Ellie & Joel. Toledo Maternity Photos with Dogs. Northwest Ohio Photographer.

Joel contacted me to schedule maternity photos as he and his wife, Ellie were expecting. He told me that they had two older basset hounds that they would like to include in the photos. As a pet photographer, I was completely on board with their dogs being a part of their maternity photos. Genny and Watson brought all the cuteness and attitude for their family portraits.

I asked Joel how he found me and he mentioned he got a recommendation on Reddit. I wracked my brain and could not figure out how he might have found me there. Several weeks after their photos a local documentary photographer mentioned that he had shared my name with Joel on the forum. I am always so flattered and encouraged to hear that my peers feel confident to refer me.

Keep scrolling to learn more about this family of (now) five and leave some congratulations in the comments for the birth of a precious baby girl!

Get to know Joel and Ellie:

What did you (Ellie) enjoy most and least about being pregnant? Ellie really enjoyed feeling her move around and knowing that she was there.
What were you most excited about in regards to being parents? We were most excited about all the potential possibilities for her in the future.
Did you have a hard time choosing a name? We had a fairly easy time narrowing names down to 10 or so and then from 10 down to four. At that point, we just wanted to wait and see her first. We both had our favorites but in the end, when she arrived, Emilia stuck out immediately.
Why did you include your dogs in your photos? Our dogs are our lives. They’ve been the central part of our lives for over a decade and we will always love them. In fact, having nice senior photos of the dogs was the original reason I wanted to do maternity photos.

How did you help to prepare the pups for the new baby? We had so many plans to help prepare the dogs, including bringing blankets home that had her smell, etc. In the end, because of a medical issue, none of our plans came to fruition. Luckily, our dogs are loving and are taking everything in stride.

Why are professional photos important to you? Although it’s easy to get decent photos with modern technology, even for amateurs, we wanted this moment to be captured by a professional. True editing experience, experience with framing shots, and locations, etc. Those are things that we can’t really do on our own.
What did you love most about your experience with Rebecca? Rebecca was super easy to work with and had good ideas. Plus, she did not require or request any “awkward shots.” We still kind of laugh about some of the things our wedding photography wanted us to do.