Portraits of Lucas & Lola to keep forever

Lucas and his awesome dog Lola get on so well they even fit together perfectly. Here’s the behind-the-scenes story of why this was such an important (and fun) dog photography shoot.

June 2018 update: I’m delighted to announce that the portrait of Lucas cuddling Lola (above) has been awarded a ‘Highly Commended’ Rosette by the Chairman of the Master Photographers Association. Ray Lowe FMPA commented, “I love it! … I love it because of the connection between them… Excellent lighting.”

Katie got in contact with me because she was interested in my Limited Edition Dog Portrait Days but was worried her dog, Lola, might not be happy about other dogs being close by. Nevertheless, Lola had been diagnosed with cancer and Katie was keen to get her portraits done – was there any way we could make it work? I very much wanted to help, so we arranged a special date when Lola could have the studio all to herself.

Katie, her son Lucas (6) and Lola (14) turned up at the studio on one very wet Bank Holiday morning (a typical British Bank Holiday!). We dried off, warmed up with a hot drink and then got started with Lucas and Lola together on the white background:

I love Lucas’ cheeky grin and the shape his arms make as he wraps them around Lola.

Lucas had brought along a favourite stuffed toy, a cuddly bee who (helpfully) goes by the name of ‘Bee’. So of course we did a shot of all three of them cuddling together:

Lola has quite the collection of colourful dog collars, accessorising here with a vibrant polka-dot pink-on-brown collar with a very classy monogram ‘L’.

Next it was over to Lola to steal the show:

I love how alert and engaged her ears are here, and how the light plays along her fur: you can imagine how soft she feels. Her off-camera gaze also gives us a chance to admire the shape and form of her muzzle in profile.

I always aim to get a range of poses, including sitting, lying down and standing. There’s something inherently noble-looking about a standing dog, captured from a low camera angle, don’t you think? Lola certainly looks particularly impressive here.

Lola cuddled up to Bee and chilled out for a while, before we switched over to the black background:

I love the relaxed angle of Lola’s paws here, while her ears are alert; she was interested (and perhaps slightly bemused) by our attempts to attract her attention. The studio lights behind Lola have rim-lit the beautiful triangular shape of her ears, making sure they stand out from the black background behind her.

Lucas jumped back in front of the camera for a few more frames on the black background. I’m so glad he did, as we then captured my absolute favourite portrait from Lola’s dog photoshoot:

Lucas’ head fits perfectly against Lola’s neck, and his hand hugs her in close. Lola is leaning towards him, linked with her leg over his and her muzzle angled in his direction. This is one of those portraits where everything just came together beautifully.

Of course, I couldn’t resist capturing a couple of Lucas on his own, including this cheeky grin:

We then did a couple with Katie, Lucas and Lola together. A perfect way to end the shoot, before heading back out to battle the elements again!

Afterwards, Katie said:

“What an amazing experience. Sarah very generously set up a private pet portrait session for my 14-year-old dog Lola, who is very dog selective. Lola has metastatic cancer and may not be in our lives forever (though she is currently undergoing chemo and doing well at the moment), but the wonderful pictures Sarah took will be with us forever. I am so pleased with them and cannot thank Sarah enough.”

If you’re interested in dog photography for your four-legged best friend, please get in contact by emailing [email protected] or submitting the form below:

Sarah Plater is a dog portrait photographer based in Bicester, Oxfordshire.

(c) Sarah Plater Photography