Fall City photographer captures memories for people and their pets

Christina Lathrop has dedicated her life to the legacy of animals — first, as a veterinary technician, and now, as a photographer who documents the bond between people and their pets.

Lathrop owns Beyond the Stables, a photography business she runs on her farm in Fall City.

Lathrop has been building up her photography skills for several years and officially opened her business two years ago. She specializes in studio photography, offering pet portraits, as well as equine photography, senior photos, headshots and boudoir.

Perhaps what Lathrop is most proud of are her legacy sessions, an offering where she photographs owners with pets in their golden years. When Lathrop was a veterinary technician, she worked in oncology and often dealt with end of life care. She said her training in pet loss and grief has been valuable to her photography business.

Lathrop strongly encourages pet owners to get photos with their animals before their days are numbered, but if time is limited, she is willing to work quickly.

“I don’t think people realize the importance of legacy sessions,” she said. “You don’t know when you’re going to lose your pet or anybody in your life. And so I always think it’s so important to really have portraits with your animals, which people will kind of overlook.”

She added, “I still have my dog’s ashes on my mantle, but it’s the pictures that I look at that make me smile and make me really remember what that my dog was like in those moments we had together.”

Lathrop herself has dogs, chickens, ducks, horses and goats on her farm. A lifetime lover of horses, she offers portraits of owners with their horses, as well as “unicorn photography,” where children can take magical photos with Lathrop’s beautiful white horse disguised as a unicorn.

Every Beyond the Stables photo package includes digital photos as well as printed photos, which is uncommon in the industry. Lathrop, who grew up doing family photoshoots and now has kids of her own, believes in creating heirloom artwork: photos that will be looked at and enjoyed for years to come.

“You get matching digitals with your prints, but I really think that everything should be tangible,” she said. “If you’re taking the time to come to me and work with me, then that means that you value the photography, so it shouldn’t be living on your computer.”

Because she wants to produce images worthy of being hung on the wall, Lathrop poses her clients a bit, but ultimately, she tries to let their true personalities shine.

“I always say I specialize in capturing connections, because that is really my favorite thing to do,” she said.

Having owned businesses before, Lathrop considers herself a serial entrepreneur, a career she loves both for the freedom in scheduling around family time and for the reward of bringing her dreams to fruition.

“I love being an entrepreneur because it’s an adventure,” she said. “It started with, OK, I’m going to offer sessions in the park and make a couple 100 bucks. And now I’m like, oh wow, this is a real business where I’m actually bringing income and contributing to my family. It was something I just built. It’s so cool.”