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

These girls are Maple and Penny, two copper-colored retrievers with whom I had a fabulous autumn shoot in Boston last month. I just love their names. We had a great time photographing at home, on the Commonwealth Ave Mall, and along the Esplanade by the Charles River. The two goldens of course could not resist taking a couple of dips into the chilly water, despite having just been given a fluffy pre-shoot bath. I could not resist crashing on the couch after the shoot. Between keeping up with this playful pair, and fighting the crazy wind that day, I was completely wiped! Pet photography is the greatest form of exercise, so it’s nice that it’s also the only form of exercise I’m willing to do. Anyway, this was the first time I had a chance to do a pet shoot in the Back Bay, and I can’t wait to do more. I love photographing along Comm Ave and the Esplanade – so very Boston, so very pretty.

The above are some sample layouts from their 8×8 coffee table book. I just delivered the first layout version to Maple and Penny’s owner (the last 3 images are my favorites. Oh and the ones of them debating under the table are pretty hilarious too). I hope she likes them – the final product should be very very nice!

I have a small window in which to post these photos before I will bury it with other posts so that my sister-in-law Meg will not know that I have plastered her face all over my blog. She did say it was OK but I also know once she sees them she’ll get all embarrassed. Anyway she’s traipsing about in Italy right now, attending the wedding of a former co-worker whom she now rarely sees – this friend living in Italy and all -  so as a wedding gift Meg wanted to give a little portrait of herself. The premise was to have grab a few shots of her around Boston but with some Italian literature visible, ie she’s at home in Boston but thinking of faraway places where old friends are…Meg dreaming of Italy.

OK! So the premise might be a little cheesy! She’s holding travel books and chewing thoughtfully on pens, looking off into the distance…not exactly artfully or subtly done! But behind the scenes this was a really enlightening and fun exercise for the both of us. It took awhile for the shoot to get to “fun” because even though it was her idea, Meg was a NERVOUS WRECK the moment I pulled out the camera.  Finding nice spots with good lighting and/or backdrops, fiddling with the camera controls, pressing the shutter were the least of my worries. The subject NOT BREATHING out of nervousness was the biggest.

It is a very symbiotic relationship, this whole subject and photographer thing. I really need to work on ways to make people subjects comfortable. It really isn’t easy being in front of a camera when you’re trying to pretend that you’re not.

So here are some shots. We met at the Boston Public Garden after work and posed at the Swan Boat docks.

What IS she thinking about? France? Spain? The Grand Canyon?

Then we headed to the Boston Common.

Since it might not be clear to the recipient where we are, we took some shots in next to a t-shirt cart. But look, she still has her Italy books! Our “Meg Dreaming of Italy Whilst in Boston” theme remains intact!!

Some shots near Frog Pond in the Common. I was ALL OVER the fading sunlight. Mmm yummy yummy delicious sunlight.

But I showed Meg the photos, and she said, “My head is glowing” in such a way that indicated she did not like that her head was glowing. I was like, WHAT?! That is on PURPOSE. It is sun flare! How can you not like sun flare? Do you know how proficient one has to be in order to shoot sun flare?

So lesson learned is that thoughts like the last one I had isn’t something the subject will give two craps about, if it makes their hair look like “straw.” Or their nose look “honking.” Or their forehead look “in need of Botox.” Or their hips look “terrible.” Hey. I just remembered why I enjoy shooting animals so much! Heh.

But OK, no more back-lit shots. We moved to the bench on the other side, so that Meg was facing the sun. I normally don’t like shooting from this vantage point because everything is just too evenly warm and golden. But the sun was really fading by then, lessening the degree of golden-ness, and I post-processed the image to black and white which I thought looked really great.

I think she looks posed but relaxed and natural.

This is the shot she chose to give her friend. I thought she looked great in all the shots, but this was my fave.

Now that I’ve posted photos I guess it’s only fair now to post some photos of myself that Meg took. I look extremely silly in these. And stoned in one. It really is difficult being in front of the camera, especially without direction!

Makes me appreciate even more just how much a photographer needs to do in order to get great pictures – and lot of it has nothing to do with a camera.

Floyd is one lucky and cherished puppy. His parents have been searching high and low for a someone like him, and when the opportunity suddenly presented itself, they were on a plane to Ohio lickidity split to bring him home. They weren’t looking just for any Cavalier King Charles Spaniel you see. They were looking for the PERFECT Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. A rescue.

Floyd was saved from a puppy mill that was going to, you know, let him go, because he didn’t have the right coloring. Ugh! Who cares about coloring when such character is to be had! This little guy is just full of personality and confidence. I called him the Mayor of Boston because he had to stop for everyone and say hello, especially for his fellow four-legged citizens. The two-legged animals were quite eager to make his acquaintance as well. It might have been a little foolish on my part to have Floyd and his mom meet me at the Make Way for Ducklings statues in the Public Garden. All the children! All the squealing! You would have thought Paul McCartney had just showed up. Floyd spent the first ten minutes signing autographs before we had to pry him away for his photo shoot.

OK so I don’t want to interject the photos (lots of them! so hard to narrow down!) with too much text so I’ll just say upfront what fun this shoot was. So, so fun. There was his mom, his mom’s friend, me and Dan, all working hard for the money (one of these shoots I swear I will hire a photog of my own to take behind-the-scenes shots. We must have looked INSANE).
There was much laughing. And near wipe-outs in the mud.
There was an actress with her German shepherd who Floyd befriended in Beacon Hill.
There was an enormous Chocolate Lab with whom itty bitty Floyd fearlessly engaged in a Showcase Showdown for the return of his stuffed toy.
There were shots in a flower pot in front of Senator Kerry’s townhouse.
There was a huge group of German tourists walking up Acorn St. who made such a commotion over Floyd that I got in some trouble with a resident.  I think I’m officially banned from shooting there again. Oops!

But it was all totally worth it! So without further ado…

A perfect way to spend a Sunday evening. Thank you for being so charming Floyd, and see you again soon!

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!

Hey! Here is a little local news clip that aired after the Pawsh party from earlier this month. You get to see the back of my head in action, oooo.

The camera man conveniently caught me actually not taking a photo. I was trying to shoot Penny (shown below with her bff Marta) by herself.  And she was all yeahkaynothxbai.

I get the brush-off more often than not, truth be told…