🔒Fidos on Film

For the past decade, the husband-and-wife team of John and Robyn Lisone have been helping four-legged friends put their best paw forward.

That’s because the self-proclaimed “crazy dog-loving photographers” have been capturing man’s best friend in their most playful, profound and precious poses courtesy of their pet-photography business, MUTTography & Co.

If you love your dog like family (and who doesn’t?), and want to capture its personality in images that will last a lifetime, the East Haven couple pawsitively wants to hear from you.

The Lisones, who hold other full-time jobs, got into the pet-photography game more or less by accident.

"I just graduated college and was practicing my photography skills on all sorts of subjects — people, babies, fine art, landscapes, weddings,” explains Robyn Lisone. “With the exception of landscape photography, I never really had that satisfied feeling. One day I was photographing my cousin’s baby, and he accidentally spit up on himself during the session. His mom took him away to the other room to change his shirt, when all of a sudden, Ed, their pitbull/Lab mix, sat down, crossed his paws and posed for me. I must have taken 100 images of Ed that day. I finally felt satisfied.”

Soon after, the Lisones adopted their first dog, Jameson, who inspired the company name, and have been photographing soulful eyes, drool-drenched smiles and wet noses of people’s prized pooches ever since.

The Lisones do most photo shoots on weekends, but as the days get longer, they’re able to book some weekday evening appointments. They’re also planning an expansion of the business, dubbed MUTTscapes — “a sort of pet photography-meets-landscape photography experience,” Robyn explains.

Without a formal studio, the Lisones take to the road, photographing in their clients’ homes, a favorite spot in the park or location of the client’s choice.

“We start each session with a get-to-know-you period, which consists of allowing the pet to meet us, smell us, smell our camera bags and eventually see and hear our camera gear,” Robyn Lisone says. “We approach each session differently. Pets can be super unpredictable. A dog that has been defined as a ‘couch potato’ by their owner may end up doing zoomies around the park. Or a perfectly trained dog may suddenly forget what to do when you ask him to sit.

“We don’t let any of this bother us, we just go with the flow,” she adds. “That’s what makes each session unique, and so much fun.”

The Lisones hope to convince people that while snapping pictures of their fur babies on their smartphones is great, it can never replace a professional portrait.

The Lisones recalled a doggone crazy moment while photographing a pair of English Bulldogs — Bella and Bubba — at Topsmead State Park in Litchfield County.

“We planned the session for what we photographers like to call the ‘golden hour,’ the period just before sunset when the light from the sun creates a beautiful warm soft glow,” Robyn Lisone says. “Coincidentally, ‘golden hour’ at Topsmead is also the perfect time for people to watch the sunset over a nice bottle of wine and cheese. Just as we were wrapping up, Bella and Bubba decided to get the zoomies and bulldoze their way through someone’s picnic. Wine, cheese and bulldogs flew through the air. Thankfully, the people whose party Bella and Bubba crashed were big bulldog lovers, so they actually got a kick out of the whole experience.”

With a degree in communications and a concentration in photography, Robyn Lisone says she and her husband keep their skills sharp by taking online courses and attending photography workshops. They also volunteer at animal shelters and with animal rescue groups, taking special photos for hard-to-place animals.

To learn more or to schedule a photo shoot, visit www.muttography.com.