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I’ve always loved dogs, even as a toddler, you’ll find pictures of me surrounded by puppies and playing with stuffed animal dogs. We always had one or three growing up and I knew that as an adult, dogs would always be a part of the family. As I write this, a one eyed, blind, 2 month old puppy is snoring and squeaking gently on my lap and a 95lb Great Dane is stretched out on the other side. And I’m looking at some of the most whimsical, playful and just plain fun portraits of dogs that I’ve ever seen. This is my heaven.

[REWIND: PUPPYHOOD: ADORABLE LIFE-SIZED PORTRAITS OF 6 WEEK OLD PUPPIES]

Which is why when I stumbled upon the work of Boston pet photographer, Kaylee Greer, I knew I had found a kindred spirit. 5 years ago, Kaylee was looking for her dream. She was at a crossroads in her life and trying to figure out what to do after college. By her side, a “multi-colored, 80lb, fuzzy wagging ball of love” gave her inspiration. She had always loved photography, and had taken classes in college, so photographing Toby, her shelter adopted pit bull came naturally. What started as an attempt to preserve her memories of him – his sweet smile, his pure happiness – for an inevitable time in the future where he would no longer be by her side, became her purpose in life. And that is how Dog Breath Photography was born.

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She began by volunteering at a local animal shelter, and now, Kaylee works about 80 hours a week, traveling across the country for her clients and photographing their adorable dogs, but no matter how busy she gets, she still schedules one day a week to kiss, cuddle and photograph adoptable dogs. As she puts it, “it’s sort of silly for me to call it work – it’s my favorite thing in the world! I basically live, eat, sleep and breathe pet photography.”

Kaylee shoots with a Canon 5D Mark III, and a large arsenal of lenses, as she tells Bored Panda, her two favorite lenses are the Canon 16-35mm f/2.8 and the Canon 50mm f/1.4. All of her images go through a combination of Lightroom and Photoshop, where she adjusts things such as the sharpness, contrast and color cast, removing the occasion leash. Aside from that her photos are not manipulated in any other way, relying on in camera techniques and lighting to capture the essence of these adorable pets.

It’s my constant strive to capture that infinite joy and trademark canine spirit that drives the color and soul in my images. The happiness and energy that I hope for viewers to feel when they look at my images is a direct representation of the outrageous love that I find inside the soul of a dog.

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There were so many seriously adorable portraits that I couldn’t include in this article so to see more photos that are sure to make you smile, check out Kaylee Greer’s website, Dog Breath Photography, her blog, Facebook and Instagram.

CREDITS: Photographs by Kaylee Greer have been used with permission for SLR Lounge. Do not copy, modify or re-post this article or images without express permission from SLR Lounge and the artist.

Via Bored Panda/Hair of the Dog Blog