We recently connected with Bryn Bonino and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Bryn, thanks for joining us today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

I had been wondering for several years what kind of photography business to start. I really liked portraiture. But the thought of making a portrait of just anybody didn’t light me up.

But in 2018, I did the processes in the book “The Artist’s Way” by Julia Cameron. The goal was to open me up to more creativity. Along the way, I started having more vivid dreams and in those dreams I recalled specific scenes of horrible animal abuse that I’d witnessed as a kid and teenager. I didn’t feel like I had a voice back then to help these animals and I realized I felt a sense of shame because of this.

Remembering these old traumatic memories also led me to realize that I do have a voice now that people listen to. So I designed a business that gives back to needy animals.

One way I did (and still do) this is by photographing foster dogs and rescued farm animals to build my portfolio. I do this pro-bono to help the animals find loving homes.

I also donate 10% of my sales to an organization that rescues who are arguably the most abused dogs in the world – the Galgos in southern Spain. This is in part because I witnessed horrible dog abuse when I was in Seville, Spain when I was 22.

I also have collaborated with Hound Rescue, a 501(c)3, to run contests culminating in a calendar and a book. All proceeds from the contests went directly to Hound Rescue.

My point of view is that if I speak directly against those who commit violence against animals, my voice won’t go as far. With Dog Days Photography, I act out of love. My art shows how beautiful the animals are and in turn this helps me to donate to rescue animals who need it.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?

I can honestly say that “dog” was my first word when I was a baby. My mom said that I would tell her when a dog was coming around the corner when she was pushing me in my stroller. And we didn’t have a family dog till I was 12-years-old. So it’s no wonder that I have a pet photography business, where I focus on making fine art portraits of dogs.

These days, being the only human behind Dog Days Photography, people often tell me how their pet behaves better for me than they do for most people. One misanthropic Chihuahua legit grinned for my camera. One horse rested his head on my shoulder while I was photographing his sister (horse) and their (human) mama.

Dog Days Photography stands out from a lot of the local competition because I focus on selling fine art prints and wall art. All of my products come from a lab in Italy where they hand make and hand cut everything. Working with Dog Days Photography is not a fast process. It takes me an average of 10 to 15 hours to service one client.

I promise to deliver quality. It’s not uncommon for me to plan out a commissioned shoot with my client so that they get exactly what they’d imagined, or maybe something better.

I love that my business is all about showcasing the love that a human shows for their pet. The photos that make me the proudest are when I capture an honest expression of joy and love on both the pet and their beloved human(s).

Alright – let’s talk about marketing or sales – do you have any fun stories about a risk you’ve taken or something else exciting on the sales and marketing side?

I actually worked as a marketing manager for a while, and I think that anyone who tells you that marketing is a science is lying to you. In running Dog Days Photography, I learned that if it feels right, go with it. If it doesn’t feel right, then do something else.

To give you an example, I had an idea to do a “pup-up” photo session at a local popular dog daycare. I planned to donate all session fees to a local rescue. The clients would get one digital photo and I would make income on any prints that I sold.

In order to market this, I wrote a 3-part email campaign that the dog daycare said they’d blast to their very large list. They also posted corresponding social media posts to their Facebook and Instagram accounts. Along the execution of the plan, something went wrong with their email service provider and the messages did not go out in time. As a result, only one person signed up.

I was disappointed on a few different levels. I thought of completely cancelling the event and refunding the client the donation.

Instead what I did was think of my vision for Dog Days Photography, and I called the client and offered her a commissioned studio photo shoot. I worked closely with her to plan out all the ways I would immortalize her beloved geriatric dog.

In the end, she said she loved the experience and the photos. She also bought $8,000 worth of wall art. I have to pinch myself sometimes. I’m a pet photographer. And I got an $8,000 sale my first six months in business.

I honestly think this happened because in my business, I act from my heart and not my head.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

Honestly, I thought for the longest time that I needed a social media presence to have a successful business. In the beginning, I tried of a lot of tactics to grow my Instagram following. I also ran different kinds of ads to get more traction from my Facebook page.

But I noticed that the best clients came from my business to business relationships and not from my online presence. Then, the day after Christmas of 2021, my Facebook account was hacked and I was unable to get back in. I was disappointed in Facebook’s response. So I decided to not use social media and see what happened.

Nothing happened.

This may be because I have a high-end, locally-focused business. But I hope that the lesson here is that it’s important to first think of your business model and your audience before you think of your social media strategy.

What I do still have is Google My Business. I get reviews there and regularly post photos there. That helps me come up first (usually) when you Google pet photographer Austin. This doesn’t always get me clients. But this get me inquiries and I think it gives me clout.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://dogdays.photography/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brynbonino/

Image Credits
The image of me is by Sarah Soliz of Sarah Soliz Photography. All other images are by me, Bryn Bonino of Dog Days Photography.