Many people look at my images and think I must work with “model” dogs every week – you know, dogs with professional-level training who seem to perform on cue and know exactly what I want to capture. Well, wouldn’t THAT be something!? 🌈🦄😍 In reality, many of the dogs I photograph are just like the ones we share our homes, couches, and table scraps with. They might know a few commands to keep the peace at home, but they’re not sporting champions or obedience title-holders. They’re simply our perfect companions – fitting into our lives, whether we’re always on the go or cozy at home.
Take Kita, for example, owned by our friends Mike and Laura, whom we were visiting in Virgina. Kita’s wonderfully sweet and well-behaved, but unless “staring intently” has recently become a sport 👀, she’s firmly in the “beloved pet” category! Kita had never experienced a photo session before, and she wasn’t trained to climb onto things on command or hold specific poses. Yet, we still captured some amazing moments – and had an absolute blast doing it!
“Exploring Nature”
The behind the scenes (BTS) look of how I created it:
Being out in the woods meant critter distractions everywhere, so Kita stayed safely on leash for the duration of our session. When I found a suitable setting, I asked her mom to stand to one side and then I used tiny bits of cheese to help guide Kita into position. Kita quickly caught onto the “game,” and she also made it clear when she wasn’t thrilled with a particular spot; when that happened, we’d just move on. There was no stress – just a fun day capturing Kita’s unique charm.
Here are some of the other images taken during our outing:
More about Kita, straight from her mom:
Her bio: "Kita is an Aussiedoodle - Australian Shephard/Poodle mix. Her father is a blue merle Australian Shepherd, and her mother is a standard black poodle. We've always appreciated what an accommodating personality Kita has. She will be very mellow when we are mellow, she will jump up to play whenever we get excited, and she does her "business" in the woods behind our house so we never have to clean up the yard after her🙌."
Her quirk: "She is a starer. She has great eye contact, but also will sit and stare at you from across the room. It can get annoying at times because we don't know what she's thinking when she does that!"
She wants to help: "One of the funniest things she does is come to attention anytime we sing happy birthday in our house - she will come running from wherever she is and sit at attention, clearly expecting a gift! And she loves to help open gifts and take tissue out of the gift bags for you. She's all about the presents, whether they are hers or not😂. That being said, she has never opened a gift from under the Christmas tree or pulled tissue out on her own - she only does it when someone is holding it and offers to let her help."
Her game: "She also plays hide and seek with our kids. She will sit with us until they have hidden, and then we instruct her to go find them - she will search all over until she finds them. She's so cool!"
Her name: "Kita is short for Nikita, which is the name the breeder gave her. We planned to rename her something we liked more, but after days of the four of us contemplating and not agreeing on anything, we decided to stick with Kita, and now we can't imagine calling her anything else! (Although, I still think Oakley would have been a great name, but couldn't get the rest of the family to buy into it😏)."
Favorite toy: "Kita loves her squeaky woobies! She chews on them when she's excited, she takes them and spreads them all over the place, and loves to play fetch for a couple of throws - then immediately switches to playing keep away🫤. She's a bit of a tease!"
On session prep: "It was a bit of a spontaneous outing, and my best advice is to let Ginger run the session and just do what she says! It was amazing to me what she could get Kita to do!"
What worked: "Your voice level - serious and calm, yet nurturing and loving - was so consistent. Kita was entranced with you and would follow your direction immediately. And you were so patient and didn't push her to do anything she seemed a little wary of or uncomfortable with."
Enhancing the bond: “The session has given me a new appreciation of Kita and I really enjoyed watching how much she seemed to take to the commands and enjoyed being instructed on poses and movements. It is easy for us to take her for granted because she is so accommodating. The photo shoot and watching her reaction to Ginger has inspired me to spend more time giving her small jobs and commands just to keep her mind more active and attentive. It makes her so happy!”
Overall reaction: "Kita seemed to enjoy the photo session! It was amazing to watch her listen attentively and pose on command. And we learned that she loves cheese!" (Ginger’s note: How did they not know that?!? 😂)
I THOROUGHLY enjoyed my session with Kita of course, but she was not the reason we traveled to Mechanicsville, Virginia. It was to see our longtime friends Mike and Laura. We got in around midnight, and were given a warm welcome and a nightcap! 🍸
The next day, we took a scenic drive to Staunton, VA to catch the Blue Ridge Flyer. But first, we walked around the historic town.
Then we headed to the station.
Just to show I’m always a doofus, and hardwired to notice (and photograph!) visually appealing things, here I am, hard at work trying to capture the (pretty!) bubbles in my wine on a moving train (no easy feat!!). 📷🍷🤪
The masterpiece! 🤔
They fed us on the train too, and we were all pleasantly surprised at how yummy everything was! 😋
Back the house, Kita wanted me to play with her toy. But I wasn’t allowed to touch her toy. 🤣
The next day, we drove to Richmond for brunch.
And cocktails. (Seems to be a recurring theme! 🍸🍹)
Then a walk (gotta burn those calories!) across the historic bridge that had lots of informative plaques.
Then later, more drinks and food back in Mechanicsville… The one on the right is mine – an Espresso martini. I’d never had one before, but I needed a caffeine boost! 😴
Delicious bacon wrapped dates.
The next day, we made the 1.5 hour drive up Rt 95 to Centreville to meet my parents for lunch at one of our all time faves… Sweetwater Tavern.
And yes, it was a long way to go for lunch, but a two hour drive to see my folks is a heck of a lot closer than Colorado!
Then it was back to Mechanicsville for Kita’s not-really-planned photo session. THIS is where we were walking… 😍
Then happy hour on the porch…
And game night…
With an early drive to the airport for our flight out the next morning!
It was a fantastic (and boozy!) quick trip!!
Ginger Wick Photography is an award winning dog photographer specializing in creating beautiful custom artwork of dogs & their people. Based in Parker, CO serving the Denver area.
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