Pampering pets

Shi and her husband Chong Bin, a photographer, set up their studio in 2014 and Shi said their services were rarely known to the public at that time. As an animal lover who has rescued stray cats and dogs for many years, Shi originally launched the studio to take beautiful photos of stray animals so that it would be easier for them to find a new home.

"When we started off seven years ago, the pet photography industry was basically nonexistent. The public did not know about pet photography. They might know photography for weddings and children, but they didn't know pets could also enjoy this service," she said.

In the first few years, the studio wasn't profitable. Both Shi and Chong had other full-time jobs: Shi was an architect and Chong was a photographer for another company.

"We were working to financially support our studio," Chong said.

"We weren't doing the pet photography for money. We were doing this, one, to help stray animals, and two, as a pastime. It was a difficult time, but to help stray animals, we had to keep the studio running," he added.

Since the end of 2017 the studio has seen an increase in bookings. Finding that she could no longer look after the studio while working full time, coupled with her pregnancy, Shi resigned from her job and shifted her focus onto the studio. Chong also quit his job at that time.

As of the end of 2021, the studio has photographed for nearly 2,000 pet "families", taking over 80,000 pictures. The subjects have ranged from cats and dogs to rats, parrots, minks, rabbits and a 125-kilogram pig. The studio has accumulated many regular customers who come to take a set of photos on special occasions.

Shi has a client who comes and takes group photos of their pets and child every year, with the same background and same poses from since the child was born to document their growth. During the New Year holiday, the family photo packages are the bestseller.

Shi and Chong said they didn't expect their studio to receive such good feedback and popularity. "My initial intention was simple-just to take good pictures of strays so I could find them homes. Then more and more of our friends began to keep pets," Shi said, adding that the number of young couples with multiple pets is also increasing.