More than pictures, our pup photography sessions are about celebrating the love, magic, and personality that make pups so special, and for adoptable pups, this helps them be seen and find their loving home. They are a chance for them to be someone’s family and live the life that they deserve.

Each month, For The Pups Photography gifts two sessions to adoptable pups. These sessions include about fifteen hand-edited images, a slideshow, and are shared with the shelter so their adoption profile can be updated. We also share these images on social media, and so does our community, in an effort to help each pup reach the person who is meant for them.

These sessions are priceless in how they can change a pup’s life. A warm portrait that shows their personality, a glimpse of who they really are, not just who they appear to be in their kennel, and what they could be like with their person. For a pup who has been overlooked, one photo may be the moment their life changes.

If a client booked this type of session, it would cost $550. Each month, we are gifting $1,100 worth of portraits to adoptable pups, along with about 36 hours of time. That’s almost another full-time job on top of my full-time career.

We wanted to share how this breaks down, so you can see the heart and time behind these gifted sessions, and why we need your help to help more pups together.

People usually see the final photos, the happiness in the pup’s expression, the moment where everything feels right, it’s dream-like. That’s the part you fall in love with. But behind every session is a thoughtful and intentional process full of heart that brings those moments forward.

Getting There
Most sessions take place at parks or outdoor spots around Austin. Getting to and from a session is usually about 1 to 1.5 hours round-trip. For our adoptable pup sessions that For The Pups gifts, both pups are photographed the same day, but each on their own adventure.

Sorting Through Photos
After the session, I typically leave with a few hundred photos or more. Sorting through the pictures takes about an hour or two per pup. I look for the images that truly feel like the pup and where their personality is captured in a way that you can feel. I’m looking for how they are looking at their person, interacting with their environment, and the way their magic shines through.

First Edits
Once I choose the final set, I do the first round of quick edits and cropping. For about fifteen images, this part usually takes around two hours. This is when the story starts to take shape.

Hand Editing
Then comes the hand editing. This is the most detailed and time-consuming part. It takes about eight hours for fifteen images. Each image is edited with heart and care, very intentionally. I make sure the colors feel natural, but lively, the pup looks like themselves, and that their portrait conveys their warmth, love, and what life could be like with them.

Building the Gallery
After everything is edited, I build the gallery and the slideshow. This takes about an hour. It’s the moment where everything becomes something you can move through and feel, where you can connect with the pup and imagine their future, or even see yourself becoming their family.

Sharing the Pup’s Story
For The Pups believes in community and helping pups get seen. Overall, I end up spending about two hours creating and sharing content on social media for the two adoptable pups. For adoptable pups, social sharing is important. It gives them even more of a chance for their future person to see them, is another way to help them, and to help the shelter be something of their past.

All Together
When you add it all up, a single 45 minute to 1.5 hour session becomes around 18 hours of total time; that’s about 36 hours total for the two pups. Every part is done with heart and intention. It’s part of how we celebrate adoptable pups and how we help them become one step closer to their loving home and family.

These sessions are more than photos. They are stories, hope, and the moment that could change everything for a pup that has been waiting for too long in conditions that are heartbreaking.

We would love to gift more sessions each month, and with your help, together we can slowly grow the number of pups we can help. Your gift towards photography sessions for adoptable pups, combined with gifts from others, allows us to show their magic and their love, and helps them have a better chance of leave the shelter, and sooner, for their long-awaited home.

These sessions help give pups a moment of joy, a break, and a chance to feel like themselves again. Most of all, they help them have a greater chance of being seen by the person who will one day bring them home.

Our two gifted sessions per month are planned to be done in partnership with Maggie of BlackDogsATX, an Austin Animal Center volunteer who has a heart for pups, she helps them experience happiness while in the shelter, and helps to give them the best chance of leaving the shelter, and sooner than later by helping them be seen for the wonderful, special pup they really are.

I photograph the pups while Maggie takes them out for their adventure, which is their time to be a pup and away from their kennel. Maggie is in both portraits earlier on this page, the first is with Baron (AAC Pet ID 6576) and then with Sapphire (AAC Pet ID 6429), who are both ready for their forever home (or potentially a foster).

Maggie affectionately calls Baron “Big Bear” and Sapphire “Saffy.”

Baron is on the Urgent Placement List at Austin Animal Services, the sooner his future person sees him, the sooner he is safe and living the next fun and love-filled chapter of his life. He’s a photogenic pup with a big heart for his people, ready for park adventures, and could be your lounge buddy, too.

Sapphire has been at Austin Animal Services for about a year, and is equally deserving of a home and family. She’s quite the water baby, even in a swimming pool, loves her trail time, adorably sitting in front of you when she wants to let you know that she’s ready for a treat, and she’s ready for the comforts of a home with her person.