susan sabo photography

hey, you! yeah, you there...the one with the mom!

While I'm working on my brand spanking new site/blog, I've got a Mother's Day offer to share. Yeah, you know your mom loves photos of you, or you and her, or, maybe her and her dog :)

From now until June 30, I'm offering a 1-hour portrait session for only $150. Way better than flowers...although flowers are really nice they do get that stinky smell when they're a few days old. I guarantee you that the pictures you get from a session with me will never start to smell.

Since Mother's Day is coming up soon, you can also get this for her as a gift certificate.

And don't worry, even though your mom really loves her dogs and/or cats, I'm sure she really loves you too, and will want you in at least a couple of shots.

3 reasons you're not so special

Everyone thinks about getting a professional portrait session at one time or another; really, no matter how many pictures you've taken on your point & shoot, you know it would be awesome to have some really nicely done shots of you, your family and/or pets.

But even though so many people want to have their portrait taken, very few actually take the step and do it. Why? It's always the same three objections, and for those, I have these three basic answers:  

    1. Nobody's kids listen

    2. Nobody's pets behave

    3. You look way better than you think you do.

A long time ago, after my first kids' shoot, I called a good friend of mine who had been doing that for years, and I asked her, "how do you get the kids to do what you want?" and she laughed and replied, "you don't!"

So now you know the truth. You're really nothing all that special (in the behavioral department, that is). Ok, with that being said: most professional photographers have a bag of tricks they use to get kids and animals to listen, and pretty much all of them involve bribery. I keep a baby bottle, a sippy cup and kids and pet snacks in my studio. I also keep baby cold medicine and Benadryl (no, you're not the first person to think of that and no, that doesn't make you a bad parent).

Kids grow up so quickly--as the mother of a 28-year-old, I can tell you it really is the blink of an eye--and pets are with us for such a short time; I always encourage people to get professional portraits done at least every couple of years. It's totally, 100% worth it.

So book your session and don't be afraid. Ask your photographer how to prepare; he/she should give you a list of do's and don'ts for the day. And don't go into it thinking that everything is going to go smoothly and your 1-year-old is going to think, "yeah, um, I'm going to sit my diapered fanny down right here where they want me to and I'm going to let this person stick this thing in my face and let all these lights go off around me and dang it, I'm going to love it!"

So you take time to play; you take a time-out; you take a walk around the block; you and your photographer do whatever it takes to get everyone comfortable, including yourself, and get the shots. Remember, when you're looking through a photographer's website or portfolio, you're seeing the best of his/her work. You're not seeing the shots it took to get there.

So for your information and enjoyment, here are some of the shots that it took for us to get there this past weekend.

  

  

  

 

Jump! Jump!

My dogs don't remember that song. They can be very unhip.     

More Muse!

If you haven't yet met Muse, she's a rescued Chihuahua with a wonky front leg. Her leg was broken at some time and not cared for properly, so part of her left front leg just dangles and flops when she runs and walks. Muse's injury doesn't bother her at all; she's not in any pain and she doesn't let her wonky leg slow her down. In fact, while I was shooting Muse, she was darting back and forth and all over the place; she'd much rather have played with her squeaky baby than sit for me for a portrait session.

Muse had surgery today to remove the dead part of her front leg; she's in good hands and she's already got a loving home to go to when she's healed. So Muse is now new and improved :)

Whenever I meet a rescue dog with an injury like Muse's (a missing leg, or even two!) I'm always struck by how the dog doesn't seem to even know that there's something wrong. They play, run, fetch and love as much as any "normal" dog. I can't imagine why someone, at some time, thought, "no, I don't want this dog," and left her with a rescue. When I posted a picture of Muse on Flickr, everyone wanted to adopt her!

Muse proves that the best lessons can always be learned from a dog.

safe travels, you dirty old bastard

Yesterday, my good friends Jen and Flo had to say goodbye to their longtime companion, Harvey. I met Harvey only once, but the stories of him are legendary. A curmudgeon who bites, runs away for days at a time and generally doesn't care about you at all, he was a staple at their house for visitors. Hundreds of photos have been taken of Harvey (mostly looking away from the camera), which you can see here.

Though I'm known for my work in shooting rescue and shelter dogs, I've taken on cats this year (for the Year of the Tiger) and what better way to announce this than with a shot of a right prick like Harvey. I've got some shelter shots coming up, some fundraising (exhibits, etc.) for the year, and I'd like to dedicate it all to Harvey, the cat who never gave me a second look.

Send good thoughts to Jen & Flo; they need to today. And wish Harvey safe travels, though he likely won't need your good wishes, and wouldn't want them anyway.