Olivia & McKenna’s 70s Inspired Pet Portrait Session

Olivia & McKenna’s 70s Inspired Pet Portrait Session

Olivia & McKenna, who are best friends and roommates, contacted me about doing a 70s themed studio pet portrait session. They sent me some inspiration photos that were super cheesy and awkward. I normally avoid creating images that meet that description, but I loved the idea of doing a parody shoot.

While they purchased matching sweaters for themselves and their dogs I went on the hunt for a suitable background. I thought that a muslin background would work best since those backgrounds were used regularly in the 70s and 80s. But since I am not a fan of muslin backgrounds, I had to borrow one from a friend! This friend has an enviable collection of gear and studio supplies, so I knew that he would have something. I picked out a few options, but we ultimately decided on the warm brown background to coordinate with the mustard yellow sweaters. So bad, and yet so good! 😆

I like to ask clients about their pets before a session to get a sense of their personalities. Well, these two are quite the pair. Zara, the all-white dog with pointy ears, is an Australian cattle dog/husky mix. Pork, the white and brown spotted dog, is a Jack Russel terrier/pit bull mix. Here are a couple of stories that really illustrate their personalities:

Olivia & McKenna use to take Zara to the beach at night for bonfires before moving to Raleigh. One night, she disappeared for a while and after searching for a time, Olivia & McKenna found her. The whole night afterward she was throwing up these nasty little medallion-looking things that were connected in a chain. A month or so later, they found out that Zara had eaten an entire whelk egg case. (I had to look up “whelk egg case” by the way! Whelks are large marine snails that live inside of spiral shells. They lay their eggs in a long, spiral-shaped casing that will occasionally wash ashore.) Pretty nasty, but so Zara. That girl will eat anything.

The first time Olivia met Pork (aka her dog nephew), she took him on a walk in Brooklyn, NY. He stopped in the middle of a crosswalk to poop and a car had to wait for him to finish pooping. It was extremely embarrassing and it is the most “Pork” thing he’s ever done, in her opinion. And I thought Mr. Pickles was a handful!

These two certainly are characters. Zara acts like a sweet little angel when people are around, but the SECOND she’s alone, she always finds some mischief to get into. Pork is a good boy who needs a TON of affection; he just cannot get enough. He always has his paws on somebody begging for attention. These pups are lucky to have Olivia & McKenna in their lives and vice versa!