“GIVE US YOUR BEST SHOT” | Pittsburgh pet photography

February 4, 2010

Every year I tell myself to enter contests just for the sake of saying “I entered a contest.” It’s not until the contest results are in that I remember I said the above!

Normally the Costco magazine goes straight to the trash, but I saw the headline 2009 International Photo Contest Winners-page 26. There were 45,000 photographs submitted for this years contest titled “Give us your best shot.” What’s even more awesome is 4 of the winning photographs were of….drumroll please…..DOGS!

Anyways, the real reason I bring this up because I share a similar photograph to the one that received U.S. Second Place…

Beth McHenry Photography photograph:
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And, Ken Saunders of L.A. photograph:
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Ken, if you’re out there reading this…Congratulations!

FRIDAY FUN | Pittsburgh pet photography

January 29, 2010

I’m always stumbling across doggy-related websites, blogs and stores. This particular one stood out because it featured a yellow lab… who wears costumes with much more excitement than my own.

Have a petiquette question that needs an answer? submit it to Dear Labby!
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I’m so glad my dog does his business outside. (It’s part of the whole dogs/cats rule controversy). BUT, good news! If you’re a die-hard cat lover or just into all the latest and greatest things for your cat….you need the LITTER-ROBOT! How funky is this thing?! lol

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And with the Superbowl coming up, why not get the dog (who is part of the family too) some BEER! “Dogs are known to love beer and now their owners can treat them to their own festive, delicious brew. Why share when you have a better alternative!?!?”

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Have a great weekend! ~Beth

marissa: At least I know Chevy (our 3 yr old Weimer) is not alone in her love of beer. She goes crazy when she sees a beer bottle, absolutely bananas.

HANDSOME | pittsburgh pet portraits

January 26, 2010

While the majority of my work is on-location, I’ve been experimenting with the idea of incorporating a few “studio-ish” shots to a few sessions. Not every session will be right for this type of set-up but I have lots of mini-sessions to be scheduled this year and think it will be a perfect fit!

So, who do I ask to model for me??…the newly bathed BMP mascot of course! He loves his job. He gets paid in cheese and other fine doggy delicacies.

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YOU KNOW YOU’RE A DOG LOVER | pittsburgh pet portraits

January 24, 2010

When:

- You have 32 different names for your dog. Most make no sense, but he understands.
- Pig ears are on your shopping list every week
- Your passenger side window has so many nose prints on the inside you can barely see through it
- You pay more attention to your dog’s nutrition and food intake than your own
- Christmas cards include all family member names, including the dogs
- Your dogs name has been used as a password
- You bring home your restaurant leftovers for your dog
- You spell out the word w-a-l-k when talking to humans
- When you fill your dogs water bowl, you run the faucet until it gets really cold
- Your front door mat says “wipe your paws”
- You have more dog-related apps than anything else
- You’re licensed in doggy cpr, but not human

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Tracy: That made me smile, Beth. We lost Bailey on Saturday. We cherish that picture you took of her even more now.

C’MON SUN… | pittsburgh pet portraits

January 22, 2010

It’s been so yucky here in PA lately that getting outside to shoot is nearly impossible. Well, at least for me because it seems when we do have a nice weather day I’m grocery shopping or buried in laundry!

Miao is such a dependent dog that he’ll follow me around the house while cleaning, laying down nearby when I stay put in one location. Today that was outside our master bathroom. While I put away the dental floss and wiped down the counters he finds a way to lay just out of the way, but still within eye-sight. I loved the way he was laying so I made him stay while I got my camera.

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NEW PRODUCTS | pittsburgh pet portraits

January 20, 2010

2010 is underway and I couldn’t be more stoked and motivated for what is yet to come, both personally and professionally. I’ve spent the winter months sleeping looking over my current product offerings and collections to ensure I’m giving my customers the best service. I’ve made a few changes and purchased some new products that I guarantee you won’t be able to resist showing off!

Last year I offered black leather image boxes which were great, but they didn’t mesh 100% with my style. The new image boxes feature a custom designed cover that screams for attention! Image boxes are offered as part of our Essentials Collection. They’re perfect for those without a lot of wall space or as a compliment to your coffee table, shelf, or desk.

