark you leave on this world!

Alex - McKinney Christian Academy Class of 2015 {McKinney Senior Photography}

Meet Alex - one of our 2015 Senior Models!  Alex is a fun-loving young woman who is always ready with a smile and willing to step outside of the box to have amazing images.  Alex had some interesting experiences during her session. 

First...she wanted pictures with her cat.  Alex is the only senior I have ever had bring a cat to her session.  Let me tell you...the cat was a trooper...but he wasn't the happiest pet I have ever seen.  He did well anyway, even with the dog.

Later when we were out at the park, the local McKinney disk golfers decided that even though we were in our spot long before they got there, we had to move.  Hmmm....asking me works wonders...telling me...not so much.  So I took my time but we found Alex had Frisbees flying past her head at one point.  We thought they could wait 5 minutes, but I guess not.  We still got some amazing images and had a great time.

A few of my favorites from Alex's session...

Alex's smile ALMOST overcomes the "look of death" in her cat's eyes.  Soooo funny!

About here is where the Frisbees started flying....

Did I mention that Alex can really rock that serious look too!

Texas Tech bound!

Oh yes....another interesting moment....Alex's dad and I went and got the really really tall ladder here at the McKinney Cotton Mill and she did climb up to dizzying heights.  There is no way I would get up there.  She is a brave girl!

Loved your session Alex!  I hope you had as much fun as I did!

Aimee

Courtney - McKinney High Class of 2015 {McKinney Senior Photography}

Meet Courtney - one of our Class of 2015 Senior Models.  She attends McKinney High School and is quite athletic behind her super model look!  We held her session last summer in downtown McKinney and a really cool field I found not far from my house. 

Courtney was a trooper - changing clothes in downtown McKinney in my pop up changing booth with lots of wind whipping around us.  She held it together and maintained her effortless look through the heat and wind.

We loved having her sweet dog join us for the last part of her session (in spite of my horrible directions which got her mom lost for about 15 minutes).  I am so glad that I was able to capture their moments together and her sweet puppy passed away a few weeks ago.  What special memories we were able to capture!

A few of my favorites from her session...

 

 

Dimmit

"Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole"

Roger Caras

   Life is made up of moments and the joy of our business is we get to use a camera to capture those moments.

   Recently, the Reinecke family requested a special session for their sweet Dimmit. Dimmit is older and wouldn't live long. He was right there when "G" was born so what a fun afternoon we had capturing the two of them.

    We were so sad to hear that Dimmit had passed away last night. Because we love this precious family so much we wanted to use our blog today to remember Dimmit. We were so blessed to get to capture these moments with "G".

   Freemont's Furry Friend - Sweet Heartbeats

   At AimeeLouise photography we are honored to partner with Freemont's Furry Friends and 97.5 KLAK to help locate new loving homes for the Pet of the Week.


  
   Below are just a few of the recent sweet heartbeats posing for our camera.



    Macy

   Macy is a beautiful Rottweiler mix with a timid spirit. she was such a happy and sweet girl. She happily posed for the camera.

   Hensley

   We love Hensley so much... Little Hensley loved our studio and investigated every inch. Hensley is deaf but that did not detour him at all. He sat up and posed perfectly.

   Sake

   OK this girl is a poser for sure... a lot of the times we are chasing the little ones around to get them to sit still for the camera or look at the camera but this girl laid down and didn't move. She loved being the focus of attention and we loved her.

   Barry

   Barry, the life of the party, such a fun and energetic little boy. He played and played and played. Barry is very unique. He has eyes which are different colors. One is blue and the other is half blue and half brown and with his white coat they just sparkle.

   Smiling Tessa

   What can we say about Smiling Tessa... this little girl came into the studio and greeted everyone with an amazing smile. The cutest thing you have ever seen and with all her different looks she certainly makes a great model.

Behind the scenes with Jasmine {McKinney Photographer}

So this cute little precious thing was adopted within 2 hours of our radio spot featuring her.  I just had to share some behind the scenes photos.  She is soooo adorable!  Be sure to like AimeeLouise Photography, 97.5 KLAK, and Collin County Animal Shelter on Facebook to keep up with our pets of the week!  Or you can always follow us on Twitter or Pinterest to keep up!

