Ella Nesius
Specializing in canine, pet and rescue animal portraiture, I’ve dedicated my life to learning not only about the technical side of photography, but also a very important aspect of working with animals – their behavior. When I photograph dogs, my focus is a stress-free, pleasurable environment that is a fun game for the pet and enjoyable time for the owner.
Coming from a Post-Soviet country where stray animals are treated very poorly, I’ve realized that one of my main missions in life will be to help those that cannot speak up for themselves. I’ve focused my photography journey on making sure rescued animals are given a fair chance to be noticed – and good images are a great way to tell more about an adoptable animal.
A few years into my photography journey, I realized how fascinating animal behavior is, and wanted to learn more. I dove deep into it, shadowing and learning from successful dog trainers who have helped me build my own dogs, help me determine my goals and build appreciation for the small detail of working with each dog. My first step into learning about the mechanics of dog training and building a skill was joining a 6 week program designed for newcoming instructors at “Conflict-Free School of Dog Training with Uliana Maltseva & Alex Vyatkin”. Later, I have learned from Michael Ellis with his interactive program “The Principles of Dog Training 1”, and got myself familiar with Hersenwerk through their course “Hersenwerk InSight”. I learned about breeding dogs, puppy raising, the importance and the process of proper early and later socialization from Brittany Jensen and Bethany Tracy through their course “Puppy Potential”. I believe continued education is a must as dog training is an always evolving field. New, better methods and concepts are being discovered, which is the reason why I’m a member of educational programs that focus on behavior modification such as “Consider the Dog” with Tyler Muto and “Training Between the Ears” with Mark and Stephanie McCabe.