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

I had the fantastic opportunity of photographing a Boston wedding with Lisa Rigby Photography in July, this time for another super gorgeous couple who held their ceremony and reception at The Beehive – the same venue that recently hosted the K9 + Cocktails event a few weeks ago. This time I was able to experience something a little different from the other past weddings I’ve done – a start to finish kind of affair that lets us photographers be a privileged part of all the intimate, behind-the-scenes moments.

I started the day by meeting Lisa at the couple’s home in Brookline. Will the groom was upstairs strumming some tunes while his bride Nisa and her closest girlfriends cloistered themselves away downstairs, getting ready and drinking some bubblies.

Yes, the groom is something of a musician! And yo, I got to see him sans shirt (sorry, no photos).

First I thank Lisa for allowing me tag along (and for steering them to me for their Welcome Dinner the previous night!), and to Nisa and Will for allowing Lisa to allow me to tag along. I don’t think it could have been easy to have one, much less two people, hovering about you while you’re in various states of undress or cosmetic readiness. Honestly, in what other gig would you be allowed such direct access into someone’s personal life? I mean, would I allow complete strangers to 1) see me half naked 2) see me with no makeup and 3) photograph me willy nilly while I’m half naked with no makeup? Are you crazy?!

They were the perfect models – easy to work with, easy to look at in person and on camera, and totally unself-conscious. For all intents and purposes, we weren’t there. It made capturing those coveted “real moments” that much easier.

Here’s the bride in her beautiful Vera Wang dress. Her son trumps the groom and gets the first look!

All ready to go. Before we headed to The Beehive, we made a stop at Larz Anderson Park in Brookline for some portraits.

And then it was off to The Beehive to get hitched and to partay!

After whirling his bride on the dance floor, Will and his band did some crooning on the stage floor. Hmm. Kinda sorta jealous that my husband can’t do this. Well, he could, if you replaced the guitar with a computer keyboard and replaced singing into the mike with cursing into the screen. Sometimes that can be just as sexy in its own special way. Sometimes. OK not really. I’d prefer the singing.

And the evening closed out with some good old-fashioned (b)romance.

Congrats to Nisa & Will!

P.S. Here are Lisa’s awesome photos from the day. I helped her work the off-camera lighting. It was fun!! And highly educational as well :)

P.S. #2 I shot entirely without my Speedlight. Not because I thought I was hot stuff, but because I couldn’t insert AA batteries correctly into the flash. I had 8 batteries with me, all fully charged, tried all through the night to get it to turn on, missed some shots in the meantime, rearranged the batteries some more, and it finally fired up. As soon as I got home. That said, I am now a freaking expert at shooting in the dark.

This past weekend was the Boston leg of Cowbelly’s Traveling Workshop, run by premier pet photog Cowbelly aka Jamie of Seattle, WA.  I think I signed up for this workshop back in February so August seemed like a LIFETIME away. Tricks of the pet photography trade just couldn’t come soon enough. But I had already “officially” launched the biz and it was either wait and sink, or just jump in and swim. I have learned a ton on my own just these last few months, but didn’t really realize it until after the workshop, which was great because I’m a gigantic gutless baby that needs to be reaffirmed every 30 seconds. The workshop also filled in a lot of gaps and made me aware of areas that need major tightening up or retooling. There are always going to be things to learn and re-learn, but after this workshop I feel that much more well-rounded and informed and confident.

Thatcher enjoying non-stop butt rubs

But I think the best part was meeting fellow aspiring pet photographers in the Boston area. To be honest I had no idea how being in a roomful of potential “competitors” would work, if we would sort of circle our wagons, stare each other down and growl. And of course there was absolutely none of that. I feel like I have PEERS now, not competition. It makes this business all the more enriching — I very much look forward to meeting up regularly to practice and bounce ideas off one another!

So without further ado, here are some shots of a few canines that were nice enough to model for us during the interactive part of the workshop.

On the red carpet

This is Thatcher the English Bulldog and yes she’s out of focus! I was practicing shooting from the ankles for the first time – the no-look grab shot that requires focusing and visualizing the composition without actually looking through the viewfinder. I have never ever seriously considered shooting this way before with my DSLR, because all attempts have yielded crap photos. And frankly, I also thought it was a rather hack way to photograph. If you shot like this while at a client’s, wouldn’t they be all WTF, I want my money back?

But I’m sold on this method now. I have had issues with dogs or cats trotting over to me when I start to crouch low for an eye-level shot, or more irritatingly, everytime I’d bring the camera up to my face they would turn away. Now with the no-look technique they won’t know what I’m up to, heh heh. There have been so many instances when I’m walking around the ‘hood and I’ll see a cute, utterly photographable dog and not take a photo because I don’t want to be intrusive…shooting from the ankle will help me capture the moment without being all up in your face.

