After thinking of a unifying photo collection theme that could be realistically shot by me through my phone, I finally landed on the idea of capturing the central happiness of different dogs that are pets in loving homes. My goal was to illustrate the impact that a genuinely caring family can have on pets. I am an animal lover; animals are so important to me. I wish I could take in every stray dog and cat. I often see too many cases online of people that don’t care about their pets, abandon them, or just don’t give them the love they need. To me, I don’t view animals as very different from humans. I believe that they deserve care and love just as humans do. I think of my own pets as family. A lot of people even view their pets as their children. I don’t think enough people realize the impact they have on their pets. People have many aspects of their lives, such as school, work, family, etc., but as for pets, we’re all that they have. To us humans, our pets only take up a fraction of our lifetime, but to them, we’re their entire lives (especially since they have much shorter lifespans). For me, my dogs bring light into my life. I believe that caring for and loving pets is an important aspect of life that brings so much joy. For that reason, I decided to capture the joy of five different dogs for my photo collection.
Golden Girl
The first dog I decided to photograph is my yellow Labrador Retriever named Chloe. She is 12 years old. This photo shows her mouth open with a bright smile. Chloe receives many belly rubs and kisses from everyone around. She’s always happy to see people, especially her family, and appreciates getting loved on. I’ve had her since she was a puppy, so she’s never known a life without love. I believe treating her so well has created such a great life for her. Her happiness can be seen radiating in this photo.
Baby Bear
The second dog in this photo collection is also mine. He is a 10 year old chocolate Labrador Retriever named Diesel. I decided to title this photo “Baby Bear” because I think he looks just like a little brown bear. Diesel is also the baby of the family that gets spoiled by my mother. She’s the one who feeds him, takes him for walks, and sleeps with him. He recognizes that she puts the most effort in his care and as a result, he refuses to leave her side. That just represents the impact of having a strong bond with a pet. Although he is a dog, he knows who takes care of him the most. He jumps with joy because of the amount of love and attention he gets from my family, even though he may be spoiled.
Blue-eyed blue
The third dog that I captured is actually one of two sisters that belong to my friend. The first of the puppies is in this photo. She is the smaller sister named Blue, after her bright eyes. Blue is a five-month-old Weimaraner. She’s the most lovable little puppy I’ve ever met. Blue is so excited to interact with people and other dogs. She is always jumping up, trying to take the spotlight from her sister. All she wants is love and care, begging to be pet and kissed. This photo shows her looking up at me behind the camera, patiently waiting to be pet and loved when she’s done posing.
laughing Luna
The fourth dog is the second five-month-old Weimaraner puppy. She is nearly the identical twin of her sister, Blue. However, she’s a bit larger in size and has a small white patch on her chest shaped like a crescent moon. Because of her unique spot, she was named Luna. This photo shows her smiling. She even looks like she is laughing. Both she and her sister receive the most attention and care from their families, especially because they’re still babies. Their happiness from love they get really shows.
Prancing Pup
The final photo is of my best friend’s four-month-old miniature French bulldog. His name is Alfie. He is the only pet in his family, so he gets even more spoiled with belly rubs and kisses. Because he’s so small his owners take him almost everywhere with them, truly including him as a family member. This photo shows how excited Alfie was to run towards the camera, and more importantly, run to me for some affection.
It’s so important for our animals to be loved. We as humans have a huge impact on the lives of our pets. I believe my photo collection displays how genuine love, affection, and care can create pure happiness and joy for them. We are everything to them. I decided to photograph each of the dogs against grass to help unify and tie the photos together. I believe I achieved my goal in capturing the happiness within each dog.
Heather's Thoughts 