Courtney was wearing a beautiful flowing white outfit with flowers in her hair, and had given Red a matching flower collar – I was so excited when they stepped out of the car, and I think it looks fantastic in the photos (Courtney told me she had also considered a pink tutu for Red, but decided against it – cue a very relieved look from Liam…).

All three of them were fantastic models and up for anything despite the high-30s temperature, and when we wrapped up the shoot after an hour and a half, I knew we had managed to capture beautiful memories for Courtney and Liam to enjoy for a long time to come. I would like to say that Red will enjoy them too, but I have a feeling she’ll mostly remember the afternoon as “the one with the lady that kept making weird noises at me but also fed me treats”…

Would you love to have photos like this yourself? Check out my Valentine’s Day Special for couples and their pet!

Bonita, her partner Kurt and their boys met me in a beautiful park on a Sunday afternoon, having just rushed back from a getaway weekend in Bryon Bay. And they had big news: Kurt popped the question over the weekend, Bonita said yes, and so I got to photograph Nixon and Cash with their newly engaged parents. Congratulations and all the best, Bonita and Kurt! (You might even be able to spot the ring in a few photos!)

Nixon and Cash are German Shepherd Dogs, and don’t they have the coolest names ever? Nixon is two, and a proud big brother to baby Cash, who is 6 months old and is only just growing into his big ears and paws. As soon as I met them in the parking lot, they greeted me enthusiastically and then went straight for my treat pouch – no wonder GSDs are the preferred bomb and drug sniffing dogs in a K9 unit!

Bonita and Kurt moved to Brisbane from Adelaide not too long ago. In Adelaide, Kurt worked with police dogs, so it’s not a mystery why he loves German Shepherds. And he also clearly picked up some training tips, as Nixon and Cash are very well behaved and adore their parents. Cash did get distracted and dashed off to join a football game that was in progress nearby at one point, but come on! He’s only little, and concentrating is hard work, so surely he deserved a little break, right? ;)

By the end of the afternoon, both the dogs and humans were thoroughly exhausted, which is always a sign of a successful photo session!

Cash has not quite figured out yet that he’s got back legs, so it was hilarious to watch him try to scramble up on the block I asked him to hop on. But look how proud he looks when he finally made it! (Erm.. we might have helped a bit!)

I love how you can see both of their matching tags in this one:

His mom Anya had the good sense to wear him out a bit before I got there, so when I started to take photos, he had burnt off some of the crazy kitten energy and was a beautiful and cooperative model. Jax is playful and cuddly and sweet and even lets you pet his soft spotty belly for a little while before trapping you in what I call the “Kitty Death Grip” ;)

The Sunday of the photo shoot was a particularly hot day in sunny Queensland, too hot even for Jax and us to go outside for fear of burning his paws (and our feet) on the patio. So we did the photos inside the house and kept Jax cool with lots of water, cold wet paper towels and even a short exploration in the open fridge (psst, don’t tell Dad!).

When you invite a kitten into your home, you bring indoors something slightly wild, often unpredictable and always entertaining. – Barbara L. Diamond

Of the two, Winston is the relaxed one (as you can see from photo of him by the pool). Due to his habit of sitting in the kitchen while you cook and giving you judgmental looks, his family also suspects that he might have been a French chef named Phillipe in a previous life – A+ for imagination! ;) Abbey is very energetic and quick (…as you can see from her running shots!). She’s also very lucky to be here, having had a life-saving operation when she was a puppy to fix a twisted stomach that meant she couldn’t digest food.

With their fun personalities, adorable squashy faces and willingness to sit still for treats, they made for very good models! And I think their hilarious facial expressions could fill an entire outtakes blog post.

“Lovely horse, how much was he?” “Absolutely nothing.”

The only thing I know about my beloved boy is he’s had a rough life. Started off, as many Thoroughbreds, with a career in racing – not as glamorous as it might sound! With many injuries (mostly in and around his mouth) and quite a bit of attitude, he was no one’s dream horse and was left to rot in a paddock. Along came a woman with a heart of gold and took poor starved Toby into her care, all the while looking for a person to give Toby a home. It started off as a 6 month lease, slowly building up a relationship and bond – I fell in love immediately! (despite his “why should I?” attitude). The 6 month lease quickly came to an end, with me begging to renew it. Instead of renewing the lease, 3 weeks before my birthday, the ownership of Toby was signed over to me.

Now, my loyal friend and soul mate; you will never have to experience hardship again, and will spend the rest of your days with me right by your side.

Her mom Kate had wanted a little Dachshund for a long time, so when her sister-in-law Amy, who happens to be a vet nurse, had some Doxie pups in for vaccinations, she couldn’t resist. But really – who could resist this adorable face, enormous ears and chubby legs?

Chippa in real life is even tinier than she looks in the photos. And even though she’s a quiet pup and a bit shy when it comes to meeting new dogs, she’s already made friends with the rest of the family dogs – including one very crazy Boxer – and even manages to hold her own when the bigger dogs are wrestling. Pretty impressive!

Did you know? Dachshund is German for “Badger Dog”. In Germany, however, they are known as Dackel or Teckel.

Rabbie is the most beautiful, patient and gentle horse. When I first moved to Australia, I didn’t ride for about 5 years, so my first time back in the saddle was a bit.. let’s say, uncoordinated. While I was trying to coax my body back into the correct position, Rabbie patiently trotted around the arena all lesson and made sure that I only had to concentrate on myself. But once I got everything together, he switched into dressage-horse-mode and worked beautifully. He made it easy to gain my confidence back and I owe him so much for that. I have even tried campdrafting on this horse, and let me tell you – he gets quite feisty when the cows get on his nerves!

Rabbie has now retired from teaching, and has a new mom who loves him to bits. All the best, and thank you Rabs!

For two hours, she raced around the backyard, retrieving toys and playing tug, with short breaks in between to pose like a supermodel and smile at the camera. Went I left, exhausted and muddy but also delighted with the beautiful photos I was able to make, she was still going with no signs of slowing down!

Did you know? Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retrievers, affectionately known as “Tollers”, are the smallest of the retriever breeds. Unsurprisingly, they originate in Canada. They get their name from their ability to lure waterfowl into gunshot range, and as Abby demonstrated, they are intelligent and high energy dogs.