So enjoy these images of cutie pie Jasmine!

 

Behind the Scenes - What a dog session is really like! {McKinney Photographer}

So you may have seen some of our pet images around the web.  People comment to me all the time on how adorable they are and how talented I must be to get these dogs to look so cute.  Well...some of it is skill, some of it help, and some of it is just dumb luck.  I thought I would let you see what it is like behind the scenes of some of our pet sessions.....

Do you remember Pixie and how adorable she was?

 

Well....here is what happened behind the scenes.....

 



 



 Then there was the adorable Oscar that stole so many hearts....

Lets just say that any pictures of that boy were almost a miracle.  He did not want to stay still or to be alone for that matter.  I was exhausted when this session was over.

Finally, do you remember sweet little Horus?

Well, I adopted him myself and I think he was harder to work with than any of the shelter dogs.  I was just SURE he would be obedient and sit nicely for me.  Nope...he wanted to do whatever he wanted to do.  Let's see...he would only stay in the chair if he had a treat with him, but then we got the tongue sticking out pictures and the "searching for the treat" pictures.  So then I lay down on the floor and would pop my hand up with the treat and try to snap the picture while simultaneously removing my hand before the shutter went off.  You can see how that went (although his expression kills me every time I look at it). Then there was the jumping out of the chair shots. 

But...in the end, I got a sweet picture of my baby.  And by the way...his name is now McGee (Yes...as in Timothy for all you NCIS fans out there)

So there you have it....it isn't glamorous, but it sure is fun!  Please be sure to like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter; and tune into McKinney's 97.5 KLAK every Wednesday morning at 8:05 to learn about the next sweet furry friend who needs a home!

Aimee



Our New Puppy! {McKinney Pet Photography}

Meet Gibson - the newest member of our family.  He is 4 months old and a little toot - and we LOVE him with all of our hearts!  I can't believe he actually sat still long enough for me to capture these moments.  I think he was ready for a nap :-) 

We adopted him from the Frisco, Texas Animal Rescue.  This is a class organization.  We had to fill out an application, wait to be chosen and approved from other families interested in adopting him, and then we had to pass a home inspection.  While many may scoff at this, I think it is great.  They want to make sure their rescue pets get a forever home.

Gibson certainly has a forever home with us.  And not just us, our entire neighborhood.  He has won the hearts of our neighbors AND their dogs.  Sandy, the Golden Retriever down the street had taken Gibson in like her own puppy.  She is 20 times his size, but runs to greet him, lays down in the grass, and lets him jump on her.  Sometime I really need to capture a picture of that.

So here is Gibson - the first of probably many self indulgent posts about our new baby!

I'm Sexy and I Know It....{McKinney Photography}

Ok...if you haven't heard that ridiculous song they play on the radio all the time, then you probably won't get the title.  However, Karen really is amazing!  She has a big birthday coming up and wanted some amazing pictures to celebrate.  When she came to the studio, I had to pick my jaw up off the floor.  Here are two of my favorites....




I am not far behind you Karen. I hope that I look as amazing as you! Somehow...I doubt it....

Aimee

My Best Friend's Babies {League City Photographer}

I believe in life, we have very few true friends.  I define a true friend as a person that is there for you good and bad, good times and hard times, loves you through everything, doesn't judge you for bad choices, and sticks with you even if you go through a rough patch in the relationship.  Then among the few true friends you have, there are one or two that become as close to you as a sister.  These are the friends that even if you live 100 miles away and see each other only once a year, you just pick up where you left off.  I have two such friends in my life - Debbie and Nadine, and both of them live in Houston - too far away for me.  I got to visit them this week and had the honor of taking pictures of Debbie with her dogs.  Every time we have gotten together over the past couple of years we have intended to take pictures of her with her babies, and it never seems to work out.  This time we made it work.  Here are a couple of pictures from our 7am photo session (the only time we could fit it in our otherwise packed days).  I hope you enjoy them Deb.  I love you like my sister and I am so glad that we are friends.  My life is richer (and WAY more fun) with you in it!



Ok...I have to say something about these dogs. They are the easiest dogs I have ever photographed. All I had to do was say "TREAT" and they both looked right at me. EVERY TIME. So hilarious!

