Nicole Mlakar Photography - Austin, Texas Lifestyle Photographer for pets and the people who love them.

A kitten for you

nicole — Tue, 08 May 2012 03:17:15 +0000

I know I’ve let a little too much time pass since I last updated the blog. I promise I will be bringing you some warm and fuzzy goodness very soon. In the meantime I offer you this image of a smirking/smiling kitten as an apology. This little cutie is Dante and he’s currently available for adoption at the Central Texas SPCA. Thanks for sticking with me. Will be back soon!

Nicole Mlakar-Livingston is a photographer in Austin, Texas. She provides lifestyle photography for pets and the people who love them. Specializing in dog and cat photography. Available for editorial and commercial assignments.

Published! } Reader’s Digest

nicole — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 16:00:56 +0000

The May issue of Reader’s Digest is out now and this issue has a focus on pets! The feature article for the issue is entitled “50 Things Your Veterinarian Won’t Tell You.” Reader’s Digest licensed three of my favorite photos to be published with this article and I couldn’t be more thrilled. I think they really compliment the story quite well. Of course my clients were really excited to find out their images and pups will be seen world wide! Yay!!

Here are the tears with my images featured. Thank you Reader’s Digest!!

Maggie, aka Gerkin

nicole — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 05:09:25 +0000

How is it almost April? How?? I was sidelined for about a week with the flu and I wake up and March is almost gone. Yikes! I still have a session to blog from late last year! Crazy I know, but this session is just way too cute to not share. I got the chance to spend some quality time with the adorable Maggie last December. She’s a petite and very lovable French Bulldog that I actually met several years prior when she was just a baby. I was photographing the Mighty Texas Dog Walk and I saw her parents holding her and I just had to get a picture. Well Leslie and John have had that picture every since and they contacted me for a family session to capture their sweet Gerkin. I love that nickname. She also goes by Baby G!

Thank you Maggie, Leslie and John for a wonderful session. Give that little Gerkin a snuggly hug for me.

Baby Gerkin at the Mighty Texas Dog Walk in 2009.

Donating my time

nicole — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 05:25:27 +0000

I’ve been photographing the dogs and cats of the Central Texas SPCA every since I started my business back in 2008. This always has and continues to be a very rewarding way for me to give back. The CTSPCA has continually shown me gratitude for the services I offer and they even went so far as to honor me as their Animal Advocate in 2009. Photographing all of the animals that come through the shelter doors can be difficult at times for varying reasons. I always strive to create a portrait that will hopefully capture just a glimmer of something special. A picture to make someone take a second look which will hopefully turn into an in person visit and then… adoption! I recently received a letter from a woman who explained that she adopted a dog in 2010 from CTSPCA because of his picture online. That letter meant a lot to me and it seriously made my day.

I’m sharing the letter below along with my favorite picture of this adorable pup. If you are looking for your forever friend look no further than your local animal shelter and if you’re in/around Central Texas definitely check out the Central Texas SPCA.

“I just wanted to say thank you. A picture that you took of a little dog at the Central TX SPCA ended up on petfinder.com at the time we were thinking about getting a pet. It was your set of 3 pictures that captured the personality of this little dog that we fell in love with at first sight. We called the next day, went across town to meet him, and brought him home a week later. We have had Skeeter now for a year and a half, and our favorite pictures of him are those that you have taken. I couldn’t make out the name of the photographer at the bottom of the photo until just recently, when my sister had posted the picture on her FB Wall. I could make out a clear partial of your name to search it on the computer. I had to write to thank you! Your volunteer work at the shelter, and the beautiful photos you took led us to this dog that has changed our lives, and we are so grateful to you! Please keep taking pictures at the local shelters; you are saving many lives with your gift!”

Sam and Taz

nicole — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 05:27:14 +0000

The location of this shoot was in Walburg, TX. I had never been to Walburg but it is a very nice little quiet town not too far from Austin. On the way out to my client’s home I spotted a beautiful longhorn standing next to a watering hole. I of course had to stop and get a shot… with my iPhone!! Ha! I was in a hurry and well the iPhone is oh so quick so it was good enough for me. I’ve included the shot for you below!

