Welcome to the world of Sunlight Inspirations, where we honor your pet’s individual spirit through fine art photography. A custom pet portrait session is an amazing experience for pets and their humans. Whether this is your fur baby’s debut, an end of life “Sunlight Within” session, or anything between, your photos will be a treasured keepsake. 

Together we will capture memories for years to come—and we’ll have fun doing it! 

A Sunlight Inspirations experience with Christine is fully customizable. You can choose your session on location throughout the gorgeous Central Oregon area. Have another location in mind? Christine is happy to travel out of state or out of country for an additional fee. Christine also has a fully equipped professional studio complete with various backdrops, props, furniture and both studio or natural lighting , along with a fully enclosed and carefully landscaped area for other shooting options.

Christine creates custom fine art products which are museum and archival quality. Having the finest industry quality ensures a stunning result that will stand the test of time. 

Meet Christine

Photography and animals have always been a part of my life in one way or another ... from watching images “magically “ appear onto paper in the trays of developer in my dad’s home darkroom, to assisting my marine conservationist stepdad on location around the world photographing marine wildlife. I’ve had pets consistently in my life since the age of 7 months - dogs, bunnies, guinea pigs, ponies, turtles, lizards, hamsters, cats, horses ... animals have ALWAYS been there. When I was about 5 years old, I sat in the woods while camping and attempted to share a yogurt with a friendly raccoon! Later on I received a degree in Fine Arts and a Masters in Art Therapy. I used photography as a reference, for painting, serigraphs and collage, as well as an art form in its own right. Then in 2011, I came to embrace photography full-time, combining that passion with travel, wildlife and conservation. And of course pets were a natural evolution to incorporate as well, as they are such an integral part of my life. I currently live with 5 Labrador retrievers and two rescue bunnies. I also have a background in animal behavior and training. All of these experiences combine to give me a unique ability to read and work with your pet’s energy and antics, channeling that into creating some everlasting memories and images for you of you beloved pet.

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The Process

BOOK YOUR SESSION:

Ready to book your session? Just give me a call or better yet, send me an email to let me know you’re committed. I’ll send you a link to pay the non-refundable deposit by PayPal or Square, or by check.  Once that is paid I’ll send you the informational questionnaire and we’ll confirm a date that works for both of us.

CONSULT QUESTIONNAIRE:

Once you’ve booked a session the fun really begins! I’ll send you a questionnaire that helps me to get to know your pet.  It will get you thinking about things like what your pet’s favorite treats are, whether or not they have any favorite toys or words or sounds that get them excited (“want to go for a walk?,” the sound of your keys jingling, the crinkle of a plastic bag, their BALL, etc.). It’s also helpful to know what they don’t get excited about. The questionnaire will help you think about what you’d like from the session. There are no right or wrong answers—just be as descriptive and candid in this part as possible. 

CHOOSE A LOCATION & TIME:

We’ll work together to find the perfect time and place for your photographs. In your pre-session consult we’ll discuss the type of shoot you’re looking for. Whether that is a quiet intimate shoot or a full-on pet party, I’ll help you select the right location and time of day to capture what you’re looking for. 

CONSIDER HOW THE WORK WILL BE SHOWCASED:

How will you want to showcase your beautiful images? Are you imagining one giant stunning focal piece hanging above the fireplace?  Or perhaps an intimate coffee-table book filled with lots of different images? These kinds of decisions will influence the way we approach the shoot. Please check my website to get some ideas! Expect to invest a minimum of $500 on your keepsake albums and fine art photography wall images. All of my wall art packages, digital packages and A la carte menu items may be seen using link. You will also be provided with a PDF of the most current options for your consideration. Samples are available for physical viewing in the studio by appointment or online by request. 

THE REVEAL: VIEWING & ORDERING:

About three weeks after your session, your gallery of images will be ready to review. We will get together for your reveal session to go over all of your gallery images, choose your favorites, and finalize your order. I will help take you through your options on how to showcase your images. 

Once your order is finalized and payment made in full your images will be moved into production where your gorgeous custom archival artwork will be created. I take special care to personally oversee the creation of all fine art products purchased.

Products can be expected in approximately four weeks. You’ll love these images for a lifetime. Each time you look at them you will be reminded of your special companion and the incredible time shared together. 

Preparing For Your Session 

TRAINING

The safety of your pet is of utmost importance to me, so if needed, pets can be on leash for the session. I will be able to do photo retouching such as removing leashes (not harnesses) if need be. If your pet has even a nano-second of a sit/down stay, will come when called, knows how to “paws up,” or other such behaviors, it will give us many more options for your photo shoot. I can send you some training articles to read or even suggest a trainer to work with if you’d like. 

The time and effort you put into some simple and basic skills will pay off dividends in our photo session together!

During most sessions I will be accompanied by my professionally trained assistant. We both have trained a wide and numerous variety of breeds AND species of pets. You can be comfortable that we both use positive and force-free training methods and have many decades of behavioral & animal experience.

GROOMING

One week or so before the big day is the time to have your pet’s nails or whiskers trimmed, get that haircut with your groomer, or get them otherwise gussied up, if you do that sort of thing. You don’t necessarily want a haircut immediately before the session, just in case it’s a little too short. However, if a bath is in order the day before is perfect.

Remember, whatever your pets are “wearing” is what they’ll look like in your photos, so you’ll want to help them put their best paw or hoof forward!

The Photo Shoot 

WHAT TO EXPECT ON THE BIG DAY

We’ll meet at the session location, where I’ll have treats, noisemakers and enthusiasm to make this session FUN for your fuzzy family member. I have lots of experience working with and photographing all kinds of animals—from polar bears to Pomeranians. We will start out by putting your pet at ease with the camera. If we’re doing a sunrise shoot, please be sure your alarm and coffee maker are all set and have your treats and collars (if you’re bringing something special) ready to go the night beforehand. 

Together we will spend our time capturing one-of-a-kind special images of your beloved pet. 

Contact Us

Get in touch to schedule a session or to ask us any questions you may have. We would love to meet you and your pet!

PO Box 7456
Bend. OR 97708

Phone: 541-948-9249