Archie, who sighs like he pays the mortgage
Joel booked the session with one paragraph that told us everything.
He said “Archie sighs like he pays the mortgage and works sixty hours a week.
Ten years old. Still has the puppy energy.
Also, somehow, an old man living in the same body, and the grey coming through to prove it.”
What Joel wanted was not a tidy portrait. His words: something to show others who Archie is now and always. Those are two different things and he wanted both in the same frame. The dog who still frolics around with a stick. The dog who is going grey at the muzzle and knows it.
The image that now hangs on the wall in their home.
Archie’s photoshoot at R.J. Hamer Arboretum, Olinda
Weekends for the two of them are camping and hiking, so it made sense to choose a backdrop that looks like how they actually spend their time together, not somewhere they turned up once for photos. Bush tracks, dirt, cold air in the trees. Just where they already are. So we decided a trip to Olinda was worth it and we met at R.J. Hamer for their photoshoot.
Archie came to Joel six years ago, a rescue through German Shepherd Rescue Victoria after a family came apart. Since then, he has slept in Joel's bed, because where else would he sleep? Knowing that, our goal of the shoot was not only to capture Archie, but the relationship he has with Joel.
Archie is confident in front of a camera in a way most of us are not. Joel said it himself. Archie makes up for both of them. This is pretty common with our clients, so we lean into it. We have our clients play, laugh, cuddle with their dogs.. and that’s when the most beautiful moments are caught. The in-between moments, the ones where you forget we are there until we make a high pitched noise to get your dog’s ears to perk!
About Classico Portraits
Classico Portraits is a portrait studio based on the Mornington Peninsula, specialising in dog photography. We travel to clients all over, including to this shoot in the Dandenong Ranges, and others come to our studio. We offer slow, extended sessions designed around your dog's personality, at the beach, on the couch, on a walk, wherever they're happiest. Our clients typically display their portraits as wall art, keepsake boxes, or collector books.
Ten is getting on for a German Shepherd and that is exactly why Joel booked us when he did. If you have a senior dog and you'd like to talk about creating something lasting, we'd love to hear from you.
Hi, I’m Kirstie
Specialist pet photographer
I'm the founder of Classico Portraits Australia. I grew up in the horse paddock, which is where my understanding of animals began long before I ever picked up a camera.
I've spent fifteen years working alongside vet behaviourists, fear-free groomers, and thousands of dogs across Australia and Italy. I notice the lean away, the slow blink, the whale eye.
That's what I've built this studio around.
Flee taught me the rest.
