Reviews
“Highly recommend Marty at Van & Bella's. His professionalism, kindness, and patience with our *energetic* and highly treat motivated pup was remarkable. He's so talented and gentle with animals. When we received our keepsake photo album, we were moved to tears by the simplicity and beauty of the shots...he captured the range of her personality so perfectly. We couldn't be more satisfied with the experience and outcome!”
Melissa B. (Chicago, IL)
“This is our second opportunity to partner with Marty who has done an outstanding job capturing our beloved family members. He displayed exceptional patience throughout the entire process - capturing some of the most amazing shots while helping us select the our ideal photos. There is something very special when someone's talent captures the true personality and spirt of an animal. I couldn’t recommend him enough. Thank you Marty for the gift that will last my lifetime.”
John V. (Chicago, IL)
We fully recommend Marty. Our dog was an adopted rescue with high anxiety and reactivity in uncomfortable situations.
Taking him to a photographer was something that made us very uneasy as we didn't want to put our dog or the photographer in a stressful situation. Marty answered all our concerns via email beforehand and we felt very confident bringing our dog in. The photo session went better than we could have imagined.
Upon arrival the lights were low and the room was quiet. Marty had a very calming presence and made sure the dog was comfortable with him and the environment prior to taking any photos. He took his time moving around our dog and spoke softly and never pushed our dog past his comfort. He also gave out lots of treats!
The follow up photo session went great. We were shown the pictures via a projector on a large screen so we could really see the small details. The selection process went smoothly and we felt great about the pictures Marty had gotten. The final artworks we selected look amazing and we are so happy with how they turned out. He truly captured what we love about our dog so much.
If you have any hesitations about having your dog photographed this is where to go.
Trevor S. (Des Plaines, IL)
“Marty did an amazing job in capturing her true personality in the photos as well as keep her calm and engaged throughout the entire process.”
“My two cats aren’t the best with new people or new places, so I had no idea what to expect going into the session. Marty took the time to earn their trust, make them comfortable, and capture their personalities. He made the entire process stress-free, and fun. I’m so grateful to have portraits that truly capture my cats’ beauty and personalities.”
“He is truly talented, patient and knows how to capture a cool shot.”
“We were a bit nervous about bringing Otis for pictures, but Marty was such a professional with him. He quickly got him under control (with the help of a few treats and whipped cream). Otis was a supermodel in no time.
We were so pleased with how Marty interacted with our pup, and the pictures turned out amazing. We love having some great portraits of our little pooch and have already referred many friends. Marty is worth it, we highly recommend AMSTAPHY!”
“We loved all of our images as Marty was magically able to bring each one of our fur babies personality to light!”
“I was nervous about bringing my two minimally trained dogs to a professional photo-shoot, but there was nothing to worry about with Marty. He handled them both so well and got some of the most beautiful pictures that I have ever seen. The whole process of taking the photos, choosing prints, and having Marty install them could not have gone any better!”
“We had some good laughs, and am happy with how many of the photos came out.”
“Marty is patient, talented, and went above and beyond our allotted time to ensure we had awesome pictures of both Biggie and Bella. We thoroughly enjoyed the session with our pups, and loved going through all the options on a big projector together! Can’t wait to see how these look in our home.”
“Admittedly, pet photography is a bit of a luxury indulgence. However, Marty makes sure your money is well spent and you’ll not have buyer’s remorse.”
“... were reluctant to take our dog in for the shoot because he has anxiety and aggression problems. Man, we should not have waited. Marty knew how to work with our dog and his photos turned out to be amazing. And that’s coming from a person who works in aesthetic and has photography as a hobby.”
“Thankfully Marty is patient and knew how to work with Murphy to gain his attention for some amazing photos that captured my dog’s true personality!”
“He captured Bella’s personality and made the selection process pleasant and smooth. It wasn’t easy because every image was adorable!”
“I never thought you would get Koko and Sandy to still long enough to get one good picture . . . much less 3!”
“Marty’s gift as a photographer is having a clear vision of the shots he wants to get. No standing around debating “how about this? how about that?” He cuts through all of that and provides clear, calm, and detailed direction about the poses he thinks will work best.”
“He had a wonderful and natural way of working with her and he actually was able to keep her attention long enough to capture some great shots of her!”
“We knew we wanted to photograph Rosko, our smallest member of our family, but we were not exactly sure what we wanted (if that makes any sense). However, Marty helped us figure out exactly what we wanted. He showed us examples and gave us ideas of what the final photograph will look like.”
“I was initially nervous about doing a photoshoot with my dog because she’s super high energy, wary of men, and dog reactive (quite the trifecta!), but Marty immediately set her at ease.”
“It took a ton of patience since Ziggy doesn’t exactly hold still. Marty never got flustered and just kept treating until it all paid off. We have several pictures framed now and couldn’t be happier.”
“He also got our dog to do things we didn’t think were possible - sitting focused for long periods of time as well as great action shots. His patience and timing were incredible.”
“Marty was able to capture our boy in the spirit in which he lived. His demeanor with Samo was kind, professional, and fun. We are forever grateful to have had that experience before Samo’s passing.”
“I was not sure at first if anyone could get any good photos of my Lulu because she would always shy away from my camera every time I would point it at her. So I must admit I was skeptical at first. But I decided to take a chance on my baby’s birthday.”
“I decided to do a photo session with my dogs, Fudge and Blu, after it dawned on me one day that they were a little slower and their muzzles had turned grey. Long before there were children, we had these two knuckleheads.”
“He captured her personality in pictures that I will treasure for the rest of my life. I had an incredibly difficult time choosing my prints from so many great shots!”
“Marty was extremely patient with our dogs and was able to capture some amazing shots! He edited our photos to perfection.”
“Marty’s generous work at the dog shelter won me over when I was considering the session as a birthday gift. Marty was so patient with my dog Ripley and he knows how to get great shots. Our dog Ripley is getting older and the photos were a really nice surprise for my partner with some photos of his canine buddy for his birthday.”