Jessica Trinh is a professional photographer located in Orange County, California. Only 21, she has amazing talent and experience – all thanks to her dog! Trinh started taking pictures at the young age of 13 when she created a social media page for her Golden Retriever, Chuppy, on a dog media site.
“I wanted to be part of the ‘cool group’ since all the photos of their dogs were so high quality,” she told iHeartDogs. “I asked my parents for a camera for Christmas and–being the kind parents that they are–they got me one. My only subject was my dog Chuppy, and so my journey in photography began with him.”
She told us she had “no interest” in photographing people. “I did everything with my dog, and therefore, I thought it would be an interesting fit to combine photography and my dog,” she said.
Chuppy was her first dog model, who she says definitely had the model ‘tude. “He was such a wonderful model. He did have mood swings like any typical model would have, but it was never a big deal because I knew it’d subside; in other words, I could turn that frown upside down with a squeaky tennis ball!”
Like all our four-legged childhood friends eventually do, Chuppy passed on in March 2013. Trinh still misses him dearly.
Her new dog model is Kodi, another Golden Retriever who is just one-year-old.
“[He] softens the pain. He is such a spastic dog but I love him to bits,” she said. “Photography is definitely always interesting when it comes to him. My favorite thing to with him is to go exploring, as we always find cool places to photograph and it’s just a good time.”
Trinh is inspired by every day things she sees, “such as walking to class and noticing the flowers on the trees or seeing puddles form from the rain. I strive to find inspiration from simple things and I think with that mentality, I can produce better images considering the simple things are often a challenge to make great…and I always love a challenge.”
When asked if she had any tips for pet parents wanting to photograph their own dogs, she said:
The best tip I can give to pet parents wanting to photograph their dogs would be to not get frustrated if they do not get the image they want. Dogs can often tell when things are getting too “serious” and it’s better to just make everything light and carefree. The images you produce will also be more of an outlet as well.
You can follow Trinh and her beautiful pup on Facebook and an Instagram. The following images were reprinted with express permission from the artist.
