After I received Aja and Ares’ owner’s enquiry and spoke to her on the phone I could tell she was my tribe and I was going to enjoy working together. I wasn’t wrong.

We met at one of my favourite locations which offers some green, some rocks, some sand and is only a short drive to get sunset over the water. Aja and Ares brought their A game – which was to be expected, I guess!

Aja was super keen to run (and run and run) so I had to be quick to get some portraits in the bag before she was covered in sand and slobber.

Ares isn’t quite as big on running as his sister but he gave me some short bursts of crazy to work with. He’s already had one toe removed due to a melanoma and he was heading back to SASH the day after our shoot to have another one removed. Apart from pulling his bandage off prematurely he’s been recovering well.

This was about as good as I could get when it came to capturing a photo of them running together ’cause Aja is just too fast for poor Ares. He has no chance of ever getting the ball before her.

I was told they wouldn’t want to go in the water but their people didn’t factor my yummy homemade treats into the equation.

I was also told that Aja and Ares wouldn’t pose together. We compromised with close but not too close for discomfort.

Next we drove to our second location where my handsome assistant (Daveless!) joined us with the off-camera lighting. The wind was determined to make both of the dogs look comical by lifting just one of their ears. It kept me a little too amused.

The sky was really hazy from the bushfires but we still got some pretty light as the sun set.

The main focus of my sessions is generally the animals but I’m always happy to include human family in some shots. I did offer to retouch the hair that the wind had blown all over the place but they were happy to keep the image authentic.

Thanks for a fun session Aja and Ares and your people. I look forward to sharing your finished album and metal wall art with you very soon.

You can see a video of the products that were ordered, on my Facebook page.

This is the lovely testimonial that Rachel left me:

After thinking about it for years, I decided to have some professional photos taken of Aja and Ares after Ares was diagnosed with cancer – and I am so glad that I found Ruth to do just that. I was a bit worried that my sometimes naughty kids would run amok but Ruth enchanted both Aja and Ares, capturing their personalities and flappy ears in the process. Ruth’s warmth and attention to detail made the whole experience fun, easy, and special. Most importantly, the photos are everything I had hoped for and I’m beyond happy.

Are you ready for me to create colourful memories of your furry favourites? Click the button below to get your session on the books today.