PhoDOGraphy By Edith LevyT.O.p Dogs – Louis
Posted on April 11, 2014
T.O.p Dogs! Photographing Loveable Four-Leggers in and around Toronto.
The weather was beautiful the other day and I had my camera with me when I headed out for lunch so I decided to stop by the dog park. This is Louie the Wheaton Terrier. I’m thinking Mr. Scruffy might be a better name….and I say that with all due respect. Isn’t he a cutie.
The Sweet Faces at Toronto Animal Services | Toronto Pet Photographer
Posted on March 25, 2014
I received a call from the shelter this week asking if I could come back on the weekend as they got some new dogs and cats for me to photograph. So on Saturday I was back at Toronto Animal Services – West Region and I’m always dismayed and saddened when I see the beautiful animals that are just waiting for their furever homes.
In a happier note the animals that I photographed when I was there at the beginning of the month have been adopted with the exception of 1 dog and 1 cat.
If you’re in the Toronto area or know someone that is looking for their special pet please share this post and head on down to the shelter in Etobicoke.
You can click on any image to enlarge.
Lacey
Roxy
Karma
Nala
Satin
Tiger
Rocky
Taking it to the Next Level with the Paw Print Divas
Posted on March 14, 2014
Last week I spent 3 days in Houston, Texas attending a Pet Photography Workshop given by Paw Print Divas.
The ladies behind Paw Print Divas are Barbara Breitsameter from Poppy Blue Photography, Kim Hartz from Kim Hartz Photography and Jenny Froh from Jenny Froh Photography.
Before I get into telling you about the workshop I want to extend a heartfelt thank you to both Barbara and Kim (unfortunately Jenny was ill last week) for their openness; knowledge; willingness to share their experiences both from a technical stand point and business savviness. I came away with new learnings, a new-found confidence in my abilities and a clear vision of what I need to do for continuous improvement.
The workshop covered many different shooting scenarios including outdoor using natural light and artificial lighting, indoors using natural light and in studio. We had wonderful and loveable models throughout the 3 days along with their owners who were kind enough to let us photograph their fur babies. My like-minded co-workshop attendees were a great group of ladies and I think we all walked aways with new friendships formed. Topics covered included shooting techniques; understanding and working with dogs; understanding light and composition; business and marketing; branding and post-processing techniques. This is by no means an exhaustive list only a sampling of what was covered.
My husband asked me when I returned home which part of the workshop I enjoyed most. That was a tough question to answer since I found value in the entire curriculum. If I had to narrow it down it would be 2 things – first, shooting side by side with Barbara and Kim, observing their techniques and getting immediate feedback on what I was doing. The second is the networking and exchange of ideas and information with the other workshop participants. We each brought different experiences, knowledge levels and technical savvy to the table and the openness and willingness to help each other was great.
Would I recommend the Paw Print Divas workshop to others…Absolutely! We can’t grow as individuals and professionals without continuously learning. To quote my husband…”You have to invest in yourself.”
Now here are some of our adorable models.
Look into My Eyes – Shelter Animals Need a Forever Home
Posted on March 4, 2014
I’m not sure if you’re familiar with an initiative that’s making the rounds on social media called #feedthedeed. It was started by a student at the University of Western Ontario where one student nominates a friend to do a good deed. Once they do it’s posted on Facebook and that person nominates another. My oldest son was home from university last week and he was nominated to Feed the Deed. Being an animal lover (yes he’s a chip of the old blog) he decided to gather supplies (old towels and blankets we had at home) then bought some toys, collars and leashes and head to Toronto Animal Services (TAS) near our home to donate all of these things to the shelter. I accompanied him to the shelter that day and while there I started talking to the staff and I let them know that I was a photographer and if they ever needed pictures taken of their animals I would be more than happy to help them out. They already had a photographer but indicated that TAS West Region was in need of pictures for their adoption page and would I mind coming out one weekend to photograph the animals.
It’s always a pleasure to help out shelters and rescue groups by photographing the animals for their adoption pages. I hope that this small gesture on my part will help unite a beautiful animal with their forever family.
With out further ado here are the beautiful four-leggers that are available for adoption from Toronto Animal Services – West Region.
Smitty
Jewels
Callie
Charlie
Jake
Hugo
The last 2 dogs just arrived at the shelter have not been named yet. All the dogs and cats were so sweet and were just craving cuddling with a human. Please share this post and give these animals a chance to a forever home.
T.O.p Dogs – Breeze
Posted on February 27, 2014
T.O.p Dogs! Photographing Loveable Four-Leggers in and around Toronto.
Meet Breeze, the Wheaton Terrier. Breeze can be found spending her days at Theatrebooks in Toronto. She’s a very well read dog 🙂
Making A Difference by Giving Back
Posted on February 25, 2014
I am so very excited and proud to have been accepted as an Aspiring Member of HeARTs Speak. HeARTs Speak is a member based organization whose mission is to save the lives of animals in need by supporting and enabling artists, animal welfare organizations and communities in making a difference.
“HeARTs Speak unites and supports artists who provide their talents to animal welfare organizations and the communities they serve. Our artist members provide creative services to local organizations, directly impacting their respective missions, through Art.”
It’s always been important to me to give back to my community whenever possible and helping animals who don’t have a voice to speak up for themselves is something that I want and need to do. So many animals in shelters and rescue organizations are looking for nothing more than someone to love and take care of them. A picture is worth a thousand words and by giving of my time to photograph shelter and rescue animals, to give them a chance of adoption, this is something that I more than happy to do. It’s for this reason that I’m extremely proud to be part of an organization like HeARTs Speak, whose sole mission is to save the lives of animals.
PhoDOGraphy By Edith Levy 