Don't Wait...Seize the Day {McKinney, Frisco Photographer}

The fall season is my busiest time of year with families booking sessions for Christmas cards.  And yet...there are so many who don't.  It gets me to thinking every year and I want to share a story with you.

When I was 22, my father died of cancer.  There isn't a day that has gone by over the last 20 years that I don't think of him at least once.  My parents left me with NO family pictures.  NONE!.  I did have one taken with my parents when I was 14 years old, had braces, a horrible haircut, and just looked gawky.  I love that picture because it is the only one with my parents but I hate it because I looked soooo bad.  However, we have no pictures with my brother and sister in them with our parents.  Why did they do that? They just didn't think they had the money and who knew he would die at age 56?

Many people think they are ok because they take tons of pictures themselves.  I have to tell you that snapshots are not enough.  You can't hang them on the wall and usually you don't get your entire family in a snap shot.  If you do, the quality is not great and tends to deteriorate through the years.

I didn't write this blog to depress you, but I do want you to think.  Family pictures aren't a luxury.  They are a MUST for your children.  It isn't about "us" as parents....it is about our kids.  They may not care today about looking at those pictures, but believe me in 20 years, they will care.  Especially if the unthinkable happens and one of their parents is no longer there to look at the pictures with them.

Why do we not get pictures? I hear excuses all the time...

"I need to lose weight first"
"With this economy we don't have the money"
"My husband hates taking pictures"
"With sports we are just too busy"
"Next year for sure...."

I want to address these very quickly. 

First, your kids could care less how much you weigh.  When they look back on your family pictures, I can guarantee you they will not say "wow I wish mom had lost 20 pounds for that picture!"  They will just be thankful to have pictures of you from that time.  As mom, you are beautiful no matter what to your kids.

I have tried to help you by creating a solution for the other excuses.  I offer mini sessions that take only 15-20 minutes.  The cost is $55 and includes an 8x10.  Even dad can sit for 10 minutes to take a few pictures.  For just $55 you can walk away with a print to cherish forever.  If you simply can't afford more, that is ok.  I do offer payment plans if you want more but can't get them all at once. 

I want you to understand that I am not writing this to get you to book pictures with me.  If this blog inspires you to get family pictures and you go to another photographer, I am happy that you just protected your memories with someone.

If you would like me to take your pictures this year (and I would sure love it if you would :-)), I am offering several sets of mini session that should appeal to everyone.

Costs: $55 - includes an 8x10 and an online gallery of 12-15 images

1.  Vintage Couch Sessions

Date: Saturday, October 23

Location: McKinney

Available Times: (Strikethroughs are already taken)

4:30

4:50

5:10

5:30

5:50

6:10

6:30

 

2.  Nature-scape Family Sessions

Date: Saturday, October 30

Location: McKinney

Available Times:
8:00
8:30

9:00

9:20

9:40

10:00

10:20

10:40

11:00

 

3.  Urban Family Sessions

Date: Sunday, November 7

Location: Downtown Prosper

Available Times:

3:30

3:50

4:10

4:30

4:50

5:10

 

4: Back to School Mini Sessions (Kids Only)

Date: Thursday, October 28

Location: McKinney

Cost:(for this session only): $50 (includes:1-8x10, 2-5x7's, 8 Wallets)

Available Times:
5:00
5:15

5:30

5:45

6:00

6:15

6:30

Don't let another year go by without protecting your memories!  If you would like to schedule a session, you can contact me through my website: http://www.aimeelouisephotography.com/.  If you live outside of the Dallas area and need a recommendation for a photographer, contact me and I will be happy to help you!

Have a blessed fall and let's get some family pictures!

Aimee

Remembering a Loved One {McKinney Photographer}

I did pictures for this family last fall.  I have still not blogged all of those sessions and this was one of them.  They wanted pictures for their Christmas card in their backyard (great backyard, by the way).  Little did we know at the time that these would be the last pictures with their adorable dog.  They called me this week to order more pictures so they could remember her.  This is why I stress so much to my friends and family and clients that it is important to get pictures every year.  You never know what will happen.  Losing a beloved pet is devestating and I am so glad we captured these beautiful moments between girl and dog!

So "M" family....thank you for letting me share in your moments of a lifetime.  You have a beautiful family!