Dudley is my neighbor dog and I adore him. He is a pit bull mix probably with some boxer thrown in as he has a tall, lean body. He is the apple of his daddies' eyes. Last week, the L.A. Times called and said the paper was putting together a pet resource guide and that I would be in it as a pet photographer and they wondered if they could take pictures of me at a session. I knew if I let my reticence overwhelm me, they would just offer that opportunity to another dog photographer so naturally I had to accept. I mean, it's the Los Angeles Times, for corn's sake.

But I didn't want a photographer interrupting an actual session so I turned to my fabulous neighbors Dustin and Chris and asked if I could photograph Dudley -- again -- and perhaps their brand spankin' new girl Cali (I always call her Sally because Sally is such a feminine name and she is the complete opposite of that. She's big, sweet, chunky and klutzy -- girl, I know your pain if you knew you had pain, which I don't think you do). Sally, er, Cali, had just come back from finishing school. They've only had her a month and out of that time I think the trainer's had her for about two weeks. No knock on the trainer, but she doesn't seem all that different. She's a very happy six-month-old bruiser of a puppy and she's adorable with all her exuberance.

The Shoot of the Pet Photography Shoot

So last night was the shoot of the shoot. I've photographed Dudley I think four times before and he kind of loves me because I introduced him to doggy ice cream. The first time I photographed him he didn't smile, not once. He didn't know me and he wasn't comfortable. The second time, this time with doggy ice cream, Dudley began smiling and until we put him in the Amelia Earhart/aviator costume, he continued smiling. And he smiled with the reindeer antlers on his head but not the Santa hat. Dudley knows when to give it and when to pull it back.

The light was nice on the leather chair we had photographed Dudley on before so we put him back there and took some photos, then of Cali, then we went outside and with luck on our side got a few photos of the two of them on the patio furniture smiling together. It was one giant leap for pet photography, getting both Dudley and Cali smiling in the same photo. Done and done.

Here's the difference that year makes. As illustrated by the above photo, the image on the left was Dudley in April 2014. The image on the right is Dudley yesterday. In the first one, you can see he is unsure... nervous. Not comfortable. And the second one he has that little smile on his face that I've grown to love.

And Cali? All goofy grin. That's her to a T.

Ready for your pet photography photo shoot? Give me a call, 818.481.5214. I'm Diana Lundin, I'm in Los Angeles, and I want to be your pet photographer.