Chong Chong the Pom Pom

I was so so excited when Sarah brought her lovely self and her adorable little Pom, Chong Chong, to the studio for a portrait session. Chong Chong was unlike any other Poms I’ve met; first, she was a little heftyBut that made her that much more squeezable. She was a lovely guest: I gave her about 20 minute to roam the house (the vatos are always behind closed doors in the back of the house when dogs are in the studio) to smell the smells, sniff the toys, and just generally check out the place. She was *very* interested in a stuffed Susan Zombie my friend Cindi made; in fact, she kept barking at it like any good Zombie-Protector-Dog would do. So, yay Chong Chong, and Sarah? You will always be kept safe from zombies. Good to know.

Once we started shooting, everything went so quickly and so easily because Chong Chong just could not stop smiling. I love love the smiley dogs; and even though it was a bit of a challenge to get her to look at me, we got some wonderful shots of the connection that Sarah & her little Pom have.

I think the best portraits reveal something about the subject(s) and I think that faces are very often overrated. Faces, eyes, those features definitely tell a story. But a little brush of a finger on your animal’s head also says a lot. As much as the eye contact the two of you make. Those are the images that speak volumes to me, and those are the ones I’d rather shoot.

These are my favorites of the day: I think that Chong Chong is just too adorable and I think that Sarah is so much beautiful than she realizes.