Often the photography niche that draws you into the field isn’t the niche that sticks. Such was the case for Lacey Schuetz, a now in-demand pet photographer who began her career in boudoir (and once had a client jump up from the couch, fling off her clothes, and streak through her home). These days, the only subjects streaking through her studio in their birthday suits are her clients’ beloved pets.
It makes sense that Schuetz, who runs Licked! Pet Photography in Charleston, South Carolina, would settle so comfortably into pet photography. One of her earliest memories is gazing out the window at the horses across from her family’s home in Fayetteville, Tennessee. Not content just to watch, Schuetz soon began capturing the horses and other animals with her mom’s 110 point-and-shoot camera.
As a student at William Woods University in Missouri, Schuetz studied equestrian science and biology; unfortunately, photography classes filled too quickly. When she was 18, she met her now-husband, Nick Terrell, and together they started raising bearded dragons, which Schuetz photographed with her Olympus digital camera.
“At the time, Nick was doing tech installations at Walmart stores. He brought me along as his assistant and with my first paycheck I bought a real camera, a Nikon D200,” she says. That was 2007. Ironically, the experience of photographing the couple’s spiny lizards, which are known for their flat bodies and stout legs, led to her first paid gig—a boudoir session for a high school classmate. The session went well, and Schuetz began to make a name for herself in boudoir as LS Photography.
PET PHOTOGRAPHY IS A THING?
In 2016, Schuetz and Terrell moved to North Carolina, where Nick started work on a cloud engineering project. Scrolling through social media feeds, Schuetz was drawn to a post by Kaylee Greer, the iconic photographer behind Dog Breath Photography. “Wait, I thought to myself,” says Schuetz. “Is pet photography actually its own thing?” Inspired, Schuetz changed the name of her business to Licked! Pet Photography, promoted her business at a pet store event, and offered specials on Facebook. “Like anyone who takes something from a hobby to a business, I experienced impostor syndrome for a while,” she says.
In 2019, the couple moved to Charleston, South Carolina, a dog-friendly city with a lighthouse-graced beach that would become a favorite backdrop for Schuetz’s work. Her timing was spot-on. Her passion for photographing the pooches of the Low Country aligned with a national surge in pet-related services—from grooming to daycare, home-delivered organic pet food to animal telehealth, and more. Dogs were having their day.
During and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic, Schuetz built both her business and her reputation, photographing for clients and donating her time at Dorchester Paws, a local animal shelter. Like a child photographer who can magically soothe a screaming toddler, Schuetz is not only an artist but an animal lover able to communicate with her subjects, allay their fears and, with luck and the right squeaky toy, coax that endearing head tilt.
BEACHY SCENES
Beach sessions are a Licked! specialty. Schuetz spends three to four hours with each pet subject and their person, starting at the Morris Island end of Folly Beach, where weathered rocks and pilings provide an authentic, natural backdrop. Then the group drives a few minutes to the other end of the island for sunset shots on picturesque Folly Beach.
At her home studio, Schuetz creates portraits using a mirrorless camera and an uncomplicated setup: a 53-inch paper backdrop (black, white, or neutral). She typically chooses butterfly lighting with a reflector beneath and, as needed, small strip lights. “I’m drawn to light, both natural and artificial,” says Schuetz. She also has a 42-inch soft box anchored by sandbags in case a pet racing through the studio collides with it.
Among the essential elements in the studio is a stash of dried beef liver slices, which she deploys for only the most recalcitrant subjects. Another is her husband, Nick, who serves as tech assistant and unflappable dog whisperer.
TO THE RESCUE
Schuetz feels deeply for the animals she photographs. That empathy is on full display in her images of pets in their final days, a sad but important duty she performs more often than she’d like. “I’m often in tears when I look at these forever pictures, but I know the client will be thrilled to have them,” she says. “With humans, we tend to photograph our milestones, but pets don’t really have these—they’re puppies, then they’re old.”
Another expression of that love is a planned pivot from pet portraits for private clients to pet portraits for shelter and rescue work. Schuetz has long volunteered in this space, making appealing images of adoptable pets for use on social media, in newscasts, and in advertising. She says her greatest joy is partnering with local shelters, such as Charleston’s Rosie Rescue, and using her art to help pets find homes.
Toward that end, Schuetz has been working with local businesses to sponsor photo sessions for rescue organizations. The portrait work not only showcases the rescue animals but the sponsors’ support for animals in need. The sponsors, in turn, pay Schuetz for her images. In addition to these sponsored sessions, Schuetz is also at work on upcoming photo books to raise funds for two shelters, Pet Helpers and Rosie Rescue. “I don’t necessarily see art as advocacy, but I like the idea that my photography is being used as a tool to educate people about the animal crisis,” she says.
At the end of the workday, when the squeaky toys are put away and the beef liver is back in the fridge, Schuetz settles down with Nick to cull images in a family room adorned with 16x30-inch close-ups of the couples’ six beloved canines. Wet noses and wagging tails are never far from Schuetz—nor from her mind’s eye.
Evelyn Sacks is an Atlanta-based writer. Her first dog was Peppy.
Tags: portrait photography
