International pet photographer of the year
Winner of Silver & Bronze awards
Tell us about yourself – Where are you originally from?
My name is Emma, I am 35yo and I currently live in Maryborough, Queensland. Being a Navy wife, I have moved a lot, but I would say I am from Cairns as that’s where I have spent the majority of my adult life. I am a mum of a 14-month-old, with another on the way, a German Shepherd, a pomeranian and a chihuahua.
How long have you been a dog or animal photographer?
I have been a professional pet photographer for 3 years, but I have always loved photography.
What made you want to photograph dogs in particular?
The idea to turn my photography passion into a business was after losing my first ever heart dogs within a couple of months of each other. I grieved the loss of them for so long and all I wanted was to look at their photos, but I immediately realised, I had never actually taken any nice photos of them. I wanted to print their photos and put them into nice frames, but the best I could find were low quality, poorly thought out photos I had saved on my phone, and they just didn’t do the job.
Upon getting my new heart dog Ducky, I swore I would take million photos of her so I never had that problem again. And my passion for photographing her, turned into enrolling into a pet photography school (yes, these do exist) and learnt the art of pet photography to take the best images of Ducky I can, and to also offer that same service to all my fellow animal lovers.
What is your favourite dog photo that you have taken so far and why?
Oh, this is easy. Every single photo of Ducky is my favourite for obvious reasons… I think she is the most adorable dog on this planet. But if I had to choose my absolute favourite, it would probably be the one of her standing on a mushroom covered log in the forest, staring off into the distance at anything but me, because contrary to what people may expect being a photographer’s dog… she doesn’t particularly love having her photo taken and she pretends to look at other things, other than the camera. So I feel this photo captures her funny personality perfectly. It also won me a silver award in an International Pet Photography competition, so I was pretty proud of that.
What’s the best thing about working as a professional dog photographer?
I honestly feel like I have the best job in the world. I love all animals, especially dogs and horses, so being the one to capture special memories for people who I know adore their animals as much as I adore my own, for me is the best feeling ever. I know that when the time comes where their pets are no longer around, that my clients will always be able to cherish those special moments forever, and knowing I was the photographer chosen to do that for them, makes me feel so incredibly lucky and honoured.
Where can people find you and book a session?
I have a facebook, instagram and website where all my work is displayed. Anyone is welcome to send me a message on any of those platforms, or you can visit http://www.littleduckpetphotography.com to look through my available packages and make a booking.