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

This is Crystal, a sleek and glamorous rescue dog living in the South End. Due to her high motivation for stinky treats, she gave me one of those short 30 minute sessions, which truth be told is still freaking me out. We stayed indoors and started in the late afternoon, just as the setting sun was coming through the living room window. We also shot in the bedroom where the light streamed in a bounced off a wall of mirrors directly across. Awesome! I was having a field day shooting in this room, trying to make use of this dramatic lighting. A lot of these photos would have looked great in black and white. I had a hard time not converting ALL of them to black and white.

Crystal has a very glam and sophisticated Gretta Garbo look going on, even as she chews on cowhide.

Thank you for being such a pretty and cooperative model!

This is Luna, a sweet little terrier mix who’s still tearing up the dance floor at nine years old. She lives not too far from me here in the South End, so we met one weekday morning for our shoot that lasted maybe 30 minutes tops. Her owner wanted me to grab a few shots before she headed off to work. My heart jumped into my throat as I panicked a little, thinking about how little I’d be able to capture in 30 minutes…but then I remembered my session with Fergie the Shar Pei back in Sept and how I managed to pull off a nice collection in a short period of time.  So I need to stop freaking out about short shoots. And the best part is the post-processing time is cut in like, one million. It took me longer to write this paragraph.

Anyway, isn’t Luna cute?! I miss having a dog…

My favorite thing about Luna – aside from her swishy tail, or her love for Teddy Bear, or her DIY haircut (we used to give our dogs haircuts all the time, and it’s funny that Luna looks just like my childhood cockapoo) – was the St. Francis pendant dangling from her collar. In case you’re not familiar, St. Francis is the patron saint of animals. And the environment. Basically an all-around good dude.

Thank you Luna for a fun and wonderful shoot!

P.S. No behind-the-scenes shots on this one. I forgot!

A few weekends ago I had the pleasure of photographing my first Olde English Bulldog. His name is Mason and he lives with his parents in a fabulous loft in the South End. I love being able to walk to my shoots, and am thankful I get to do that, or take public transportation, for the majority of my gigs. We have no dedicated parking space, therefore no car, and plan on keeping it that way for awhile! It snowed this weekend, and guess who wasn’t shoveling out their car but inside playing a cozy hour or two of Super Mario Bros Wii instead?

For most of my sessions, I usually shoot in at least two locations. We start indoors at home before heading somewhere nearby outside – in the yard, if there is one, or just out and about in the neighborhood. For the sake of variety and all that. The exercise is a nice bonus. However on this day, variety took a backseat as it was really bitterly cold and windy outside. We didn’t stray too far from the pretty Christmas tree or the funky shag carpet, which was fine by me because the tall windows in the loft provided some really beautiful diffused light. And anyway being indoors didn’t stop Mason from stretching his limbs as if he were at the dog park. I loved this guy! Full of spirit and looking so handsome and stout in front of the camera.

Happy holidays Mason – I hope everything you wished for is under that tree! Or the table.

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of photographing Mr. Hooves the Pug, fellow resident of the South End. He clocks in at 33 lbs or so, making him a good 30 lbs heavier than the last (and first) pug I photographed. He came originally as “Brady,” as in Tom Brady. I think “Mr. Hooves” is a far superior name and it suits him very well! His owner made a very good call.

Julie M. and her Olde English Bulldog!

AND

Caroyln C. and her Bernese Mountain Dog!

Since I had so many entries from the SOWA “It’s a Dog’s Life” raffle on Sunday, and Bunny & Veebs were fighting each other to draw the winning entry, I decided to let them pick one each and have two winners. More fun for everyone!

Julie and Carolyn, I will be in touch with you soon to set up a photo session! Thanks again to everyone who stopped by the counter on Sunday and said hello. The photo gallery is still up, so if you haven’t yet, be sure to check it out and see if you spot your dog!