About Your Photographer

Michelle Dawkins

Washington State native, Michelle Dawkins began her artistic journey when she was very young. Being brought up in a family who appreciated art and were artists themselves, Michelle was raised to always have an open and creative mind. Later on she moved to Maryland to attend college and earned her degree in Art & Animation. She didn't begin her adventure into dog photography until 2019, where she randomly decided to grab her camera and take photos of her dog Troy, a Catahoula Leopard Dog. She fell in love looking at the images she took on her camera of him running through the sand and waters of the Chesapeake Bay. It was then she decided to practice more and invest in her training and education to further better herself in photography and especially dog photography. She attended the Dog Photography Masters program and learned from one of the best dog photographers, Claudio Piccoli, through his online education courses and officially received her certification as a master dog photographer in June 2021. Since then, Michelle has competed in high end photography competitions, receiving top awards for her photography, and has been placed in several galleries around the world. She continues to better herself and her photography every day by going out with her two dogs working on portraiture and action photos.

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"I never thought in a million years that not only would I be taking professional photos of my dogs, but others as well. It brings me so much joy to see the dogs running, jumping, and splashing around in the bay while I follow them along with my camera. It's such a rewarding experience showing the end results of each photography session after editing because my clients are in awe from what I can capture on camera. There's definitely a lot of  "WOW" moments and the occasional happy tears as well. Dogs are such a huge impact on our lives, they are family! and for me as a photographer, I want to truly capture those rare moments so my clients can remember their beloved dogs for a lifetime."