Let’s be clear, the sex in that header refers to dog humping. And yes, I’m going there. How cute is this little dog mounting all the big ones? And the poor victim is dressed like Batman. Ah, let’s embrace the crazy, shall we?

Last weekend, I heard about this local band (Wild!!Wing) who was filming their newest rock video at a local art gallery, and they wanted it to be a concert setting, but with dogs instead of humans as the audience — and they were asking if I could lend them my dog.

Hoooo boy! If you have learned anything about me in the last year or so, it’s that I love dogs, and I love live music — so this was the perfect collision of both worlds. First off, I was extremely impressed with the band’s concern for the safety of the animals. All dogs had to be up on their shots before mingling, and they didn’t actually play their music during the filming — but rather kept it quiet for the dogs’ ears. You have not been thoroughly entertained until you’ve seen a room full of people trying to herd their dogs in front of a stage filled with lazers and smoke machines while a rock band (including a key-tar!) silently jams in the background. Crazy! But so much fun.

Because photographing dogs is one of my favorite things ever, I asked if I could document the day — and here are a few of my favorite photos. The enormous collie? That’s my pup, Merlin. He’s 10 years old and was WORN OUT from all the activity — hence him laying down.

While many couples see the engagement session as a photographic perk that might be first on the chopping block due to budget, this part of the photo process is the most important to me, and I think it should be highly important to you as well.

First, it lets me get to know you. The last thing you should ever want is a photographer who you don’t know peppering you with questions on your wedding day. You’ll have enough people vying for your thoughts that day, I promise, and I don’t want to be one of them. I want you to forget I’m there, and I want to blend into the background and just capture what’s happening around us. This happens a whole lot easier if we’ve done it all before — like in an engagement session.

Second, holding an engagement session helps me to find your best angles. I want you to look your absolute best on the big day, and I think you do, too.

Third, if we’ve done a session already, you can give me feedback. For instance, I hate X angle or I loved X pose with my guy. You get the picture. No pun intended. This is also a great time to tell me that you love the black and white photos more than color, and I should process a ton of them that way for the wedding, or vice versa.

Fourth, when I tell you to pose like Y, you know exactly what I mean because, oh hey we’ve done this before! This means that photos on your wedding day go waaaay faster, and you have more time to spend with the people you love and care about. Which is exactly what you should be doing on your wedding day, not going over details with the photographer.

Oh! And lastly? If we do an engagement session, you will be totally used to me telling you to get all lovey and nuzzle and smooch etc. and then pointing a big lens right into your faces. I’m not gonna lie, that can get a little weird. But if we’ve done it before and laughed at the ridiculousness of it and you’ve seen that the photos are awesome, then on your big day it’s no big deal. Which is how it should be.

Ah yes, back at SXSW — my favorite working vacation. If you’ve learned anything about me through this blog, it’s that I love, love, love live music. Even a little more than puppies. Ok. Maybe it’s a tie.

Anyway, I just got back from five days of constant rock’n'roll and walking and waiting in line and 80 degrees and sunshine, and I thought I’d share a few images. These are mostly band images, as I haven’t processed my street portraits yet, but those might be next. We’ll see…

This time of year is tough on us wedding photographers as… well… there aren’t many weddings happening! So many of us fill our time with other photo interests, and today I thought I’d show you some of the recent dog photography I’ve been doing.

Some days are spent running in the snow and playing a little fetch…

But most of my shoots are done back at the studio.

You know what my favorite thing to photograph is? Besides rock’n'roll? PUPPIES.

You know when people get puppies? IN THE SPRING. That’s in like three weeks. So if you’re getting a puppy, please let me know! They’ll only stay that cute for a month or two, and you really should document the adorableness while you can.

Maybe once a year, I shoot one of the local burlesque shows in town. I love these shows because the women are such amazing performers, and they make things like taking off your gloves look sexy. It’s a sight to see. Also? It makes for great photos. So much glitter! And feathers! And twirling!

I even took my mom once. I seriously suggest one of these shows for a fun night out with either your true love or a bunch of girlfriends. There’s just a lot of smiling, laughing and wine. Fun for everyone.