After snapping a few shots of the nice longhorn I headed out to meet my clients and their Yorkshire Terriers, Sam and Taz. What can I say about Sam and Taz? They were personality packed and full of energy as most Yorkies are. What I loved the most was their distinctly different personalities. Sam was more reserved and a bit stand offish but he loved his momma and would give her kisses all day long. Taz was the fun loving and crazy wild man who would fight off a bear if it tried to grab his bully stick. So, that should give you a little insight into who’s who. Sharon and Randall joined in the fun and we captured some really lovely moments of them as a family. I had such a great time with these sweet pups and their parents. Thank you Sharon, Randall, Sam and Taz for a really great shoot.

Dixie and Zabul

nicole — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 05:36:08 +0000

Finally getting to blog one of the many shoots I had in late 2011. I’ve got a little catching up to do! Have I told you how much I love seeing guys loving on their dogs? Seriously, it makes my heart turn into a pile of mush. So, yea there was some of that going on in this shoot. Then there’s the gorgeous Kristen who is just… well, gorgeous. These two proud parents love their sweet pups Dixie and Zabul and it shows. Dixie, the spunky Terrier, was a firecracker but she eventually calmed down after she realized that I just wasn’t going away. Ha! Zabul, the Australian Shepard, was just as wiggly and wild but he hung out for a quick portrait every now and then. We had a great time hanging out at Zabul’s training grounds and then we headed back to the house so the pups could chill. Thanks Kristen, Josh, Zabul and Dixie for a wonderful shoot.

Nicole Mlakar-Livingston provides lifestyle photography for pets and the people who love them. Specializing in dog and cat photography. Available for editorial and commercial assignments.

Austin’s “Most Awesome-ist” Pet Photographer

nicole — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 03:39:15 +0000

Just want to say thank you to everyone who voted for me in the Austin Pets Directory yearly contest. I received the honor of Austin’s “Most Awesome-ist” Pet Photographer for the 3rd year in a row!! Oh and my adorable clients Patron and Rosco are on the cover. Needless to say I feel pretty awesome! xoxo

Molly and Olive } Austin, TX Dog / Pet Photographer

nicole — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 04:47:55 +0000

I always know a session is going to be a little extra heartfelt when I read my clients comments on their client interview. Laura’s comment about her 7 1/2 year old Weimaraner, Molly, had me choked up. She wrote about how Molly had come into her life at a time when she really needed a companion and that she could not imagine her life without her. “I would walk through fire for her and do absolutely anthing to make sure I never have to lose her.” I knew how Laura felt. I know a lot of us can relate. Your sweet life companion and best friend starts to age, starts to slow down and maybe even becomes ill. It’s nothing any of us want to consider and it’s even harder to come to grips with. You just make sure that you cherish every day and enjoy all the wonderful moments here and now. So, Laura decided it was time to capture these moments with Molly and her newly adopted Weimaraner Olive. It was a joy getting to know these two lovely pups and capturing their beautiful family.

Rex is the 2011 Austin Pets Alive Photo Contest Winner!

nicole — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 05:21:39 +0000

Happy New Year!! I had a wonderful holiday and am ready for an awesome 2012! I hope you all had a great holiday and fantastic start to the new year too. Rex is going to start off our first blog post of the new year. This handsome Doberman is the winner of the 2011 Austin Pets Alive photo contest. There were several entrants for the contest and they all helped raise over $4700 for APA. Rex came out on top with the most votes totaling over $1200 in donations. The grand prize included a photo shoot with me which resulted in an ad that will appear in the January issue of Austin Women’s Magazine and Austin Pets Directory.

I met up with Rex, his brother Romeo and his beautiful mommy Betsy right before the holidays for our session. I had never photographed Dobermans before so I was particularly excited about this opportunity and Rex did not disappoint. He is such a good looking boy and quite the model. He really knew how to work his angles. Ha! I promised Betsy I would snap a few shots of Rex’s brother, Romeo, even though I was warned he might be too shy. Luckily, Romeo warmed up to me and we got some really awesome shots of the whole family.

Major thanks to Austin Pets Alive for including me in this fundraising opportunity and for all they do for animal welfare. Also a huge thanks to Austin Women’s Magazine and Austin Pets Directory for donating ad space in support of this contest. Finally, thanks to Rex, Romeo and Betsy for a really wonderful shoot!

I’ll end with a small sampling of the many faces of Rex.

Happy Holidays to all!!

nicole — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 03:21:18 +0000

The holidays are upon us and the year is coming to a close. I can hardly believe it!! I have had an amazing year filled with fantastic clients and wonderful support from family, friends and the Austin community. I just could not be more thankful. I hope each and every one of you has a very happy holiday and a great new year! Here’s to 2012! Let’s make it awesome!! * with lots of exclamation points!!! ha! *