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Portrait of a red merle border collie wearing a red ruff collar

Stunningly Creative Studio Pet Photography

Your Best Friend Deserves Better Than a Snapshot

Working unrushed within a controlled and dog safe environment frees us to plan, light and shoot our subjects with intent. It is this ability to focus on these more nuanced and conceptual details that breathes so much life into our pet portraits.

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Better Photos Allow for Larger Prints

Big Pet Art is Our Specialty

Big prints are a big deal.

Our studio's ability to produce great looking large format prints says a lot about how we work and the quality of dog portraits we create.

When printing in larger formats, you can't waste pixels and your photos can't have anything to hide. Which is why we work tightly within frames utilizing minimal cropping and remain dedicated to getting things right in camera.

More importantly, printing large means that our creations must be interesting and engaging enough to merit hanging prominently. And, it is this emphasis on printing big that drives our studio to create gallery quality pieces befitting even the most distinguished personal art collections.

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Exclusive Pet Costume Designs

Home of the World Famous Paper Hat Sessions

Puptrait is the exclusive home of the Paper Hats collection.

Each of these custom fit costume pieces is personally designed and crafted by our studio founder and master pet photographer, J.B. Shepard.

Painstakingly made by hand over the course of several days, often from multiple layers of upcycled post-consumer paper scraps and other carefully selected found materials, this organic process ensures that no two Paper Hats are ever the same.

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Portrait of a large Great Dane / Mastiff / Bully mixed breed dog wearing a meter wide black ruff collar

How We Work

a Step-by-Step Guide to Commissioning a Puptrait

Schedule a Session Time

Sessions are by appointment only and can be scheduled through our website's digital calendar on a first come, first served basis. Paid deposit of $500 is required at time of booking.

Unsure about planning around your groomer's availability? No problem. Pet portrait patrons may reschedule to any future available date with 72 hours notice for no additional charge by calling 443.604.0711.

Initial Phone Consult

We call all portrait clients prior to their session date to walk through shoot details, answer any questions you might have, get a basic feel for your personal style / preference, and really just help ensure everyone is ready for your pup's big day. In preparation for Paper Hat sessions, we will also take a moment at this time to walk through through the basic measurements and relevant attributes of your pup (coat / color, weight, height, collar size, ear type, etc.).

Costume Design

To help expedite the build process, we typically ask clients to supply measurements for most custom fittings over the phone. However, if you would prefer for us to measure your dog directly, you are welcome to schedule a complimentary in-person fitting for your pup.

Please note we require a minimum of two weeks from when we receive measurements to allow ample time for ideation and planning, material harvesting and prep, assemblage, and drying.

Shoot Day

Pet portrait sessions typically last anywhere between 1.5 - 2 hours in total -- with young puppy and super senior session running a bit shorter to maintain their comfort levels. We typically spend the first 15-30 minutes of this time working with the dog without a camera, building trust and getting to know the dog's specific temperament, behaviors and learned commands. Depending on the nature of the shoot and how long it takes to reset between sets, we make take anywhere from 100 to 300 photos during your session.

If it feels like we're just taking the same shot over and over again, it's because we are.

Whenever possible, we overshoot sessions and with good reason. The fact is, even well trained dogs tend to be fairly unpredictable. So, when you set the bar high with tighter in-camera crops, a narrower depth of field, untethered costumes, and more nuanced lighting -- you're going to miss some shots.

And, we're O.K. with that. We purposefully take an exceptionally high risk / high reward approach to every session, spending the time and frames needed to deliver that one perfect large format print that you and your family will cherish for a lifetime.

Photo Processing & Proofing 

For Studio Pet Portrait and Paper Hat Sessions, we will curate the hundreds of captures from your session and select the absolute best dozen or so photos of your dog. These selections will then be edited and processed in preparation for printing, and uploaded to a dedicated password protected proof page.

Regardless of the style of pet portrait you choose, our post production and proofing processes typically take roughly a week to complete, occasionally a little longer depending on the time of year and how busy we are.

Please note that clients are free to download and share their web-friendly sized watermarked proofs with friends and on social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Print Consult

We do not require clients to return to the studio for print consultations. We find holding print consultations over the phone encourages transparency, puts less pressure on clients to make an impulse decision, and is generally just easier all around for everyone involved.

During your print consult we will discuss what images you prefer, where you are thinking of hanging your prints, and walkthrough your various size and mounting options. These calls typically take around 20 minutes to complete, but the duration really just depends on the client and what questions, if any, that they might have.

If following your consult you decide to purchase prints, we will email an itemized invoice of your order for you to review. When you are ready to move forward, simply follow the online payment instructions and as soon as we receive confirmation of payment, we will set to work manufacturing your prints.

Free Delivery

All listed print prices include standard shipping to the contiguous United States. Unless otherwise requested by a client, we require signature on delivery for all mounted print shipments.

What Clients Are Saying...

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Schedule a Pet Portrait Session Online 24/7

Questions? Call 443.604.0711

For best results we strongly encourage only ONE dog per portrait session.

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