Client: Muellers Pet Hospital, Sacramento, California. This took over a year working with the owner Ken to make it ready for final photography. It is always enjoyable for me to get a different kind of an assignment add dogs, cats, people, the right amount of light and you have a project that shines. This was entered into a competition for Practice of the Year, results won’t be out until February or March.
I felt these pets were in good hands, I could get my teeth cleaned here as well as my dentist. Simple lighting and we enhanced the graphics on the computer.
This project was entered into a national competition and all sides of the building had to be photographed. I especially like the blur from the American flag.
Partial view always help give the viewer more interest. We waited until we had the flowers in bloom to shoot this. It’s not always shoot this right now but when is the best time to shoot this? We have a client who was willing to work with me, to get the best shot, Ken was easy, demanding and we were both happy at the end of this assignment.
As we move into the interiors we are greeted by a large vertical entry. Shooting at dusk allowed us to mix some blue light from the exterior to the warmth from the interior, just the right amount of contrast.
Central reception area, add some people add a little motion in the hallway and it works.
I do like how we have the circular entry that pushes your eyes to the waiting area, it just had to be shot at dusk to eliminate the harsh light out the windows.
It is always nice to see a pet friendly facility, great staff to work with on setting up the shots that tell a story. A very happy dog.
They thought of everything when they designed their new facility, a kids play area, add the kids, shoot from a low camera angle and it works.
They designed a communication room which logs all of the appointments, they see a lot of animals.
A central lab which has cats on one side and dogs on the other side. Major clean up which was addressed in our pre production scouting. Add some movement which brings to life a simple illustration.
Dog exam room, pleasing colors add the dog, Ken’s wife and it tells the story, a pet friendly facility.
Cat exam room, pleasing colors add different people, the cat and it works.
What I really like is that all of these animals were from the staff, all happy pet lovers.
Special Procedures Room, we moved some of the equipment out of the corner to make the final illustration.
Comfort room this is where they tell you the good news or the bad news about your pet. Shooting at dusk allows for the outside light values to drop which enhances the interior, add some flowers in the foreground and it works.
Emergency Doctors Night Room. We had our client do some house cleaning, remove some file cabinets, add new bedding, add art work to make this ready for final photography.
They wanted to show that they had 24 hour emergency intercom that was connected to the staff.
Staff lounge clean and accessorize, shoot at dusk, clean and simple.
Staff lounge patio, shoot this at dusk, I wanted to be able to see into the interior in the final illustration, just shooting at the right time makes that happen.
Carefully stage people and pets, don’t over crowd the shot with to many people. 
Doctors Office with a view into the working of the clinic.
Medical supplies and sterilization. 
X Ray room, clean and photoshop out all of the cables.
ICU room add a staff person, the dog, nice friendly smile, simple, not forced, and it works.
Dental Center add the staff, put a dog having it teeth cleaned, this is my favorite shot in the facility.
Surgery room accessorize the room add the staff and pick a clean angle.
Partial exterior view of the pet entrance for lodging, which was shot at pre sunrise.
Reception for cat and dog lodging.
View of the cat lodging. If you look closely at the ceiling you will see a cat in the clouds, pretty cool.
Corridor with a view to dog lodging. 
They have three or four different caged pet areas, add a friendly dog, a staff person, make some noise, so the dogs ears stand up.
Luxury Suites, it just happened that the dog looked up at the TV, photoshop and cat and dog on the screen and wow, that is luxury living at it’s best.
Inventory clean and simple.
Food Prep and Laundry add a person in the hallway with a slight blur for human interest.
Grooming Clip Room, we shot this at pre sunrise to get the blue light out the windows.
Grooming Bath Room
Generator, we decided to add a staff person and a dog to give us some human interest.
Indoor Arena with a mural. Fun shot try getting all the dogs where you want them, lucky I am a such a good director, especially with the dog on the platform in the background.
Outdoor Synthetic Turf Arena.
I like to end with a friendly staff person, a dog, make some noise to get the dogs ears in the right position. This is a good cross section of some of the finals shots they were completed for this competition.
Ed Asmus Photo Journal 