Online Pet Photography Class Launching Soon!

Happy Summer! 5201_300x250 I am so excited about this news...I worked REALLY hard to develop an online pet photography class with an incredible company called Craftsy and it's about to launch! This company is fantastic– the classes are interactive and really well organzied.  As an enrolled student you will be able to post comments, questions, and share photos and I'll be responding and participating with you. The classes are available to go back to any time and you can watch them and re-watch them as many times as you'd like. You can even take your own personal/private notes. (SO helpful!) I have participated in Craftsy classes and loved them.

I'm honored that I was asked to teach this class for Craftsy and to collaborate with them and the Santa Fe Photographic workshops to make it a reality. I am so proud of it and excited that it will be launching in early July!

In the meantime, you can enter for you chance to win this entire course for free. I hope you'll check it out! This course is perfect for any pet and photography enthusiast and I'll be sharing more about the class very soon.

http://www.craftsy.com/ext/NorahLevine_Giveaway

-norah

 

 

Happy Holidays from Norah Levine and her family {Pet photographer, Children Photographer, Austin, Texas and Santa Fe, New Mexico}

My husband and I live in Austin, Texas, along with our little family comprised of 2 dogs and 3 cats. These animals are our family and we love them unconditionally. Our pets give wholeheartedly and ask very little in return. Let me introduce Ruckus (upper left), our boxer-mix who sports a snazzy underbite and runs the IT department; Fuego (upper right) our fiery little guy who definitely has a special swag and also acts as my PR director; Mika (middle right), our precious princess lab/pit mix who diligently serves as office assistant and accountant; RC (bottom left), our squishy calico in charge of catering (and eating); and Pepe aka Pino, our Abyssinian and Bengal mix in charge of marketing and social media.

Along with lots of hair, these cats and dogs bring me joy. I hope that whomever you have chosen to include in your family that you appreciate them as much as I appreciate my family and loved ones. I am extremely appreciative for all my clients who have chosen to invite me into their lives to photograph their most beloved.

Happy Holidays and Warm Wishes.

Norah

Pet Photography Booth Austin, Texas

I was recently asked to create a photo booth to photograph dogs here in Austin, TX at an event called Pupapalooza. I don't typically photograph events, but I thought this would be a fantastic opportunity to get out into the pet community here in Austin and to support a cause close to my heart. All of the ticket sales from my photo booth went to the Austin Humane Society and the Animal Trustees of Austin.  Although the day was hot, I felt I had a pretty good turnout in my booth! I created the background with a board from Home Depot and some chalkboard paint. I filled the chalkboard with "dog" words–sometimes the dog's name to add a little special "flair" to the background. I wanted the booth to be fun and to express a candid feeling while maintaining a beautiful quality of light and color. Pet owner's and their beloved pets joined in on the fun and in exchange for their tickets they received their very own custom photo booth strip! This was absolutely a perfect way for me to meet some of Austin's dogs and their people and for me to play around with my photo booth idea. Special thanks to all of the participants in my booth for their support and to my helpers for making the day run smoothly!

Family Photos with Dog Included!

The opportunity to photograph children and families is always a welcomed one. The chance to photograph children and dogs together is fantastic! I was asked by one of my favorite clients to photograph her daughter, Chandra; two grandsons, Alex and Banks; and their dog, a chocolate poodle named Jack. The family was vacationing in Santa Fe and had asked me to photograph them while I was in town to teach my photo workshop. I was thrilled that our schedules coincided.

I've got to tell you about these two incredible children. Meet Alex, one of the most energetic 8-year-olds I've ever encourntered. This kid's got it all—wit, inventiveness, extreme curiosity, the gift of observance and as many random facts as you could shake a stick at. I could have gladly  listened to him all day and he would have still had thoughts to share at sunset.  The small detail in this scenario was that I need to create portraits of this wonderful child, and this usually requires a bit of "quiet time."  After a great deal of entertaining conversation I reminded Alex that we needed to take some photographs. He politely inquired if I needed for him to "go get some tape for his mouth." I passed on the offer, but thanked him kindly as we both giggled.  I have no doubt that we'll be hearing more from Alex in the future in one way or another.

