Category Archives: French Bulldogs

P.L.A.Y :: Commercial Shoot

As you already know if you’ve been following this blog for some time, we specialize in not only pet photography for families, but also for businesses. Commercial pet photography work is a big part of life here at dane + dane studios, and on some of our favorite occasions, it’s blended with design/branding work as well as consulting.  This is how our relationship developed with P.L.A.Y.

P.L.A.Y (Pet Lifestyle and You) is a new San Francisco-based company that is re-defining the pet bed experience.  They are in the market of dog beds that are stylish, planet-friendly, comfortable for your dog AND believe it or not, affordable. Earlier this year I met P.L.A.Y founder William when he hired me to photograph his pug puppy at his home in San Francisco (remember Momo?).  Shortly thereafter he commissioned me to consult with him in his branding/launch process – this lead to him hiring me to design the P.L.A.Y. logo (which I personally, love) – meanwhile he was hustling to get all the many pieces into place.

Summer came around and with it the prototypes of the first-ever P.L.A.Y. beds.

Last week Will, his lovely girlfriend Deb (who has long wanted to visit Seattle) and of course, Momo the pug, came up to Seattle for an intensive 3-day photo shoot which spanned several zip codes, included 10 dogs, dozens of products and ultimately, hundreds of great lifestyle shots of P.L.A.Y. beds in-use.

I can’t share too much with you as the P.L.A.Y. story is still unfolding and their big launch is expected this Fall… but here are some of our favorite shots:


The most difficult part of a shoot like this is typically rounding-up the models and scouting locations. Here’s a huge thank-you to our co-operative dog models and of course their humans, who shared with us their time, patience and in several cases, their lovely homes. Thank you Dave, Mieshka and Rosie, Ann, Henry and Max, Hillary, Alice, Mark and Waldo, Jos, Jen, Ollie and Cocoa and last but definitely not least, Ruth, Matthew and the majestic Henri.

{Oh and I can’t forget Momo and Charlie who were dragged along and had a great time dirtying the product and escaping when no one was watching – I think a love story has officially begun!}

You’ll definitely be hearing and seeing more from me about P.L.A.Y. and its FANTASTIC new line of products.

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Posted in Chocolate Lab, French Bulldogs, Golden Retrievers, Great Dane, Pug, commercial pet photography, san francisco Tags: , ,

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The OC takes the Cover: CityDog, SUMMER 2010

All I can say, is there’s not better way to immortalize the acquisition of a new puppy family member than to see them on the cover of a magazine!

Somewhat impulsively Olivia, Charleston, Colin and I ended up in Mt.Vernon on a Sunday afternoon – between tulips – in the dirt – working for the perfect shot.

Here’s some shots that were cover contenders… {Dog bless string cheese – without which, these shots would not be possible.  Oh, and also Charlie’s FANTASTIC “Old School” collar by Mascot, which I adore.}

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Posted in CityDog Magazine, French Bulldogs, Great Dane, Uncategorized, dog model, olivia Tags: , ,

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The OC take it up a notch

Ok so as a photographer, contrary to popular belief, I don’t carry around my camera at all times. I don’t photograph my dogs daily and I don’t think it’s interesting or engaging to post constant blogs about my own pets.

However, watching the evolution of the relationship between my 6 yr. old Great Dane and our brand new French Bulldog puppy has been fascinating. He (Charlie the baby) is gregarious and fearless and persistent – while also quite laid back and patient. She (Olivia the Dane) is needy, barky, somewhat aloof and really would be perfectly content to be up on the couch or bed, alone with mom for her entire life. Charleston took and immediate liking to Olivia – her fondness for him is more of an acquired taste.

I have discovered that when I put Charlie up on things (bed, couch, chair) he stays there. He doesn’t even attempt to jump off. So I’ve used this to my advantage when trying to complete household activities that are easier accomplished without a puppy underfoot. One of these such days I was putting away laundry and plopped the pup on the bed (Olivia followed – she can’t stand the idea of him getting a privilege she has not been granted.)

During the half an hour or so that followed I absolutely HAD to get my camera. The light was soft and lovely, the colors in the room suited their spots and pinky skin and they were both in a fine mood to be documented. Here are some of my favorites… I love the “barky” ones because it really seems as if they are having a lengthy conversation :)

Then Olivia got bored and disappeared so I took the opportunity to make my bed and plopped Charlie back up there for a nap…

And of course, because a self-indulgent blog post about your own dogs is ALWAYS better with video… we have for you a fun little moment in our typical evening at home: Olivia and Charleston havin’ it out. They love each other, we promise :)

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Posted in French Bulldogs, Great Dane, olivia Tags: , , ,

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Charlie makes a move

A close and fabulous friend of mine (thank you Jamie) recently reminded me that I must – not should, not maybe if I have time, but MUST photograph my darling new trouble-puppy.

So, upon waltzing into my living room to see that not only had Charleston somehow managed to get himself up onto Olivia’s couch (this is the sacred Great Dane drooling and napping spot) but she let him stay there – I had to act.

My camera was conveniently resting on the counter (right where I left it after my shoot on Monday) so, armed with my trusty 50 mm 1.4 lens, I rolled around on my embarrassingly messy carpet (think new puppy + shedding great dane…. Yeah) to capture some shots of my two unlikely compadres.

Don’t you just want to eat them up??

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Posted in French Bulldogs, Great Dane, family photography, olivia Tags: ,

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C is for Charleston, Charleston is for C

Well the day finally came – the day to bring our new little family member home.

I cannot express with words how in love I am with our little boy – I feel all over again the joy I felt when I first laid eyes on Olivia – pure and utter satisfaction that something so perfect exists and is a part of my life. It’s a thrill.

There was a long debate regarding which puppy we would actually end up with – our first choice was “Cream Pie Guy” – but we didn’t know if he would be available or if the breeder would keep and show  him or if he would be the #1 best fit with Olivia… several weeks, a home visit, lots of emails, phone calls and trips to see the litter later we got the news that we would in fact, be bringing home our original man: Cream Pie Guy.

His name now is Charleston. We have already adopted a slew of nicknames for him… “Chuck, Charlie, Charles” and a close-personal favorite… “Carlos” (this is our nod to the Hangover – “Yeah he looked like Carlos to me too dude.”) I can see more names like “Charles in Charge” and “Charleston Chew” in his future.

He’s perfect. He is so very perfect. All the puppy madness that will ensue in the coming weeks can be no match for how much we already love this pudgy little piglet. Well, almost all of us…. he so adores Olivia that he’s already following her everywhere, and though she acts aloof (and even a bit annoyed) I know it won’t take long for her to adopt him as her very own.

Here are some photos of Charlie’s first day with us… and a video of what happened when Olivia barked at him for the first time in his new home. I know these are all a little self-indulgent (especially the video – I think it’s like 9 minutes long and mostly of them barking – hah!) but I hope you enjoy them anyway…

xoxox

Goodnight from a very happy home.

>> Here is Olivia on the way to the park, pre-puppy pick up. She is starting to get white hairs in her black spots – mama dog.

>> Here we are picking up Cream Pie Guy (AKA Charleston) We hope he is not too sad about leaving his siblings, his mom Squirrel and his uncle Hippo

>> First Stop: Microsoft. Here is Charlie exploring the parking lot

>> We chose the “compact” model

>> Here we are at home: Olivia is wondering how long she’ll have to put up with this new little puppy

>> Firsts: stairs (he’s now a stair master!) and our bully’s first bully (he only gets a few licks at a time but he LOVES it)

See what I mean about the perfection thing?  Here’s the video…

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Posted in French Bulldogs, Uncategorized Tags:

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