“I KEEP MEANING TO SCHEDULE OUR PHOTOS - I REALLY DO!
LIFE IS JUST SO BUSY…”

Sound familiar? It certainly does to us, not only can we personally relate, but we’ve also heard this statement or some version countless times over the years from nearly everyone who knows we’re dog photographers, whether it’s a friend or someone who’s just reached out to us about booking a session.

HERE’S THE PROBLEM:

Life is seriously busy. We’ve come to understand that just because life doesn’t always live up to the ideals and values that we set for ourselves doesn’t mean that we value those things any less. Some days it’s just hard to keep up. And documenting your family regularly? That pricy, research and preparation- and forethought-requiring goal? That one seems to be an easy one to let slide.

So obviously we’re biased, but we really and truly do think that’s a shame. Over the course of our career we’ve had the privilege to work with a handful of families who’ve found a way to actually live that dream of having a shelf full of annual family albums, and we’ve seen firsthand the joy and pride it brings out.

We’ve gotten heartfelt notes out of the clear blue from some of those people telling us how grateful they are to have a beautiful collection of detailed, nuanced memories to look back on, and if you’re ever looking to make our day, you can pretty much just copy and paste that sentence into an email, it means the world to us to be part of that.

THE NEXT QUESTION, THEN, BECOMES CLEAR:
HOW DO WE HELP MORE PEOPLE ACHIEVE THAT DREAM WHEN LIFE IS TRULY BUSY
AND RESOURCES ARE TRULY LIMITED AND I’M ONLY ONE PERSON?
UNTIL RECENTLY, WE HAD NO ANSWER.

HERE’S THE SOLUTION:

We read a personal finance book a while ago where the author is big on evaluating the things that are important to you then automating them so that you’re achieving the goals that align with your values without having to think about them over and over. Thanks in part to that advice, we now automate a ton of things in our life - big things that support our values like charitable donations and retirement savings, right alongside boring, easy-to-forget things like changing my HVAC filters - and it works really well.

 

So we figured, why not create a way for my clients to do that with their family photos? Why not give people an easy way to schedule and pay for sessions that eliminates 99% of the hassle that gets in the way of this goal that so many people say they really want to achieve?

So that’s what we’ve done, and we’re super excited about it. We’re inviting you to something that no other dog photographer is doing.

We’re calling it the Pup + Me Yearbook Club.

We designed the Yearbook Club concept to make it easy and (more) affordable to plan for regular sessions. To give you a predictable, budget-able, reliable way to fill your shelves and walls with beautiful images that showcase your family over the years.

To give future you the invaluable gift of preserved memories.

HERE ARE ALL THE DETAILS:

EACH YEAR, MEMBERS WILL RECEIVE

  • a full-length family session. (In case you’re unfamiliar, a Pup + Me session, 60-ish minute photo session at a photogenic spot that we decide on beforehand.)

  • a complete set of printable digital files from the session

  • a $400 print credit to be used in the online gallery store on any product we offer (prints, frames, albums, etc.)

OTHER PERKS INCLUDE

  • no separate session fee

  • no additional fees for weekend sessions

  • priority self-scheduling

  • automatic monthly billing

  • an annually-updated guide on how to best prepare for your session

  • unlimited access to an online gallery containing all of your photos as we create them over the years (which makes for a beautiful, shareable, and fully backed-up digital family album)

  • access to purchase one-off mini sessions, which are great for things like holiday card sessions, or Dog Guardian Day sessions, celebrating a new family member (and are not available to non-members)

  • exclusive locations like Flagstaff and Sedona

  • at home sessions

  • complimentary wall art design

IMPORTANT INFO TO KNOW

We’re limiting the number of Pup + Me Yearbook Club memberships to keep our schedule manageable so that we can truly give members a premium experience.

  • We will post our availability calendar twice a year: once for the fall/winter season and in the first week of January for the spring/summer season.

  • The calendar will be self-scheduled by the members themselves on a first-come, first-served basis (so joining the membership early during the enrollment period will be particularly beneficial if you want first dibs on those coveted peak fall spots).

    1. for both the fall/winter and the spring/summer calendars, we will guarantee that there is at least one slot open for each member (likely several more), such that in the unlikely case that every member wanted to schedule in a single season, there would still be room.

    2. in future years, existing members will have access to the fall/winter calendar the day before new member enrollment begins, making it beneficial to be an early joiner both in terms of price and scheduling priority.

  • Optional mini-sessions will be 30 minutes long, include a complete set of digital files, and cost $500, billed separately. Those sessions are not in any way expected or required, but are offered in case members need a one-off for something like senior pup portraits, new furbaby photos, etc. Please note that mini-sessions are subject to availability and need to be scheduled directly through me, rather than through the self-scheduling calendar. Advance notice is suggested.

