Life on the Leash

Although my DIY photo session worked for a time, it wasn’t going to cut it for some of the stuff that’s coming down the pike (plus seeing Zeke makes me sad), so I had a professional Tyra-style photo shoot two weeks ago.

So. Much. Fun.

I lucked into finding the most amazing photographer, Tim Coburn. He does all sorts of high end fashion-y shoots around DC, so I worried that a session with a nervous boxer would throw him. Pshaw - hardly!

The session started off with hair and make-up … James transformed me from bare-faced dog trainer to a more polished, shiny haired, spot-free version of myself. He was a magician. Sum managed to “relax” on the ground next to my chair as James worked on me (and worked, and worked), probably waiting for someone to come take his temperature or shove something in his eye.

Sum was all, “Huh?” once the shoot began. He stood close to me and looked everywhere but at the camera, so James stepped in to be the official dog jester; he squeaked toys, whistled, clapped and finally resorted to throwing garbage bags in the air to get Sum to look directly a the camera. The first 25 photos have me in a squinty-eyed guffaw because James was excellent at his job.

Tim was so enthusiastic and encouraging during the shoot. Every move I made, from shifting my hands to tilting my head, got a “Great! Love it! Great!” It was my ANTM moment, and I ate it up. Yes, I was smiling with my eyes.

We tried a few shots with Sumner elevated on a big box. He wasn’t feeling it:

The D&G sunglasses weren’t working for him either:

(That’s James on the right. I didn’t get any pics of Tim because he was behind the cam the whole time.)

I can’t say enough about the experience … these two are amazing. Plus, I’ve seen the proofs and I love them. (You’ll get to see their work in my new “about” photo, which is coming soon …)

The best part? By the end of the shoot Sum was chilled out enough to lay down on the floor with his head between his pawsies. He found his signature “look”!