I met Tara when I was adopting our son, Caleb. She was working at the adoption agency at the time, and I always thought she was so friendly and bright and, even more important, helpful…so when she called our studio to book a session with her and her husband, Greg, I immediately started looking forward to the shoot. Tara and Greg have been together since high school, and because he works with pretty significant security detail, he is often gone for long stretches of time. When Tara booked the session, Greg was in Iraq. We did the shoot only days after he returned, and he was back in the middle east by the time she picked up her framed pieces. We had a really fun shoot because they brought out the “children”, two great danes with distinct personalities, adorable expressions and HUGE bodies. We photographed the session at their home, an historic property that they are gradually renovating with gorgeous success. We started our session on their indoor staircase, using the great light pouring in behind them…
It’s difficult for me to imagine these two having to say goodbye so often, they seem to fit so well together.
We moved up to their top floor, nearly wide open as they plan the spaces and decor…
Greg loved this close-up of Tara …
Out front with the babies!
Giving mommy all the love…
I had just seen an episode of Oprah a week before this shoot where they showed the world’s largest dog jumping up on her shoulders to showcase its massiveness in comparison to her. I suggested we try this – this was old hat to them, and they made it look so easy. I put the camera down to try myself and surprised us all (myself the most) when I leaped back in fear as I saw this huge animal chest coming towards me!!! I hadn’t even thought it might be a little scary, but these are BIG DOGS. Just look at Tara’s body in comparison!
Could just photograph these funny, expressive, sweet faces all day 🙂
Back inside for an outfit change – dress up time, using their fantastic window light.
Not much better than a wide open room with hardwood floors…
And, finally, the whole family in full snuggle mode. I like the ying and the yang thing going on with the left-hand image…
Stay safe, Greg, and get back to your gorgeous wife & pups soon!
