Let’s Hit the Beach for Portraits You Will Love 💖

We all know how much dogs love the beach, don’t we? I mean, the feel of sand beneath their paws, the sea breeze in their fur (the occasional smelly thing to roll in…). Add in the opportunity to frolic around on an endless stretch of sand and surf, it’s a canine paradise. So I wanted to share why the beach is also a perfect location for your dog’s portrait session.

Rescue, mixed breed dog running at the beach in Gloucester, Massachusetts

Natural Beauty

The beach is one of the most beautiful locations for photography (and just in general, IMHO). The beach colors – the blue skies and white clouds, the light tan sand, and the shades of green and blue water, make for a stunning color palette. And the openness of sand and sea and sky is such a clean, uncluttered backdrop for your pet’s portraits, Perfect to decorate any home.

My favorite beach for sessions is Wingaersheek Beach in Gloucester. There is so that makes this beach perfect for your session. It has it all – from dune grassses (we only pose on the walking paths through them, never disturbing the actual dunes or wildlife that make them home), to HUGE boulders for climbing and posing. Plus lots of tidal pools, surf for the dogs to play in and plenty of room to run!

What could be better!

cattle dog mix on the beach on the North Shore of Massachusetts

Gorgeous Light🌞

I absolutely love the quality of the light at the beach early in the morning and early evening. That warm golden light makes every dog into a superstar. And the color in the sky as the light rises or sets is absolutely stunning.

FUN!🎉

In addition to posed images, I love to create action shots and fun candid images of your dog being a DOG. From flying down the beach chasing a ball to splashing in the waves or rolling happily in the sand, it’s like freeze-framing moments of pure happiness!

Most of my beach session clients add an album to their wall art choices as there are always too many awesome, fun images to narrow them down to just a few.

Golden Retriever crashing through the surf on the beach at Salisbury, MA

Best Bonding Moments 🐾❤️

Here’s the icing on the dog treat! The beach isn’t just a beautiful backdrop; it’s also the perfect place to capture memories of you and your dog together. Whether it’s your pooch giving you a sandy kiss or walking along the shore together – capturing these moments of connection results in truly priceless portraits. Are you a bit camera shy and don’t way to be the main focus in the images – fear not there are lots of ways to include you while still having your pet be the star of the show

Mixed breed dog photographed with his family on the beach in Plum Island, Massachusetts

So what are you waiting for? Just imagine images of your beloved dog striking a pose among the beach grasses or frolicing in the waves. Now imagine seeing those images every day when you enter your home. Remembering those moments playing on the beach. Let’s hit the beach and create images you’ll treasure. Let’s make some magic!

Grab my Session Guide to see just how to book your very own beach session!

a large piece of metal wall art featuring a  dog on the beach.

Donna Kelliher Photography

Website: https://www.DonnaKelliher.com

Donna Kelliher is a fine art pet photographer and Certified Professional Dog Trainer (CPDT-KA, certified through the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers) based just outside Boston, serving Greater Boston, the North Shore, and beyond. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Photography from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, and has spent more than twenty years behind the camera, her career beginning in dog sports photography before she shifted her focus to fine art portrait work. Her photography has appeared on the covers of Clean Run, Dog World, and Dog Sport magazines many times over, along with interior features in each, and her images appear in three books: The Everything Dog Training and Tricks Book, 2nd Edition, The Science Behind a Happy Dog, and Do More With Your Dog. Her work is also currently on display in a gallery exhibition celebrating dogs in art. What sets Donna apart is a rare combination: a trained fine art photographer who is also a hands on dog trainer with real experience working with every temperament, from timid and fearful dogs to high energy and reactive ones. That expertise was hard won. Donna spent years afraid of dogs herself after being bitten as a child, and worked through that fear so completely that she now trains and rehabilitates dogs with serious behavioral challenges, and competes in agility with her own dogs, Believe and Asher.

2 comments

Carol

Freeze-frame happiness! I love that. The beach is also my happy place so it’s always THE BEST to share beach time with my dogs!

    Donna Kelliher Photography

    My dogs and I LOVE the beach too. Room to run, swim and sometimes gross dead fish to roll in, what could be better!!!