Regina Grace

I’m Regina or Gina for short.

I’m a big kid. I love dogs, nature, margaritas, tea, and screaming at the TV while watching sports. Tattoos are awesome! Magic is real (Hufflepuff with Ravenclaw tendencies). Dad jokes are the BEST! I talk like a surfing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle had a baby with a sailor (dudes & f-bombs). I’m an empathic Gemini with a Pisces moon. Random dance breaks while singing your lungs out are a must! I love warm hugs ;)

My style of photography can be described in three words: CANDID, NATURAL, and HEART. I want to capture the little moments, the moments that you forget that the camera is there. It's in those moments that there is real emotion and personality. I am inspired by those moments we lose to the passage of time and memory. My intentions are to visually evoke the emotional bonds and connections between those special souls we choose to surround ourselves with.

Background

I fell in love with photography at an early age. My first dog Buddy (Beagle) was extremely patient and let me take a million pictures of him. In high school, I had dreams of becoming a photographer, but was sidetracked. I majored in Psychology and Sociology at UMBC. I combined my passions of learning and dogs and became a Karen Pryor Professionally Certified Pet Training Partner. I earned my master’s degree in Anthrozoology (study of human and non-human animal relationships) from Canisius College. I attended the New York Institute of Photography. Despite my career going in other directions for awhile, I never stopped developing my photography skills.

Why I do what I do

A few months after my daughter was born, we found out that my 12-year-old Australian Shepherd, Echo (fluff-n-stuff-n-fluff), was going into heart failure. I thought we would have more time with him. I thought I could wait a little bit longer (silly me wanted to lose the baby weight) to have family photos taken. The beginning of April, he started to refuse to take his medicine. He was telling me it was time. That day I scrambled trying to find someone/anyone to take a family portrait of us (my husband, my daughter, Trusty (Aussie mix), Gusto (Lab/Rottie mix), and myself). 

I wish there had been someone for me to call. This is why I do what I do. I want to preserve the happy memories, the bond, the relationship with you and your pet. There is nothing like the love between you and your heart dog.