  • Rescheduling for reasons of bad weather, illness, etc. will be handled the same way it always is, we’ll look at the calendar and figure it out. If you realize your date won’t work for another reason, a travel or work conflict, for example, we will work with you to find a new date, just reach out as soon as you realize the issue.

  • In future years, members will be asked whether they would like to renew or terminate their membership prior to the new membership enrollment period. There is no commitment beyond the year, and there will be no surprise renewals.

  • If you choose to renew but would like to change your subscription level (up or down), you are welcome to do so without penalty, though offerings and pricing may change year to year.

  • Automatic payment will begin on 6/1/24 and will end on 5/1/25.

HERE’S WHAT IT COSTS:

There are three Yearbook Club Membership options (All are subject to AZ state sales tax of 8.6%):

YEARBOOK CLUB PRICING

  • POCKET PITTIE

    $175/MONTH
    Total Value: $4,300
    51% in savings
    Pocket Pittie members will be entitled to one full family session per year, along with a complete set of digital files from their session, and a $400 print credit to be used on any products in the online store.

    All additional perks and member benefits are detailed above.

  • FLOOFY FRIEND

    $190/MONTH
    Total Value: $4,800
    53% in savings
    Includes all the benefits of the Pocket Pittie plus an annual mini portrait session for your pup, including a complete set of digital files (normally priced at $500).

  • PROPER PUPPER

    $230/MONTH
    Total Value: $6,300
    56% off of retail
    Includes everything in the Pocket Pittie and a mini portrait session, plus an archival 20 page, 8x8” lay-flat album to display the images from your session.

    We have always been a huge proponent of albums as our favorite way of showcasing family images and love the idea of our Pup + Me Yearbook Club members having an actual, physical book on their shelves from each of our sessions!

    Proper Pupper members will receive a custom designed album by us, you pick the photos and we do the design! The album is bound in a material of your choosing and embossed with up to two lines of text.

What our members love about the club

“Being in the club is easy because I don’t have to think about the payment because it’s automatic withdrawal. When the time comes for our session it’s paid for, so it’s not a big chunk at one time.
Also, love love love the option for mini sessions. Clearly we’re big users of that benefit as we have had 7 sessions in a little over a year!”
— Heidi Henry
“We are obsessed with our books!
We love the convenience of the automatic billing and splitting the payments up over the year. A couple huge bonuses are the special member events and the forever gallery with all of our photos.”
— Christy Magherio

HERE’S HOW YOU JOIN:

On 5/15/24 at 10am you will get an email from us that will include a link to join!
Once your all signed up you’ll officially be in the club and start enjoying the benefits on 6/1/2024!

Q + A

  • Yes! Once you sign up and make that initial payment, you can book your session immediately. Further, you will receive your gallery on my normal schedule (typically 2-3 weeks after the session), and will be able to download your files and use your print credit as soon as you have access to the gallery.

  • In theory you can, but there are a couple of important issues to consider. Issue 1: My guess is that even if the membership doesn’t fill completely this year, by next year it will be full and spots might get hard to come by if members continue to renew (I don't anticipate adding new memberships, just offering any un-renewed spots during the annual enrollment period). Pro Tip: Remember that you can schedule your session at any time during the membership year, so from year to year you can adjust the spacing by up to 23 months.

  • While I can’t guarantee that a specific date and time will be available when you go to sign up, I am putting absolutely everything I can on the self-scheduling calendar. There are currently between 8 and 10 sessions available during every month of the fall/winter calendar. Even if the membership fills completely and every single member wants a fall/winter session, there are more than enough to go around, so the likelihood is that if you don’t drag your feet to the very end of enrollment and have at least a tiny bit of wiggle room in your calendar, you'll have several options.

  • I offer a lot of really lovely items in my online store, and the print credit can be used toward any of them. Fine art prints are a perennial favorite, as are albums (you can put that $400 toward an album upgrade if you’re a Proper Pupper member and want a bigger book or one with more pages). $400 covers a 12x18” deckled edge float frame (my favorite!!), an 11x14” metal print or canvas, or fine art prints. There are several other options, but those should give you a sense!

  • Albums are 20 pages long, so they will most likely hold as many of the images from your session as you'd like to include. That said, if you like album designs with fewer images per page, you may want to add pages. As I mentioned earlier, your print credit can be used toward album upgrades!

  • The mini-session option is something I wanted to offer to members simply because sometimes they come in handy. Let’s say you want to get a few professional family photos for your pup’s birthday, or maybe you have added a new family member and want to celebrate that. I don’t offer those to the general public, but they’re going to be an option for all my members at any time, assuming I have availability. If you don’t need a mini-session, no problem. If you want it, it’s there.

  • While we LOVE photographing your friends and family, we do not allow gifting of your club member sessions.
    We do have a great referral program, send them our way!

If you’ve still got questions, don’t hesitate to reach out! I understand that this is a new concept, and am here to clarify anything that you’re unsure of! Prefer to text? Send us a text at 480-788-1477!