Berman.

All of my shoots are unique, but recently I had a *very* special shoot with an ailing golden retriever.  Berman is an older gal who is so loved by her family, they couldn't stand the thought of not having photos of her, even if half of her was shaved down from a recent procedure.  Through some creative composition, and spot editing in post production, Berman's coat looks gorgeous and we got some shots that I know they will treasure forever.

Emma flew in to see her old friend... these two share such a special connection.

Berman. 

We had to take advantage of this sun-filled dining room. 

Happy girl. 

“The greater the obstacle, the more glory in overcoming it.” -Molière

I thought I'd put together a little blog post about my shoot with Barney the Beagle, because it was one to remember. I like to think that dogs and myself have something of a special connection, a mutual respect and understanding. Let me sit down with you, give you treats, make beautiful photos of you, and i'll be on my merry way, leaving you to your napping, and guarding of the house.

Barney was different. If Barney sensed the "mutual respect" present, he wanted nothing to do with it. Barney didn't want me, or any other person, in his house or most especially near his momma.  It wasn't his fault, he's a dutiful beagle and as far as he's concerned his job is guarding the house.

After 20 minutes of trying to soothe and become pals, I admit that - in the words of Tim Gunn - I had concerns.  I honestly wasn't sure, for the first time in my career as a photographer, if we were going to be able to do the shoot. Barney was snarling, biting my feet (thanks to Chicago's never ending winter, I had boots on), and generally quite unhappy with the presence of a visitor.

I had a choice to make, do I walk away in the name of not getting bitten, or surge forward.  I devised a plan.  In the name of mutual respect, I would get no closer than 5 feet to Barney or his Mom.  Since I mostly shoot with prime lenses, and would be able to crop in post-pro, there would be no reason i'd need to get any closer than that. It worked, and we got beautiful images of Barney and his little family.  I would say this probably ranks in my top 5 of most difficult shoots, but just like the tough shoots before it, I'm very proud of the way it came out.

So much natural light pouring in. I love winter light! 

My husband saw this shot over my shoulder and said "Is that the dog that didn't like you? He looks like such a little angel!" I knew then I had done my job :) 

Barney chillin'. 

Barney and his precious mom. 

I love shooting against these old brick walls that are all over Chicago. 

Preserving Memories - the high-tech way

Wow, you guys, it's been a minute, huh?

A lot of my news and updates have been taking place over on my Facebook page (you know you want to like it) but I did want to take some time out and write a post about backing up.  I was reviewing my blog and remembering the sheer anguish I went through when my hard drive died with all my photos on it. I was thinking that maybe, just maybe, if I had read a super helpful blog post from a photographer who had been around the block, maybe that would have never happened.

So, I wanted to take a moment and review the process I use to back up my images. While nothing is fool-proof, I think my process is fairly comprehensive and should safeguard against any lost images (knock on wood).

My 3-Step Back-Up Process:

Step 1: Buy good CF cards and don't reformat them until the final images from the shoot are burned onto the clients CD or USB drive.

Available at B&H Photo

I use SanDisk extreme 16gb cards. I won't shoot with cards any larger than 16gb. If i'm shooting a wedding (during which i usually shoot about 100gb of images), and I only use one card, and it craps out... well, i'm screwed, and worse, so is the client. 

These cards sit in a little coaster on my desk until i've completely processed, and burned images, onto another drive (CD or USB).  This means that at all times, the raw images are in at least 2 places (actually, with my process it means they are in 4 places, but we'll get to that).  

Step 2: Use a good external hard drive with RAID-1

I use a Western Digital My Book with Raid 1. This is a very key step.  This means that the hard drive actually has TWO separate hard drives in it. 

Let's say, for example, you buy a 2TB hard drive. This means that inside the drive there are actually two 1TB hard drives. You can chose to use it as a 1TB drive, and have the drives automatically clone one another (This is called RAID-1), or you can use it as a 2TB drive. Don't' be stingy. You want this to use the RAID-1 feature. Yes, it cuts your memory in half, but it also cuts the chance that you'll lose your data in half, unless the whole drive somehow gets ruined (fire? someone spills a drink all over it?).  

In fact, this brings me to another rule I have in my house. No one, except for me, is allowed to put a drink on my desk. Having a party? Unplug your drive and set it, ever so gingerly, in a closet somewhere.  Just get that thing the hell out of dodge. 

Western Digital My Book
Available at Microcenter

 Step 3: Use an online back up service like backblaze.com

The third step is a last defense that I haven't yet had to rely on, thank god. My entire hard drive is backed up in real-time by backblaze.com.  It's unlimited storage, and as soon as I put something new on the drive, the little backblaze elves get busy backing it up. But Lindsay, you say, isn't that expensive? And i've already spent all this money on these great CF cards, and this awesome WD External drive?! Aspiring photographer, I say to you, it's $5 a month, so go sign up immediately.

Hopefully, someone somewhere will see this post, follow this process, and be saved the heartache that I went through when I lost my data.

In the meantime, here is an adorable picture of a baby that I photographed yesterday. They don't make 'em much cuter than this! Oh yeah, and this photo, just like all my other photos, is backed up in triplicate. :)

To any aspiring photographers out there, feel free to email me if you have questions about backing up your data - lindsay@lindsayammons.com.

Favorite Shots of Late

It's been a big couple months in the world of Lindsay Ammons Pet Photography. New Equipment, lots of new clients, lots of fun! Many springtime shoots coming up, and with how beautiful the weather has been in Chicago, there is plenty of foliage fodder to play with! Here are a few photos from recent shoots that I love.

Mr. Trooper - a cutie senior daschund - chillin' on his bed

Trooper is quite comfortable in mom's lap!

Love this natural light.

Giana in beautiful textured brush.

I absolutely love these next two. Some of my favorite ever! 

Look at those eyes! 

Fernando, a rescue puppy, in his new moms arms. Looks like he's getting pretty used to life in a home, huh?

Jovi (& Holly Berry)

I had such a fun shoot yesterday I had to blog about it ASAP. I'll admit I went into it stressed.  I was stuck in traffic for the better part of 2 hours leading up to it, and I was concerned I was going to be late (ask my friends - they'll tell you i'm kind of a crazy person when it comes to being punctual - but a 7:00pm dinner reservation doesn't mean 7:15, amirite?) Anyway, when I got to the house I was greeted with an unexpected amount of people crowded around a TV watching a football game. Usually I have free reign to shoot wherever I want... that wasn't going to be the case here.  In the end it all turned out in our favor because the light outside was gorgeous and they had a utility porch out back that ended up having the perfect rustic, and unexpected charm to shoot for.

Jovi! Such a little fox. 

Brittany and Jovi.

Joe and Jovi. Joe looks like the godfather here, ha. 

 Brittany's roommate Emily and her older Shih Tzu, Holly Berry, (love it!) got in on the fun, too! 

Brittany and Jovi were very natural in front of the camera, easy to shoot.

...and Jovi was quite comfortable perched on mom's shoulder.

Holly Berry warmed up as well...