Li Ward photographer of pets and weddings. Fat Orange Cat Studio is a fresh and candid boutique photography service in Boston, Massachusetts.

I’ve been holed up in MV with my Dan and college buddies since Saturday. This is our 4th annual Memorial Weekend seaside getaway, extended to a week. This is how the history has played out: In 2006 we were in Ogunquit, Maine. My parents had a timeshare there that they ended up not being able to use, so I invited Anne & her husband to come along. We walked by the ocean and ate lobsters for 3 days straight. When 2007 rolled around, we decided to do the ocean-side extravanganza again. This time we rented a little cottage in Newport, RI and stayed longer. Then when 2008 came along, we could not resist another seaside getaway, this time to the very tip of Cape Cod that is Provincetown.

This year, after skirting dangerously with potential rentals in Connecticut, we decided to drop anchor in Edgartown, Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, USA. The weather has been both hit and miss. Today is one of those miss days but you wouldn’t know it because Anne and I just downed a bottle of wine while watching Twilight (the only way to watch that movie or read that book) and as such, have spent the last 2 hours laughing our faces off.

Anne is now making “burnt butter cupcakes.” Hold me.

I thought I’d be able to snag some photos of dogs while on the island, but it’s been pretty quiet here.

Anne & Jesse looking very presidential on a catamaran.

That’s me. Hi.

Biking our way towards Oak Bluffs.

Anne and me, since 1994.

Friday we’re back on shore, and I get to second shoot for a wedding!!

The craziest thing happened last week. Rik Fairlie, a contributor to the NYTimes.com personal tech blog section called Gadgetwise, contacted me. First he said Hi. Then How are you. Then he asked if I had any tips on taking good pet photos. And then he inquired whether or not I’d be willing to share those tips in an “informal” Q&A for the blog.

I thought, !!!!!

Do I have tips? Um, maybe? I think I got some tips? I’ve got some here in my back pocket, and maybe some more at the bottom of my purse….rummage rummage rummage.

But I mean really, for the New York freaking Times, I’ll make up as many tips as you need.

So here’s some insight to how I shoot. A lot of it might seem obvious or easy, but then again if that were so, there’d be a lot more pet/children photographers out there.

No, I’m not a self-proclaimed expert.

But yes I am totally passionate about what I do, have learned some things in my short tenure so far as a “professional,” and I am trying to get better every day.

And no, the 17-55mm is not a kit lens. Seventeen to fifty-five people, not eighteen to fifty-five. f-stop 2.8, mkay (had to clarify, just had to).

However YES, I totally submitted a blurry photo to the Times.

The point is: Good photography – wedding, travel, baby, pet or otherwise – is not lazy. It’s not all about the camera body, it’s not about standing around waiting for Something to Happen. It’s all deliberate, it’s all work, even – and especially? – the candid ones.

And this is kind of how I feel about the whole interview going up:
(link to video here)

Thanks Rik for the write-up! Sha-day!

Meet Bella, the 11 week-old French Bullpuppy who lives in the charming little enclave of Bay Village with her parents, Erika and Mark. Like Logan, Bella is participating in Fat Orange Cat Studio’s Puppy Progress Package, or PPP, to document her stages of growth. I LOVE doing this.

Last weekend was Bella’s first session. The cutest session. The please-don’t-ever-grow-up session.

Bella is: itty bitty | Bella has: a floppy right ear | Bella loves: her stuffed seal | Bella eats: flowers

It’s a Showcase Showdown!

Bella: 1 Seal: 0

Seriously, can you stand it?! She is holding a flower, in her puppy MOUTH. Do I really need to break this down any more?

But can someone tell me why must baby eyes be so big and watery? It haunts my dreams.

I know you can’t really see her face, but the photo below is to underscore just how small she is.

I can’t believe she actually sat still for this, even if it was for just two seconds. That’s the thing though: see the shot in your head, and prepare to shoot in advance. I was ready to press the shutter as soon as her parents sat her down and jumped off frame. “HEY BELLA!” I sang and then click click click! She started to get up and walk towards me, but we were done.

I caught Bella’s Very First Jump!

“What I like to do is go BOING.”

There were a lot of gasps before and during the jump, and kissing of little paws after. Protective puppy parents are just as cute as the puppies themselves!

After our romp around Bay Village, we headed to the Boston Public Gardens.

Erika had a great idea to photograph Bella with the bronze ducklings. I hadn’t even entertained that idea, mostly because it’s usually swarming with parents taking photos of their children clamoring over the statues, and it seemed getting an open shot would be impossible. Luckily though, we found a moment where we had the ducks all to ourselves. First, Bella had to get a quick hair and makeup touch-up from her small crew of assistants.

Our moment alone with the ducklings didn’t last long. Bella made quite a splash. While keeping my eyes glued to the viewfinder and shooting away, I had a pretty clear notion that crowds were forming around us as a chorus of “Aaaaaaaaawww” and “Look at that puppeeeeeee!!” were being squealed all around. But I didn’t stop to see how many people were gathered around. It must have looked a little odd from their perspective. I was practically on my chin with my haunches waving in the air, trying to shoot Bella at eye-level. But not that anyone was stopping to look at my haunches anyway.

Bella was the star and a total scene – and ribbon – stealer!

Bella is thinking that she’s about to make some mischief.

“I wants it…I TAKES IT!”

She is so stinking cute. There’s not much more I can say.

