Pet photography is my passion. I immortalize those special moments – from puppy-hood right through those silver-muzzled senior years – you’ll treasure forever. Maggie’s goofy personality and Marty’s patented puppy-dog-eyes look. Millie’s penchant for snoozing in sunbeams and Milo’s obsession with sticks. Maya’s athleticism and Murphy’s ability to trip over his own paws. That’s what I want to capture – that unique spark that is your furbaby.
Chances are, since you’re visiting the Paw Prints website, you’re a loving pet parent – or you know someone who is. If you’re anything like me, you love your furbaby to distraction. Your little Max or Molly is truly a valued part of the family, not just a “pet”. You can relate to all the memes on Facebook that say things like “I dare you to post a status update that’s not about your dog!”, you’ve watched every cat video the internet has to offer, and you probably have a doormat that reads “All visitors must be approved by the dog.”
And you know that the only drawback to loving an animal that much is that they don’t stay with us nearly long enough.
That’s where I come in.
Based in Waterloo Region, I provide high-quality, modern pet photography throughout Southwestern Ontario. My nature, wildlife, and pet photos have been featured on many non-profit and corporate websites, and published in magazines (Canadian Geographic, Our Canada, More of Our Canada, Canadian Wildlife, Wild, Birds & Blooms Extra, Nature’s Best Photography, PhotoNews, and Photo Life), books, cards, and calendars around the world.
About Me
I’m Jen St. Louis, mom to an insane(-ly cute) Goldendoodle named Mindy (and a bunch of lizards and frogs), wife to an awesome(-ly patient) guy named Dave, and photographer to passionate(-ly committed) pet parents and their furkids. I’m a pet photographer who loves nothing more than creating the perfect images of your furbabies.
Animals have been a main focus of my life for as long as I can remember. I had fish, birds, and hamsters growing up, but I was afraid I’d never be able to have any bigger pets. So when I finally got my first dog, a Soft-coated Wheaten Terrier named Abbey, it was like a dream come true… and the beginning of the end, in terms of ever being able to live a dog-less life. After we lost Abbey in 2000, Dave and I brought home our first furbaby as a couple, a Miniature Schnauzer we named Merlin, who was the canine love of my life. And after we lost him in 2010, we welcomed sweet, crazy Mindy to the family.
When I was two years old, my mom made the mistake of taking me for a pony ride. That five-minute walk around a track led to a life-long love affair with horses that included year-round lessons, stints at riding camp as a camper and counselor, working as an assistant instructor, and competing at shows on weekends. Throughout my teen years, I think I spent more time at the barn than anywhere else other than school (or at work to pay for my riding lessons and the car needed to get me to said lessons).
My long-time interest in photography experienced a sudden and passionate resurgence seven years ago, when Dave encouraged me to buy my first digital DSLR camera. The interest I’d always had in travel and landscape photography quickly transitioned into a fascination with nature and wildlife, and an absolute obsession with bird photography. I’ve since become a self-proclaimed bird nerd.
It was during that time that I started noticing an intriguing trend out there in the photographic community – professional pet photography. And not the kind that dress kittens up in cute little costumes, or sit behind a dog dressed in a suit and make it look like it has human hands – natural portraits, indoors or out, with little fuss or muss. That sparked an idea that I was simply unable to let go of over the years. The opportunity to combine my passion for animals and photography into an artistic venture was just far too tempting to resist. And so my career as a pet photographer were born.
