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.     

I'm finally back, and with good reason!

Ack, so long since I've blogged. The holidays were filled with injury and illness and things have just started to get back to normal in the past couple of weeks. Weddings are booking steadily and I have awesome volunteer shooting coming up.

But first, let me acknowledge that you're not even reading what I'm typing because you're still gaping in wonder at that smish face above, Vinny, the Chihuahua/Pomeranian mix. *sigh*

Vinny is one of 6 Chi mixes that I recently photographed for a fabulous benefit that's taking place tomorrow in Long Beach. It's to raise money and awareness for all the Chi's and Chi mixes that have been dumped in shelters and rescues since going out of vogue in the last couple of years.

The idea of a dog as a fashion accessory is maddening enough, but then to see the shelters overcrowded with these poor things is just heartbreaking.

If you're in the LA area, come down to Long Beach tomorrow for the event. There's a $10 donation at the door, but if you're looking for another pup for the house the adoptions are only $50! There are also silent auctions (I'm donating a pet portrait session), music and a Chi fashion show.

Details and directions here!

In the meantime, enjoy a few of the other darlings that will be there.

all dogs deserve a home

thanks to everyone for your comments, support and action you took during my Shelter Shoot uploads. What you wrote and the things you told me really touched me. Thank you so much.

This is the last of the shelter dog set for now. I've added all the shots in my set to my Etsy shop. A portion of each print sold will go to a non-profit no-kill rescue (from now till the end of february, it's www.helpsaveone.org.)

thanks again

www.etsy.com/shop/susansabophotography

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you're not just looking at a squee cute puppy; you're looking at the product of irresponsible pet ownership.

the mother of this puppy was given to a rescue, her people gave her up while she was pregnant. and while her puppies most certainly had an easy time getting adopted, the mother was likely not as lucky. older and with a few litters already behind her, she wasn't shiny and new and as cute as the puppies. the mother of this puppy wouldn't nurse her litter, so the pups had to be fed by syringe. already a problem.

so many people think they can just go and buy a couple of purebred dogs and start breeding. the puppies that come from these breeds are improperly bred and will most likely have terrible health issues throughout their lives.

proper breeding is a science. it's not a hobby. it's not a way to make extra cash. it's actually a way to directly cause more shelter deaths.

the most important thing you can do to reduce the number of cats and dogs being killed every single day all over this country is to gets your animals spayed and neutered.

the next thing you can do is adopt, not shop.