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Celebrate your best friend. Support Ohio animals. Be part of a book. 📖🐾

Heartland Hounds is a limited-edition coffee-table book project featuring dogs (and their favorite humans) from across Ohio’s farms, trails, neighborhoods, and city streets.

Your pet’s story and portraits will be carefully crafted into a beautiful, printed book that celebrates the everyday magic of living alongside animals in the heartland.

Celebrate the everyday wonder of living alongside animals.
Across Ohio’s trails, farms, forests, and neighborhoods, we discover companionship that is loyal, joyful, and deeply rooted.
These images honor those connections and the heartland that brings them to life.

A portion of every session goes straight back to animals in need. A local Ohio-based rescue/charity partner will be announced soon, and 50% of every Heartland Hounds session fee will be donated to support their work.

get involved

Ash and Alder Photography is thrilled to announce the launch of Heartland Hounds and Companions, a limited-edition hardcover coffee table book celebrating the dogs and companion animals who call Ohio home. We’re now accepting applications for a select number of book sessions that will take place across central Ohio, from wildflower-lined trails to neighborhood parks and small-town streets that make our state so special.

Every participating dog will be featured in a 2-4 page spread in the book. Half of every session fee will be donated to a local Ohio animal charity (to be announced soon), ensuring your pup’s story pays forward to pets in need.

You’ll also have the opportunity to view and purchase printed artwork or digital collections from your session. This project continues Ash and Alder’s proud tradition of giving back: in recent years, our annual book and charity projects have raised thousands of dollars for rescues including Speak! for the Unspoken, Purebred Rescue Organization of Ohio and Freedom Tails of Ohio .

Join us to celebrate your companion, spotlight Ohio’s beauty, and support animals still waiting for their chapter to begin.

Limited Sessions Available

  • $150 session fee

    ~ $100 of Session Fee donated to rescue TBD

    ~ Dates available from March to October

    ~ Sessions are 30 minutes and take place in Columbus and central Ohio-option to upgrade to full length 60 minute session to include additional pets and people and more variety in the photos for $50

    ~One pet per spread, additional dogs can be added with upgrade to full session

    ~ Each pet will have their own 2-4 page spread

    ~ Prints, products and digital files are not included.

    Receive a FREE 5 x 7 gift print of your favorite photo from the session.

  • A happy Australian Shepherd dog standing in a shallow creek with a blurred green forest background.

Apply Now

why participate?

Joining the Heartland Hounds project means you’re doing far more than “just” booking a photoshoot:

  • ❤️ Honor your bond
    Freeze this moment in time with your pet, whether they’re a wiggly puppy, an adventure buddy, or a beloved senior.

  • 📚 Be featured in a beautiful book
    Your pet’s images (and story) will be included in the Heartland Hounds book, a keepsake you’ll treasure for years to come.

  • 🐾 Support animals in need
    $100 of your session fee is donated to an Ohio animal charity or rescue. Your pet gets to be a model and a little philanthropist.

  • 🖼️ Create heirloom artwork
    After your session, you’ll be able to choose from stunning printed artwork and digital collections so your favorite images don’t just live on a screen.

  • 🌽 Celebrate Ohio
    Your session will showcase the feel of our heartland: parks, fields, creeks, urban corners, and cozy home vibes that are uniquely “us.”

How it works:

Apply & Inquire
Fill out the form on this page so I can learn more about you, your pet, and your story.

  1. Choose Your Date & Session Type
    You’ll select your preferred date and choose between a Heartland Hounds session ($150) or upgrade to a full session (+$50). I’ll be photographing for the book month-to-month, and I expect the calendar to fill quickly, so the earlier you book, the better.

  2. Session Day
    We’ll meet at a chosen location that suits your pets’s personality, comfort level, and mobility. Expect treats, silly noises, and lots of “good dog!” praise.

  3. Reveal & Artwork Selection
    After your session, you’ll see your curated images and choose any prints, wall art, albums, or digital collections you’d like to purchase (sold separately).

  4. Book Creation
    Your chosen image(s) will be designed into the Heartland Hounds book. When the book is ready, you’ll have the option to purchase your own copy and proudly point out your dog inside.

