Recently, JayMar Photography had the pleasure of working with Pinups for Pitbulls for a calendar shoot. Pinups for Pitbulls is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization which focuses on pitbull awareness efforts.  Actually, Pinups for Pitbulls state it much better on their website:

“Through creating an annual pinup calendar, selling other merchandise, and throwing events, Pinups for Pitbulls, Inc. raises money and awareness to benefit the health and welfare of this largely misunderstood breed.  The goal is to restore the former image of the American Pit Bull Terrior as a war hero, helper, nanny, companion and friend.  Pinups for Pitbulls also seeks to ban BSL (breed specific legislation), and to lobby against dog fighting, puppy mills, and cruelty to pit bulls.”

So we knew this would be a great project to get involved with.  However, the icing on the cake was again working with the fabulous Ashley Croft.  And yes, anytime you say her name you are required to insert the word fabulous in front of it.  Ashley is great to work with and knew exactly what she wanted out of the shot, which makes our jobs as photographers much, much easier.

Our assignment was to recreate a vintage pinup shot while also incorporating a pitbull, obviously.  Our image to recreate, was a 1962 painting by Gil Elvgren titled “Hold Everything” (Sometimes referred to as “Skirting the Issue”).  Pets can be tricky as they can be unpredictable, but Tiger was a total professional.  With some treats and fresh water on hand, he did not bark, run, or misbehave, merely posed and smiled.  Worried about the pending rain which was on the horizon and some tight schedules, everyone worked quickly to get the job done and overall we were extremely pleased with the results.

To give you an idea of how we worked for this scene, here is a candid behind the scenes look at our setup, which was in front of a local church (who was kind enough to let us run 40’ of extension cord into through their sanctuary to power our large floor fan).

Despite not being selected for the calendar, we were honored to have been a participant.  The 2010 Pinups for Pitbulls calendars can be purchased online and all of the wonderful submissions can be viewed here.