5×7 horizontal layout
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this particular design I wrapped the front image around to the spine
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back cover can also be left “plain” or feature an image
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Image boxes come with 10 mounted 5×7 prints and a table top easel for easily showcasing one of your favorite prints.
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images can be printed with or without a border
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dana s.: very nice beth! love it. i've been thinking about getting one of these as a product sample for some time. It's nice to see someone's that I know!

WHIRL MAGAZINE | pittsburgh pet charity

January 12, 2010

You might remember this post from a while ago when I volunteered to photograph Animal Rescue Flight’s big event… Whirl magazine published an article on the event and used one my images in the November issue! It’s the first time I’ve seen my work in a magazine. Hopefully 2010 has more of that in store! I wish Pittsburgh had a pet dedicated magazine like some other big cities, but I’ll take what I can get! There’s definitely more charity work in store this year as it feels so good to give back!

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here’s a link to the online version.

90 DAYS | Pittsburgh pet portraits

January 9, 2010

Seriously, 90 days? 90 days EXACTLY since my blog has been updated. Well, of all excuses, I have the best one and I demand to be forgiven! (See previous post). Monday we found out we’re having a boy which our girl-infested family never thought could happen! I take a lot of pictures as it is, but come May 30th my camera is going to get a whole new kind of workout.

So in addition to eating and sleeping for two, I’ve been working a lot on the business side of BMP. The website got a complete makeover as did my logo! I love my new logo because it truly represents my style and passion. The blog has been updated to reflect the color change as well. What do you think? I have a few more galleries I want to showcase on the website, but haven’t designed the albums yet. An updated picture of yours truly is yet to come as well, but not until the temp gets above 19 degrees!

I am also ready to launch a brand-spankin new forum for pet photographers. It’s been a lot of work getting everything in place, but the response from other photographers has been wonderful and given me the motivation to keep pluggin along!

You came for pictures, not my blah-blahing I know…..we ventured outside today for some snow play while the sun was shining. Miao found a bunny hole and was trying desperately to get inside. Capturing his fast movement with my Coolpix (D700 is loaned to a friend for backup) proved to be tricky, but I love the result.

Taken on my Nikon Coolpix S52:
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More updates to come sooner than 90 days, stay tuned ;)

Tiffany Bender: Beth...I LUUURVE the new look. I am so excited for you moving full speed ahead on your true passion. And of course- LJ!!!! Congrats all the way around!

Claire: i'm glad you're back in the saddle! can't wait to see what you've got in store for 2010!

Jennifer Kitrosser: Wow - you've got lots of good things going on! Congrats! Your Miao is so handsome too! Oh and please treat yourself to a 16x24 canvas of Miao (from the post before this). They are simply - THE BEST - size for a canvas.

RETRIEVER | Pittsburgh pet photographer

October 9, 2009

Morning sickness took over this week and everyone suffered because of it. There was a small window of nice weather this week so I forced myself to take Miao for a walk stroll around Peters Lake Park. We broke the rules a few times and took off the leash for some portraits. He loves the attention, just look at him and his crooked teeth! He truly is the best dog. We got him on the sale rack for $125, pure bred AKC Labrador retriever.

He got to go swimming too, his belly is still a little wet here:
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there were so many squirrels in the trees, it was killing him!
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I think I would like this one as a 24×30 canvas or wall mount, can’t decide.
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SCOUT + RUBY | Pittsburgh dog photographer

October 7, 2009

I forgot how fast and curious springer spaniels can be. To say they are busy is an understatement; I think they have doggy ADHD! One minute they’re intrigued by a noise in the bush, the next second they’re on the other side of the yard looking for their toy. What a great life.

Photographing more than 1 dog undoubtedly gives me so much to work with. I couldn’t help but share a few more than usual. I swear I took vertical images too, but for some reason I chose all horizontals to show!

here…
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then there…
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Scout and Ruby have a park just a few steps away from their driveway. We headed there for a little off leash time.
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ahhh, refreshing!
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andy wood: Love the shot, drinking out of the water fountain.