When Devie and Otto told me that they wanted to do an engagement session at W.T. Young Library, I was sold on the idea.  When they said they were hoping to make it kind of “geeky/naughty,” I knew we three were a perfect match. That’s exactly what I was hoping they’d want to do.

Here are some of my favorites:

Love this.

Check out Otto’s Pumas!

HOT!

Poor guy…just trying to get some studying done…

To Devie and Otto–Can’t wait for your Cincinnati session! You two are a freakin’ blast!

Thank you all for stopping by!  If you haven’t yet connected with me on Facebook and Twitter, I’d love to hear from you. Take care!  -shaun

If you know me, then you know what a huge difference my assistant Candi has made in my life. She works behind the scenes to make sure my life is in order and that I stay focused on the big picture. As a result, my business grew in her first year with me, and more importantly, I regained some much needed time with Katie and Carson. Good stuff.

But being around Candi also got me thinking about how nice it might be to have a dog in our home. In the time that I’ve known Candi and her husband Josh, I’ve seen how much love they have for their babies Avalanche and Affinity, two of the sweetest dachshunds you’ll ever meet. So we got Cera, and we’re now proud doggy parents, too. It’s great to be in the club!

Candi brought Avalanche and Affinity by recently for a shoot. I can’t help but smile every time I see these…

From friends. At least ours did. Last summer, our friends’ two King Charles Cavaliers had puppies. Katie wanted one, but I told her that we probably should hold off on getting a puppy for awhile. That was all part of the master plan, though. Muah-ha-ha-ha (villain laugh).

Behind the scenes there was a bit of a surprise being orchestrated. The plan was to, while having our own fall family portraits taken by Betsy and Magnus, have our friend Jordan show up and bring the puppy to Katie and Carson, both totally unaware. And since the cameras would already be turned on us, all of the fun would be well documented.

Things went off without a hitch.

The family photography session turned out awesome. Betsy and Magnus got some incredible shots of us, and Katie and Carson had no idea what was about to happen.

And here’s where it gets good…We settled into a nice big open area for some final shots of us together as a family…

And then Jordan walks up.

Exactly the reaction I was looking for!

I love this shot of Katie. I’ll now never forget how happy she was at this exact moment.

If you know Carson, then you know that he’s pretty big into dinosaurs.  When asked what we should name the puppy, he came up with Cera (you know, from Land Before Time).

To Tiffiney, George and Jordan…Thank you! I know how much you all love your own pets. Means a lot to us that you would let Cera come live with us. You can be assured that she’s well-loved.

To Betsy and Magnus…Having you two there completed things for me. Yes, it was great having the surprise documented, but it’s way cooler for me that two of my closest friends were there with us.

6 months later, all is well. We love having Cera in our lives.

Here she is at the studio.

Checking out the neighborhood kids.

And chilling with my parents’ boxer.