Lisa Willey of Lisa Marie Photography rarely photographs animals. Over the past three years, the self-taught photographer has built a business on family portraits and senior photos. She always shoots outdoors, often with Maple Grove’s natural settings as her backdrop.
On the day this photo was taken, a family friend’s Golden retriever had just delivered a litter. Puppies, children, tractors and a bright, beautiful day compelled Willey to head over to her friend’s farmstead with her favorite digital camera, a Canon 70D, and her favorite subject, her youngest daughter Brooke. After posing for some staged photos with the pups and other kids, the photogenic eight-year-old snuck up to the hayloft with a fluffy, affectionate runt. “Brooke fell in love with this particular [one] and carried it around with her all day,” Willey says.
The mermaid-haired eight-year-old didn’t know her mother was about to snap this sweet shot of her cradling and whispering to the tiny animal. When her daughter saw the result, Willey recalls, “She loved it. She said at least she has this picture of the dog she had so wanted to take home.”
The Willeys are pet lovers, especially Brooke, who hopes to be a veterinarian when she is grown. As it happens, their home is already at canine capacity, and the puppy was destined for another home, so the two new friends had to bid each other farewell not long after the tender moment captured above.
Lisa Willey’s work has been published on the website Capture Minnesota. You can also find her photos on her Lisa Marie Photography Facebook page.
