Puppy Cuteness - "Newborn" Photo Session with a Puppy in Lincoln Park!

This summer I’ve been photographing more passion projects for myself. (More to come later on them as one is big and I’m not ready to share, or in what format yet!) After several tough years in a row personally, I’ve been feeling burned out for a while, and the business sucks the soul out of me most days. This summer I decided to photograph more for myself than anything, to try to bring some life back to my soul. A friend was getting a puppy after losing her sweet old man this past winter and I asked if I could take some “newborn” photos of her pup just for fun!

If you think human newborn photo sessions may be challenging, and they definitely can be, a puppy is 100 times more difficult! Human newborns sleep SO much when they’re brand new, and while puppies do also, it takes much less effort and time to get a human baby back to sleep than a puppy. It’s almost as though puppies come installed with an IV of coffee dripping into their veins! They play, play, play and then PLOP quickly. I was able to get one little setup/outfit with Mr B here and then he was awake for the rest of the session, playing with his toy that looks like him. Totally fine, as this was a project just for fun. It was a learning experience for sure and while the photos of him in his little newborn get-up were cute as heck, I think I prefer the other ones that show off his natural beauty. He’s quite the stunner; going to be a heart-breaker for sure.

Shortly after our photos, I got to spend some time watching him while my friend was out of town and phew, let me tell you that my puppy days are long behind me! I haven’t had extensive time with a puppy since Emmie Lou was a newbie, TWENTY years ago and I was much younger and more resilient! I also had a TON of help! It was definitely re-affirming for me to know that if/when it’s time for another dog in my life, it will not be a puppy!

It makes me wish I had real photos of Em as a pup. I got Em in 2006, well before cell phones had decent cameras and I only have a few from those early days that were saved on a phone. And they’re literally the size of a postage stamp! The printed photos (from Walgreens, barf, before I knew what I was doing) are starting to fade. A good lesson in the value of professional photos, and professional prints.