Great Things in 2018: Haute Dog’s Year in Review

As in 2016 and 2017, I sat down to reflect on the outrageously wonderful year that was 2018. Join us as we take a moment to savor all the hard work and successes of the past year and express our gratitude to our amazing fans and followers.

In January we traveled to Nashville for Imaging USA – an annual conference hosted by the Professional Photographers of America. We learned from some of the best and brightest people in the industry, met up with colleagues from around the States, and poured over aisles of stunning artwork. We selected a few fabulously unique items to add to our artwork offerings and were thrilled to find our clients loved them as much as we did.

In February we brought a wild idea to life with the purchase of Fursailles and got to work developing our Dallas pet photography studio and 7 acres of securely fenced portrait grounds.

March took me to San Diego to photograph a Runway Session for Reggie the Shih-Poo as well as my best friend’s engagement! Her fiance tricked her into taking the dogs for a walk through Balboa Park, where a group of friends and family were waiting. Check out her proposal and a few other question-popping pups here!

In April I popped up to Chicago for a workshop with the super talented Netherlands-based Andreas Romijn, then spent a week at the Texas School of Professional Photography studying advanced Photoshop techniques under Richard Sturdevant. Education is an important part of every year and allows us to continually bring avant-garde lighting, editing, and photography techniques to our work.

In May we launched our Vanity Fur sessions – complete with hair and makeup and a posh afternoon of fun with your dog.

In June we officially opened the doors and hosted our first session at Fursailles with Mini Schnauzer Emmy Lou and a cascade of dogs to follow! We are proud to offer this truly unique Dallas pet photography location and have received amazing feedback about the comfort, security, and joy our clients have felt watching their dogs do zoomies around the fenced fields, flowers, and props shielded from other dogs or distractions.

July brought to our studio a dog named Gypsy, who began her new life thanks to the rescue efforts of Bull luv able Paws and Chi Wawas Rescue and an incredible woman named Dani, who asked for the ugliest, hardest, most unadoptable dog they had. A victim of dog fighting, Gypsy continually found herself in the pound – cut up, pregnant or nursing, her ears cut off with scissors, missing a substantial part of her jaw and nose. Through it all, she remained a big love bug, harboring no ill will toward the humanity that had failed her so greatly. Gypsy underwent 5 reconstructive surgeries to repair her face and was supposed to start living life to its fullest when the gut wrenching diagnosis of Stage 4 liver cancer, which had metastasized to her spleen and pancreas, was delivered in July. Still, her smile was unwavering. With incredible strength, Gypsy fought on for two months until yesterday when her mom – who had already endured the loss of two other dogs to cancer in the past year – released her to run uninhibited over the Rainbow Bridge. Through her last breath, Gypsy smiled. Thank you, Dani – for sharing Gypsy with us, for letting me sit next to you in tears today, and for giving Gypsy the best of her life. May the warmth of her smile shine down on you today and always; you are one of the strongest people I know.

In August, we celebrated our Irish Wolfhound’s first birthday and took you behind the scenes into our crazy giant dog filled life. {Follow Fletcher’s off-the-charts growth and the rest of our crazy dog life on Instagram @hautedogpetphotography}

September we looked back at the growth of The Pope Pack. More impressively, in 2018 we managed NOT to add any new dogs to our family haha!

We grabbed our passports and jetted off to London in October – out of more than 10,000 entries from 74 countries around the world, we had won third place in the Dog Photographer of the Year competition for our photo of an adorable roly poly puppy!!! While we were there we also photographed an EMBARK Session for Nelson the Briard! Where would you take your dog on an incredible international dog photography adventure?!

In November we wrapped up our second year volunteering with Doodle Rock Rescue, helping provide powerful imagery to market their adoptable dogs and conducting numerous fundraising campaigns.

2019 is already off to a great start, and we’ve got some BIG news to reveal soon! Thanks for joining us on the international dog photography adventure of 2018.