Who Is This For?

Heartland Hounds is perfect if you:

  • Share your life with a dog who means the world to you

  • Love the idea of turning your pet’s story into something tangible and timeless

  • Want to support Ohio animals in need while celebrating your own

  • Have been “thinking about photos someday” and need the little nudge to finally do it

Ready to Be Part of the Story?

Click the button below to:

  • Tell me a bit about your dog

  • Choose your session type (standard or upgraded full session)

  • Get first dibs on dates before the calendar fills with book sessions

✨ Your dog’s story belongs in the heart of Ohio. Let’s put them in the book.

Register now
  • A smiling dog with a white coat and a black patch on its left eye, sitting on a wooden surface outdoors during sunset, wearing a light blue collar.

    Bridge Park

  • A white and black dog standing among green foliage in a forest setting, looking directly at the camera.

    Darby Bend Lakes

  • A small, fluffy dog with a tan and gray coat standing outdoors on a wooden surface, with a blurred background of green trees and plants. The dog has a cute face with dark eyes, a black nose, and its tongue slightly sticking out.

    Ohio Wesleyan

  • A dog sitting on grass near a body of water with a fountain and a bridge in the background, surrounded by trees.

    Schiller Park

  • A tan and gray dog with a black collar, peeking around a large beige column, looking at the camera with its tongue out.

    Goodale Park

  • A black curly-haired poodle wearing a blue patterned bandana, sitting on grass in a garden with pink flowers and greenery, during sunset with warm golden light.

    Park of Roses

  • A black and white dog standing on a dirt path in a forest with green foliage and blurred background.

    Park of Roses

  • A happy white dog standing on green grass in a park with trees and a pond in the background.

    Denison University

  • A brindle-colored dog with a muscular build, resembling a Boxer or Great Dane, wearing a purple beaded necklace, standing outdoors on grass with a blurred background of green trees and a sunset.

    Quarry Trails

  • Two dogs with sunflower collars sitting in a garden of pink and red roses, smiling and looking at the camera.

    Park of Roses

  • A small white curly-haired dog standing outside on a concrete pavement next to a large wooden flower planter with pink flowers.

    Gantz Park

  • A happy white dog with a colorful collar sitting among yellow flowers and green plants outdoors.

    ML Red Nature Preserve

  • Two dogs, a larger cream-colored with long wavy ears and a smaller reddish-brown with a blue collar, standing outdoors on a sunny day with trees and fallen leaves in the background.

    Darby Bend Lakes

  • A happy Australian Shepherd dog standing in a shallow stream in a lush green forest.

    Highbanks

  • A black and white dog with floppy ears, sitting among autumn-colored foliage, looking at the camera with an open mouth.

    Ariel-Foundation Park

  • A black, white, and tan English Springer Spaniel puppy standing on a large rock outdoors surrounded by blurred greenery.

    Quarry Trails

  • A Siberian Husky with blue eyes standing among yellow and white flowers in a garden during sunset.

    Park of Roses

  • Australian Shepherd dog with blue eyes in a garden with pink flowers and green foliage.

    Park of Roses

Erica did an amazing job with my dog, Lenny. Not only are the photos gorgeous, but she was super patient and understanding that he does not do well with strangers and couldn’t be trusted off leash. Before I knew it, he was sitting nicely and taking treats from her; I couldn’t believe it. I would absolutely recommend Erica for you professional animal photography needs!

Kelly W.

Silhouette of a person kneeling and giving a paw to a dog against a sunset sky with clouds.

Erica did an amazing job capturing photos of our puppy and senior dog as well as their humans. She was so patient and had lots of tricks to get the dogs’ attention, and was so very patient. I am in LOVE with the images and phenomenal editing. Erica was also very communicative and accommodating. I would absolutely recommend her to anyone looking for beautiful photos of their beloved pets. ”

Jessica H.

A woman holding a small, fluffy dog with a red collar, smiling at the camera, in a park with trees and a pathway.

Support animal rescue with a limited edition Heartland Hounds and companions Photoshoot

If you are on the fence and would like more information. Fill out the adjacent form to contact me with any specific questions you may have.