A blog of our current photography work.
Kate and Mike hired me to do portraits of the two of them with their gorgeous golden retrievers Madison and Monroe. I got lots of great shots of their pups but I think the dogs were more interested in sniffing around and chewing up sticks. Thank you Kate and Mike for having me do these photos for you!
As photographers, we have been privileged to be present during of some of the most powerful, intimate and difficult times in people’s lives. Last week we got an email from a family who wanted some portraits with their sweet dog, Birdie. They rescued this pup 3 years ago and just found out she had a tumor in her bladder and her spine. Birdie had given them so much love during her time with them, but she was ready for the next part of her journey. I was honored to come to their house to capture a few last portraits, before they said goodbye.
There are few things more beautiful than giving love, comfort and peace to a dog during their final days, and our hearts go out to this family!
As many of you know, we are huge supporters of animal rescue, and give a donation to Second City Canine Rescue in honor of every couple who hires us to do their wedding photos! Last week, we had the chance to work with SCCR to bring some awareness to the awesome things they are doing with homeless dogs in our community. Recently SCCR rescued a beautiful, skinny, and amazingly sweet Mama St.Bernard who had just given birth to 8 happy, healthy, and chunky puppies.
We were so excited when the puppies were finally old enough for us to make some magic with this stunning family.
We teamed up with the lovely Christine Nendick, of Rescue in Style, to start collaborating on ideas. We then reached out to Kate Lerman of Chicago Vintage Wed. Kate is an incredible force in the wedding industry - and we also happen to know that she is a huge advocate of rescue!
We decided to do a simple photo shoot at Chicago Vintage Wed’s Pilsen Studio, and incorporated the use of Buffalo Plaid, an adorable mini Liver Cake, and 8 teeny Peanubutter Pupcakes provided by the Happy Dog Barkery (if you have pets and live in the western suburbs, the Happy Dog Barkery is a MUST for all your pet needs).
We had so much fun snuggling the puppies and we were completely blown away by how sweet and gentle their Mama is. All morning long, we kept commenting on how we wished we could always have Monday mornings like this!
These puppies are not yet available for adoption, but watch SCCR’s website to find out when they will be looking for homes (hint, they’ll start accepting apps Nov 12th).
Here are a few of our favorite images from the shoot. Make sure to check out Christine’s post, on Rescue in Style to read a bit more about the shoot and the awesome things Second City Canine Rescue is doing!
Puppies provided by: Second City Canine Rescue
Model: Christine Nendick, of Rescue in Style
Venue and Styling: Kate and Andria, of Chicago Vintage Weddings
Puppy Cakes: Happy Dog Barkery
Collars provided by: Knox Dog Wear
When Jake and I got married, we knew we wanted our little family to be generous of heart, and involved in giving back to our community. We didn't quite know exactly what that would look like, but soon found a calling in animal welfare and rescue. We brought home our first foster dog not too long after our wedding, and have been actively fostering homeless animals ever since. To date, we have fostered 93 homeless pets, including 52 dogs, 39 cats and 2 rabbits. There's a good chance that we'll be throwing ourselves a little party when we hit 100 lives saved!
We are very excited to announce that, going forward, every time a couple books us for their wedding day, Two Birds Photography will be making a donation in their name to one of our favorite rescue organizations: Second City Canine Rescue! Second City is an incredible organization, one that we are continually impressed with, and proud to be a part of. We know that these donations will be used to help homeless dogs reach full health, and find amazing forever families.
That feels good.
And you can feel good too, by spreading the word and telling your friends about us!
It is our dream that one day every dog will have a home, and that if someone is looking to add a pet to their family, that they will choose adoption.
Thank you for supporting us on our journey, and thank you for being here to share the news with!
And now, please feast your eyes on a few of the incredible dogs we have fostered and found homes for through Second City Canine Rescue:
xoxo
Jake + Jennifer
You all know how much we love our pets, so we are always excited when people want to include their pooches in their sessions! Could their little guy, Joey, be any sweeter? That bow-tie just kills me! Melissa and Brian chose to do their Engagement Session at Lilacia Park, and the flowers couldn't have been more perfect! We then cruised over to the local DQ, before ending up at their house for a few more shots.
I had so much fun with these two, and we can't wait for their wedding next year!
-Jake
