I met Kara when she called me for the first time to do a session with her dog Gia. Gia had been diagnosed with cancer about a year before but Kara felt like she was moving into the final stages of her life. I always am saddened to receive these calls from owners, but on the other side of the coin, I am happy that they make the decision to have these sessions done. I think it’s hard enough to go thru the loss of a pet, but really can’t imagine not having beautiful images to get them thru that loss.

We had a very short break in the weather, at least as far as not being too cold. We decided to move forward with her session in Schiller Park. Although the day was very overcast and gray, photographing in that location worked perfectly as I knew we’d have many textures and different scenery to work with despite the weather.

This was Gia’s favorite place as they visited daily. It was special to Kara so I knew that would be the best location. I encourage owners’ to really give thought to location options because if they share a special location, of course we want to capture that. We lucked out because Schiller Park tends to be very busy especially with dogs, which can make for a difficult session.

We had a great few hours together moving thru the park and capturing all her favorite things about Gia as well as their relationship together. Gia is very playful and sweet and it was important to Kara to capture that part of her personality, something that showed her beautiful curls, the location and of course their very special relationship.

I think we captured all of that and then some. I designed her a gorgeous album with her session favorites that I know she will treasure forever. She also has her favorite images printed on my favorite medium, Metal. I know everyday she walks into her home, she will enjoy seeing those special images and being brought back to that day with her girl over and over.

Enjoy their favorites. If you have one that stands out to you, please comment below. I’d love to hear from you. xo