Emmert Commercial Photography // Livestock, Dogs, Cats, & Horses

It had been months in the making but the big day had arrived. The truck was packed with every piece of camera gear I owned plus more that was rented. I had backups to my backups because nothing was going to stop me from creating these images. 

Let me back up a moment. Earlier this year, I connected with one of the members of Emmert, a family-run business from the midwest that has been around since 1881 and provides supplements for livestock and pet food. We chatted about our shared loved of animals and family business, ranching, and belief that we should put our hearts and souls into everything we do.

A few weeks after our conversation, the same person shared with me that Emmert was going through a major rebrand because they really wanted to separate themselves from others in the competing market. And guess what? They wanted to hire me to create colorful, authentic images to tell their brand’s story!

So, Greg and I hopped in the truck and drove north, almost to Yosemite. We had a week of photo shoots planned throughout Southern California with cattle, swine, cats, dogs, horses, a sheep, and a goat. To say this was a dream shoot was an understatement. Cows! Pigs! Dogs! Cats! Horses! A sheep! A goat! Come on, could this country girl ever ask for anything better?

 
We started our shoot with the cattle, arriving at the farm before sunrise. It had been very cloudy and rainy the whole week due to a rare early-autumn storm. We weren’t sure what the weather was going to give us but we ended up with the most incredible sunrise, full of ooey-gooey golden light! Our goal for this portion of the shoot was to show off the cattle and farmers. Plus, we also captured one of the working farm dogs in the ranch truck! I was in heaven working with all the cows. And OMG, I even got go hug one!

As an added bonus, if you look closely at the images above, you might recognize the scruffy profile of my favorite cowboy. ;)
 

 
After the cattle, we went to the swine farm and photographed all the little piggies. They were so sweet and adorable; I really wanted to bring them all home. But then I saw how big they grew and realized a 700-pound pig in my backyard would never be approved by my HOA.
 

 
Early the next day, we drove back to San Diego, stopping for a photo shoot with some incredibly adorable cats! The kitties’ human mom is a member of the Emmert family, so it was really fun way to integrate more family and authenticity into the photos. One of the cats was a little shy and the other was an absolute ham, fully enjoying the spotlight.
 

 
After the cats’ photoshoot, we met some dogs at one of my favorite ranch locations. Our Doberman model and his human dad came down from Orange County. His dad has been feeding Edge to all of his dogs for many, many years and shared with us what a huge difference it makes in his dogs’ health.

We also had a few of my past clients who have been feeding Whisk & Wag treats come to the shoot! Lucy is a red Australian Shepherd who is one of the smartest dogs I know. She can learn anything at the snap of a finger — well, as long as cookies are involved. She and her mom have such a solid relationship and Lucy trusts her implicitly.

We also wanted to show a strong family bond between dogs and kiddos, so Molly helped us out with that! She is such an easy-going dog and was so happy to be loved on. Molly’s mom is one of San Diego’s premier newborn photographers and I have been so honored to work with her over the years. I’m so happy she was able to be part of this shoot!
 

 
Our final day was spent at a beautiful equestrian center in east county San Diego where the horses, goat, and sheep have been eating ShowBloom, one of Emmert’s supplements. The owner of the center shared with us how great her animals are doing with ShowBloom and how quickly she saw an improvement in their hooves, skin, and fur when she started feeding it. So awesome! She is one of the sweetest people I’ve ever met and it was an absolutely perfect day spent capturing the love she shares with her animals!

I absolutely loved every bit of this photoshoot and working with the Emmert family to tell their brand story. It was a week-long photoshoot adventure filled with fun, adorable animals, and lots of laughs. It was an absolute honor to be a part of this all!