Next I spent some time with Alex's younger brother, Banks. A gorgeous brown haired 6-year-old with a sweet sparkle in his eyes. Banks and I started out with some negotiations involving the removal of his skeleton imprinted flip flops. The sandals were cute but didn't seem to fit with the simplicity of his outfit. This negotiation sparked some serious giggling and play between the two of us. In the end I won the negations with an arm wrestling match. (I'm willing to try anything.) Banks was a great sport and his laugh was completely contagious both to myself and my assistant who was there to share in the whole experience. Banks starts kindergarten this year and I just know he'll take the classroom by storm.

The group portrait included the family's new dog, Jack. Jack was extremely well-behaved and had such a sweet demeanor. I love his dark, expressive brown eyes and his rich chocolate coat. Incorporating pets into family portraits is always a fun way to capture the whole family and allows everyone to relax a bit. Sometimes people find it hard to be in front of the camera but when pets are involved  it can be easy to let the nerves go. (I think this is true of having pets in our lives in general). I'm thankful that I was able to create portraits of this wonderful family and to capture moments of these two boys both individually and with their family dog.

Norah Levine is an Austin children portrait photographer and pet photographer. She photographs in homes and on location. She also travels to Santa Fe, New Mexico frequently for sessions. Please view her website for more details www.norahlevinephotography.com

 

 

Creative Pet Portrait Workshop at the Santa Fe Photographic Workshops

I just returned from teaching "The Creative Pet Portrait"; a fantastic week-long pet portrait workshop hosted by the Santa Fe Photographic Workshops. I was so fortunate to teach along side of some amazing photographers and instructors including Joe McNally, Genevieve Russell, Eddie Soloway, Seth Resnick and Bob Sacha who were teaching a variety of courses including lighting on location, photographing people and visual story telling with audio. Participants joined my class from all over the country including New York, Oregon, Oklahoma, Texas, Indiana, and California! The week was fantastic and intense in such a amazing way because we were going and going every day for long hours. The week was packed with activities that focused on pet portraiture and gaining the skills necessary for photographing both pets and their humans. We were generously hosted by Santa Fe Tails, the Santa Fe Humane Society, Rick Iannucci at his western ranch, and even private homes throughout the Santa Fe area to help my class in their journey. We were also delighted to absorb the advice of animal trainer, Mary Leatherberry, were inspired by fine art photographer Gregg Albracht, and picked up a few Photoshop tips and tricks from Rick Allred. This class had amazing energy. They were up for anything and everything and didn't let frustrations get in the way of their learning experience. They signed up for the class to learn all about pet photography and were ready to have fun doing it. We addressed lighting, trouble shooting on location, style, communication with both animals and people, posing, props, composition, and so much more. I enjoyed each and every one of them and I was thrilled to see them expand their confidence throughout the week as they learned from the class and their fellow students. They seemed completely exhausted by week's end which is always a good sign that I did my job–to provide the participants with as many learning opportunities and experiences as possible.

I absolutely loved teaching this class and look forward to an entirely different experience next year!

Old English Sheepdog Portraits

Meet my new friends–Addy, a loving, sensitive and sweet Old English Sheepdog, and Ellen, Addy's kind-hearted owner and friend. Together they make a fantastic duo. They're close, close companions to one another and it was quite obvious from the moment I met them on the day of their portrait session that these two are a special pair.  I enjoyed our time together very much and just fell in love with Addy's long, beautiful hair that covered her dark brown eyes and her panting pink tongue. It was heart warming to photograph Addy and Ellen together because their strong connection to one another really showed through in the imagery. We worked both indoors and outdoors with natural light and studio lighting and I am excited to have made two new friends. I custom designed an amazing album filled with all of Ellen's favorite images from the session and she was thrilled with it. She also ordered a large fine art canvas of her and Addy together for her wall. I'm so excited that she'll have these images with her dog to treasure for many years to come.

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Norah Levine is an Austin children portrait photographer and pet photographer. She photographs in homes and on location. She also travels to Santa Fe, New Mexico frequently for sessions. Please view her website for more details www.norahlevinephotography.com