And this method does yield some really cool angles and compositions. I just really need more practice! I couldn’t resist posting the above photo anyway because it looks as if Thatcher is the English Bulldog version of Angelina Jolie on the red carpet.

Me ‘n Thatcher are BFFs! For a second anyway. We were all trying to be BFFs with her.

Thatcher cooling down in the lobby of the Liberty Hotel.

Here is Marley, the chocolate poodle benefiting slightly from my new-found no-look technique.

Here is Remi the puggle as the Mayor of Boston.

He does get around in the city because I’ve photographed him before! It was at the Pawsh Boutique grand opening event back in April. Remi was just a puppy then.

Marley and Buddy the black Lab on the Esplanade. Buddy is hunting down an invisible squirrel.

And Marley with our intrepid leader Jamie.

Thank you Jamie for coming all the way to Boston to share what you know with us. I hope to connect with my fellow pet photogs again soon!!

Here is a follow-up from this post where I made Veebs jump a lot. I wanted to practice action shots, shutter speeds, ISO settings some more so out came the roast beef and treats, and up, up and away went Veebs.

17mm, f/2.8, 1/500 sec, ISO 1600

What a good little frogger. My best jumper ever.

Why is Veebs so good at what he does?

1) He keys up right before he takes off!

2) He has great form!

3) He sticks the landing!

(How is it that they always land JUST at the edge?)

4) He’s inexhaustable!

17mm, f/2.8, 1/500 sec, ISO 1600

5) He’s orange!

Bunny has disdain for jumping, but I managed to coax a few out of him. It turns out he makes the oddest little expression before he jumps. Very un-catlike. Maybe that’s why he doesn’t want you to see it.

30mm, f/3.2, 1/640 sec, ISO 1600

30 mm, f/2.8, 1/500 sec, ISO 560

Deliberately backlit, fyi :)

Getting better with the focus, but I think I might have to practice some more…

This past Saturday The Beehive, the hippest eatery here in Boston’s South End, held a “K-9 and Cocktails” event out in the patio. Under the summer sun, dogs socialized over apps and drinks named Beeftinis, Veggie Marys and Tail Waggers. (ha ha!) Bark Place Spa, a do-it-yourself dog bathing boutique located in the South End, provided the cool bowls. Polka Dog Bakery, a South End business baking homemade goodies for your dog everyday, provided the martini-shaped treats. Proceeds went to the Animal Rescue League of Boston, located around the corner in the South End. I, of Fat Orange Cat Studio, crouched on the brick patio to photograph all the fun in the blazing, blazing sun. I too am located in the South End, in case I have not mentioned that enough times.

I just love living here.

I contemplated trading in Bunny & Veebs for a dog so I could attend this event with a proper date. I was asked so many times where my dog was and it’s getting a little embarrassing explaining that I don’t have one. Does it count that our cats act like dogs?
Here are some scenes from The Beehive:

Everyone was wearing magenta.

And speaking of local businesses, how cool is that headpiece? It’s made by Marie Galvin (that’s her with her pooch and fabulous headband), a Boston milliner (milliner!) based in the South End. I have always been THIS CLOSE to buying one of those beautiful feather headbands but had nowhere to wear them to. I have a wedding this October I’m shooting – I think that will be the perfect occasion.

(This “puppy” is really a Pomeranian.)

(This Sheltie is 3-legged.)

(This…mixed breed? has freckles.)

(This Husky has amazing eyes.)

(This Lab is a goofball.)

The Beehive patio was packed all afternoon and Beeftinis were flying out of the bars – a great success!

Last month I photographed a pre-wedding welcome dinner for the lovely Will & Nisa and their closest friends and family. The venue was held at Gaslight Brasserie in Boston’s South End, but in an old converted factory that would have you believing otherwise.

There was oodles of style, old-fashioneds, escargot…and napkins. I discovered on this shoot how much I enjoy photographing napkins.

Photographing beautiful people isn’t so bad, either. Meeraow.

I second shot their wedding the next day with Lisa Rigby at The Beehive. Stay tuned for photos!

PS Weird story following this shoot. I went inside to chill for a moment at the bar before I walked home, and chatted a bit with a gentleman there about weddings, the South End, real jobs, dream jobs, dogs, horses…and after a few minutes of this it turns out he is friends of Boo and Ferris, the two Labs I photographed back in May in a small town outside of Boston. Small and random world!