My favorite photo…

Not only is Bella so pretty, but her mama is too. I like how her hair is off to one side, faintly blowing in the breeze…while Bella’s right ear continues to flop backwards, hee!

Ah, puppies. Though I’ll be kind of sad to see her all growing up, I’m excited for the next shoot. If indicators are correct, she’s going to be a sassy one. See you soon, Bella and thanks for being such an A++ model!

I’ll admit it. One of the best things about this whole pet photography gig is that not only do you get to meet and to play and to have an all-around fun time with fabulous dogs, but you sometimes get to come face-to-face with your dream house and drink iced tea on wrap-around porches. A porch that wraps! Completely around! Here we are just outside of Boston, in a home with wicker rocking chairs, pots of pansies, bullfrog ceramics, a pair of Labrador retrievers…When we arrived at the house, I was sure we had stepped onto a Martha Stewart set. Stumbling upon a Martha Stewart set has long been a fantasy of mine. Had it been a hot summer’s evening I’m sure we would have been offered a mint julep too, with lots of crushed ice and sprigs of home-grown mint breaking up the copious amounts of bourbon. I’m sure of it. Must make a mental note to invite myself over when it’s hot.

All rise for the Honorable Boo.

Boo is an 8 1/2 year old yellow Lab, about the size of a yellow bus. He shares the good life, most of the time right here on the back porch, with his smaller big brother Ferris who is 10.

Here is Ferris playing with this stuffed duck on the amazingly green grass of the amazingly manicured backyard. You know, I think all that green burned a hole in my camera’s sensitive little eyes. I really had to reduce the saturation on some of these.

I love Ferris’ distinguished white visage.

And now, we take a short break from decorum.

When I say I do “fresh and candid” pet photography, I do mean fresh, and I do mean candid. So my question is, who is more fresh here: the insanely verdant backyard…or Boo, which forced Ferris to teach him who’s boss?

Boo: “Hep me.”

Bahaha. I know the owner isn’t going to want to order prints of these to hang on the walls of her beautiful home, so I had to include them here. I had to.

Here is Ferris back to sitting pretty. I really wanted to get them sitting on the red patio benches – I love photographing against red – and to catch the blooming plum tree in the background. The dogs weren’t into it so much, but with a little help of some off-screen ham and a small crane, we were able to haul Ferris on the bench.

And more treats to haul him on the swing.

We take another a short break to introduce you to Piewacket the kitty. She was not officially part of the shoot but made a brief appearance to say hello before disappearing off Somewhere.

Here again is Boo, making a magnificent splendor in the grass.

Boo!

“We loves.”

Prior to this Saturday, Dan had had a bad week at work. But in his official role as the photographer’s Help Me Get Their Attention And/Or Get Them to Stay assistant, he found that all that stress completely melted away after our several hours with Boo and Ferris. Is it any surprise? This really is the best job ever.

10 years ago this very Mother’s Day, my mom flew from Atlanta to visit me in my first grown-up apartment just outside of Boston. After I picked her up from the airport, I drove 30 miles out straight to Buddy Dog Humane Society to take home a pair of brothers: one named Sam with the funny tail, the other named Pumpkin with the patch on his arm.

My mom spent most of Mother’s Day cleaning the vomit and watery poo off of Sam’s wiggly body. Happy Mother’s Day!

Two new cats and high-waisted jeans in my first apartment

Pumpkin, now VanBuren, falling asleep while playing 10 years ago.

VanBuren today, just slightly more distinguished.

Sam, now Baxter, sitting for his first portrait, 10 years ago:

Baxter, 123189345982 million portraits later:

Baxter and VanBuren were the first things Dan and I ever owned jointly, even though we weren’t living together at the time. The cats stayed with me. It turned out Dan was quite allergic to cats. It turns out their maniacal shedding happens year-round. They were here to stay though, so either Dan becomes not allergic to them, or we break up, take your pick.

We didn’t break up, but Dan is still allergic to them. Oh the price was pay for LOVE.

We had actually intended to adopt these other brothers at the shelter who had been there a very long time. They were long-haired versions of B and VB, named Oreo and Elvis. After the second visit to the shelter, we noticed the short-haired brothers, who had also already been there for some time – 6 months! As I approached, the plump orange one smeared himself back and forth so hard against the cage that the bars rattled. His open display of violent affection was very effective. I had never met a friendlier cat in my life! I changed my mind on the spot and decided I would take them home, even as his green-eyed brother remained in the back unmoving, with his trademark disdainful look which he still gives us today.

It turns out that he’s the biggest lap cat. He cannot WAIT to sit in your lap.

And VanBuren cannot wait for more roast beef. Tuna is good too. Today we’re giving them a little extra of both, plus some good old-fashioned cat treats. And then we’re going to write another special song for them, to add to our collection of 15 or so special songs already written.

Look how photogenic they are, even from this angle! How many film photos of them do I have sitting in a shoebox, and how many digital photos of them to have burned to disk? TOO MANY and yet NOT ENOUGH. In a few hours I will have the privilege of doing a pet shoot for another pet lover, and it’s because for the past 10 years I have been unknowingly gearing myself towards this goal. Fat Orange Cat Studio would not exist right now without Baxter and VanBuren who gave me the obsessive need to document them from every. conceivable. angle.

Here’s to another 10 (maybe more??) years!

Hopefully by then prices in pet cloning will have gone way down.