We reached out to Jennifer Whaley, the Owner/Founder of Fetch portraits and asked her to answer some questions which she did through telling a compelling story of how they started and where they’re at today! We love Fetch Portraits here at TheK9PT and have had a blast hosting them at our clinic for different holiday themed shoots! Next up, they’re here on Sunday, March 19th for an Easter themed shoot! Sign up for a slot through their website at the button below!

Hello! My name is Jennifer and I own Fetch Portraits. We help you document and remember your time with your furry loved ones!

I’ve had a camera in my hand since I was a kid and I photographed my first dog in studio at the ripe old age of 11. At the time, I was practicing for what I thought would be my job when I turned 16. You see, my Father owned a PR Photography business and Photo Studio. He decided he would start a division of his company called ‘Pet Art’ and asked me to be in the brochures with his cat, Focus.

I thought I was all set! I was going to be a PET PHOTOGRAPHER!!! Sadly, the idea never went past the brochure stage and I was left careerless before I was even old enough to work. I went a lot of places and did a lot of things, but 25 years later, I got my chance. I was laid off a 7-year corporate job in Chicago. With a few weeks severance for a cushion, I went back to my old bar job, cashed in my 401k and bought my first digital DSLR Camera. But where to start? How would I get the experience to be a Pet Photographer?

It was lucky I met my husband just a couple months after I decided to start photographing dogs at the local shelter. It was nearly impossible to do by myself and the shelter workers didn’t have time to help. In our first year, we photographed over 1,000 dogs, to help them find a home. All those hours of shooting and editing didn’t help just them – it helped us learn every nuance of what was necessary to put a canine subject at ease and get a winning shot. Then, they asked us to photograph Santa with the pups for donations to the Rescue…we did that the first weekend in December for 13 years in a row! 100 Sessions in one weekend! After the first few years of showing up with my camera to shoot someone else’s set & a volunteer Santa, we started making our own sets and we added Holidays. Check out this video about us shooting rescue dogs!

We started Touring Chicagoland pet store locations so that people wouldn’t have to travel far with their pets. These days, we create one-of-a-kind, hand-made photo sets for all the major Howlidays, to help you make memories with your furry family members. In addition to our Holiday-themed Sessions, we also offer Signature Studio Sessions from time to time. In 2020 we did Your Dog for President. Last year we did Salon Sessions. We have a few things on the list for possibilities in 2023, but that cat’s not out of the bag, yet…We kept our charitable roots by continuing our work with Chicago Canine Rescue and also worked with The Anti-Cruelty Society for many years. We’ve since branched out to helping in other ways, like giving a portion of our entire Howl-o-ween Tour to Canine Therapy Corps or supporting Humane Indiana with our Long Termers Program or most recently, the 12 Sessions we did to create their 2023 Calendar. We’re currently working on a series of Firehouse events, to help raise Pet Fire Safety awareness. We also photograph & showcase small businesses that bring a dog to work with them, to support local biz and show everyone just how great companion animals are.We pride ourselves on being quick, easy and fun for you and your furmily. Over the last 15 years we have photographed over 12,000 dogs together…and a whole bunch of cats (as well as our share of pigs, bearded dragons, hedgehogs and even a sugar glider)!

Rather than one studio, we have several host locations. Some are pet-centered businesses while many others are Crossift Gyms. No matter where we are, you can bet on your session being 100% private and focused only on you and your pet(s). No distractions, no other dogs, just us :)We also use Mother Nature as our backdrop, when the time is right. Mother’s May is fast approaching with Spring Green and flowers. We do Picnics, Beach Sessions, Sunflowers, Pumpkins and more, all for your Pets!

We offer themed Studio Sessions about 25 weekends a year. Outside of that, you’re most likely to catch us at a Pet Friendly event or helping a client make memories at home. If we’re not shooting, we’re editing. If we’re not editing, we’re building a set.

We do what we do because people who have pets just get it…and we want to help them remember every bit of it :)We hope to see you at one of our Pop-up Studio Sessions real soon! Tell us K9PT sent you!