I call them “my girls” because I am one of those women who loves her dogs like her kids because they are. My kids, my best friends, and always by my side. Snuggling on the sofa, going for a hike, or cooking in the kitchen they are there with me.

I choose to do on location dog photography because in my experience outside is where a dog shines. It’s more conformable than an enclosed space. Their interest and excitement in their surrounding gets reflected in the image. However, our older family members aren’t going to take an adventure with us so I like to make sure some of our locations have easy access and short walks to beautiful backgrounds. We have lived in and experienced some beautiful areas in this amazing county we live in. The environment, and heck even the days weather, has a profound impact on the image you will get.

As a dog mom of three wildly different breeds and personalities I understand that what it takes to get a photo of one dog is not going to be the same as another. Every dog is at a different place in their manners and training journey, patience, play, and adaptability is essential in getting the shot.

Welcome, I’m Katherine Austin, dog mom of three beautiful mutts.

Each of my pups came to me in a unique and special way. While I love all dogs, rescues have a special place in my heart. But that also comes with some missing moments. I don’t have a single image of my dogs in their tiny puppy stage because they weren’t mine at that time. Don’t miss out at capturing this fleeting time in their lives.

I have always loved photography but my career and focus has been in Interior Design. Recently as I was getting my beautiful girls printed in large artwork, I wished I had a high quality photo of our queen bee Thira (see more below) during her younger years of lively spunk. She has always had a quiet wisdom to her, and now at this stage of life that wisdom and thoughtfulness is shown.

Meet our dog pack!!

Thira is our “Queen Bee”. She is the first dog my husband and I adopted together 12 years ago after we purchased our first home. I was so excited to have a fenced yard, we went out to the Oregon Humane Society that first week. When she came into the meet and greet room to meet us, she walked straight up to my husband and put her head in his lap and looked up at him with her big brown eyes, and we were in love. She came to the humane society as a stray with little information about her other than the guess that she was about two year old and may have had a litter of puppies already. She is quiet, calm, and really just a big couch potato. She hates being a model but will cooperate for a treat or two.

Maddie is the pack guardian. When Thira came into the family she picked Tony as her human but Maddie picked me. She is a little more vocal protecting the house and her people. She is a fierce hunter, turkeys don’t stand a chance but she is still trying to get that first squirrel. Maddie came to us from the Thompson River Animal Shelter in Montana at nine months old. She was surrendered by her owners who had dogs roaming their property. She was approved by Thira at their meet and greet and they have looked after each other ever since. Maddie is couch potato number two and not far from my side. As my most cooperative model she get’s the most camera time and takes her job seriously.

Penny is the baby of the family and boy does she know it! She is happy and excited to go along with whatever the day brings and whoever is going to be there. Boundless energy made her a great buddy and playmate for Maddie as Thira got older and she gave Thira a little extra spring in her step. At a year old it is still a challenge to get her focus but we have a few tricks we use. Like many dogs of her spunk, photographing Penny takes an extra human to hold the lead and keep her in place. She needs breaks to have some fun ball time and the attention span is short.