Arrow's Dog and Family Photo Shoot by Midwest Pet Photographer Holly Hildreth / by Holly Hildreth

As a professional pet photographer, I always love having sunny weather for a session, But, sometimes Mother Nature has other plans. For Arrow's Family and Pet photo shoot, her plans included torrential downpours! But the silver lining to the gathering storm clouds is that it made for some really dramatic skies and lighting, which allowed us to take incredibly unique family photos. The impressive thunderstorm that provided us with such a great background for our session ended up drenching us on our way back to the parking lot at the end of the shoot. (Still worth it!)

A couple poses with their dog during a couple's pet and family photo shoot in Ohio. There is a field and a dramatic stormy sky in the background

We began our outdoor pet photography session in a shallow creek area at Alexandria, Ohio’s best hidden gem: Lobdell Reserve. The cloudy skies allowed us to get nice, soft lighting while we were photographing by the stream. This is proof that cloudy days can still give you amazing results for your dog and owner portraits!

Man crouched down next to his shepherd mix dog, as the dog licks his face. It is Summer in a creek bed in central Ohio
Dog owner kneeling next to her shepherd mix dog during a pet and owner photo shoot in Alexandria, Ohio's Lobdell Reserve.

Arrow loves to wade in water, so this was the perfect session location for him. It’s always so fun to incorporate some of your dog’s favorite activities to really help capture the essence of your dog. Plus you can’t help but smile watching your dog having a blast in their element.

Mixed breed dog wading in a creek with a shale cliff wall behind him during a pet photo shoot at Lobdell Reserve in Alexandria, Ohio
Shepherd mix breed dog smiles at the camera during a dog photo shoot at a creek in Ohio

After our playful romp in the creek, we took a little break to go back up on the edge of the woods where we found a nice little bench to take a moment to catch our breath before moving on to another spot.

Young couple posing on a bench with their pet during a family photo shoot with a dog in central Ohio

Next we headed over to a hiking trail through a tall prairie grass field. This spot gave us an unobstructed view of the sky and allowed us to get some shots with the approaching storm in the background. We tried to work quickly to get our portraits done before the storm got too close, but we were really cutting it close. You can even see some raindrops in a few of these photos if you zoom in. While most people think of family portraits they envision a clear blue skies, but I vote for making stormy sky portraits a thing! I grew up in Tornado Alley, and nothing reminds me of home quite like watching a storm build up in the distance. While we don’t get nearly as many storms here in central Ohio, every now and again we do get a pop up storm that puts on a show.

Dramatic stormy sky behind a shepherd mix dog in a field in Ohio during a professional pet photography session
Dog and owner photoshoot posing example of a woman smiling at her soul dog during a photo shoot
Shepherd mix breed dog in front of a dark and dramatic stormy sky as a midwest thunderstorm rolls in
Happy dog smiling at the camera during a professional dog photo shoot in Ohio

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