Laura Wombwell's life changed trajectory when she adopted her first rescue dog, a papillon named Stella.
"She was in a mill for six years," said Wombwell. "It was amazing watching her turn from this little shell of a thing into a dog."
Stella was the reason Wombwell decided to pick up a camera and try her hand at pet photography. Wombwell said one day she borrowed her mother's DSLR camera while playing with Stella in the backyard.
"I took some photos of her and I thought, 'Oh, I love this!'" she said about that memory.
Today, Wombwell is the owner of Laura Wombwell Photography.
Through her business, Wombwell said she captures the love between pet owners and their pets. She mostly photographed dogs and cats, but has also taken photos of a horse, a hedgehog and a bearded dragon.
"Animals are my absolute favourite subjects, they can only be themselves. As a photographer, that is exactly what you want," said Wombwell about her work.
She notes the pet owners are often more nervous about the photo shoot than the pets are, but become more comfortable as the process goes on.
"Our pets are so pure and are a positive influence on our lives," said Wombwell. "We don't always get to see what that love with our pets looks like."
Wombwell mentions she does a fair bit of work with senior dogs and dogs in palliative care. In these scenarios, she said she doesn't charge session fees and the only costs are for printing materials. She still has prints from a session with a little dog named Foxxi, who had a heart condition.
"She was incredible, running through the sand, looking like a model," said Wombwell.
A week after the photo shoot, Foxxi passed away, and Foxxi's mom reached out to Wombwell to thank her for the photos.
"I'm so glad we had one perfect morning before she went," said Wombwell, recalling the message.
With her business, Wombwell also supports local animal shelters and animal rescues with their fundraising initiatives. She has worked with the Guelph Humane Society, Save Me Dog Rescue, Taffy's Legacy and many more in the Wellington and Waterloo Region.
"That's actually how I learned photography," said Wombwell about working with these organizations to produce anything from holiday cards to calendars, calling it the 'cornerstone' of her business.
"It's so amazing to just have a little bit of a part in that animal getting a home they deserve," said Wombwell, adding she is taking part in an upcoming fundraiser named 'St. Pawtrick's Day' on Mar. 17 and is for Taffy’s Legacy.
Along with doing studio and outdoor portrait sessions, Wombwell also creates something she calls 'Muttsterpieces,' creative, fine art pieces where the pet is acting like a human. One day, the editor got in touch with Wombwell about her Muttsterpieces, and asked if they could do a story on her. Wombwell said she created a Muttsterpiece of Oprah's dog for the article.
"It was really nice, I don't know if Oprah ever saw it, but I have that magazine in a special place," said Wombwell.
For Wombwell, just knowing that people like her work is the special part about that experience with Oprah Magazine.
"The most important part is getting feedback from the client," said Wombwell. "I've had folks reach out and say, 'I'm glad that we did this.' To me, that's worth 100 Oprah magazines."
This year, Wombwell mentions she will be taking her photography business full-time, giving her the ability to take on more client work and personal projects with animal shelters.
It's all thanks to her 'soul pet' Stella.
"She changed my life," Wombwell said about Stella, "and getting to be her human mother was the most amazing thing I've ever done."
