Rutimeli Photography

03/28/2026

Meet Annie and Ruby!! We had an amazing time during their photo session up in Frankfort!! 🩵

10/03/2025

We had a wonderful session with Barrett, Molly, and their family! Barrett loved exploring the park and saying hi to everyone. Molly loved walking around, and she loved the treats at the end of the session! They are both the sweetest pups, and so well-behaved that they even knew how to pose for the photos ❤

What is your pet's favorite place to visit? We would love to know! 😁

08/11/2025

Meet Gully! 🧡 She is a beautiful senior Portuguese Podenco Maneto. We had a session last month in Frankenmuth. Her owner shared the following about Gully:

"I found Gully at Saginaw County Animal Control in 2014 when she was roughly 3 years old. She was listed as a Basset Hound but we later figured out that she is a Portuguese Podenco Maneto. They had been calling her Kari, but that didn’t seem like the right name to me. I settled on Gulliver Cider; Gully for short. She was extremely timid the first time we met but warmed up almost immediately when I brought her home from being spayed. The first toy she got was a little pink pig. She treated it like it was a real puppy- taking it with her everywhere, cleaning it, bringing it to her food and water bowls. She even slept with it every night for years. Her intelligence has always impressed me. She learned the basics in days. I knew I was in trouble when she figured out how to take books off the bookcase so she could climb it to get over the doggy gate. After seeing how smart she was, how fast she learned, and how excited she’d get when working on something new, we moved on to more skills. She loves to show people how she can whisper, smile, and say her prayers. I made the mistake of teaching her to ring a bell to get a treat. She took to that a little too well, so now the bell only comes out occasionally. Her internal clock is amazing. If you tell her you’ll be back at a certain time, she starts waiting by the door 15-30 minutes before. If you tell her you’ll take her for a walk when you get home, you better not forget or she’ll make sure you remember. Over the years she has gained quite a fan club at the local dog friendly stores, parks, and the nursing home where we visit my grandma (and the other residents). Each place has a few people that she considers hers. When she sees them, she will scream and carrying on like crazy as if they’ve spent years apart (even when it’s usually been a couple of weeks at most!). She has a way of bringing joy to people that is impossible to ignore. She especially loves kids and elderly folks. Because of allergies, she has to visit the vet once a month for a shot. She even loves the ‘shot ladies’- as long as they don’t currently have the shot with them. She is loving, sassy, opinionated, and rather spoiled. She is my heart dog. A few weeks ago, I found a mass in her abdomen that was different from her old dog lumps. After a day of tests and sending the results to a specialist, we were told it was cancer on her spleen. They gave the option of surgery, but because of her age, the high risk of the surgery, and the likelihood that the little extra time it could give us would be spent with her recovering, we decided that wasn’t the right course for us. She is currently asymptomatic and taking full advantage of all the extra spoiling she can get. We have no real idea of how much longer we’ll have together, so we’re making the most of it by doing a doggy bucket list. So far she’s had ice cream cones, many pup cups, a spa day, visits to all her favorite places and people, McDonald’s, extra goodies with her meals, and a photo shoot with Val. I’m thankful that we are getting to savor the time we have left and that Val was able to record some memories for us. Gully loved all the sniffing, pets, and snacks she got while getting pictures taken and I love the photos I’ll have to look back on"

08/05/2025

I am thrilled to share that I have joined the Board of Directors for The Tilly Project! 🧡

The Tilly Project is an international 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that aims to connect pet owners with end-of-life pet photographers across the world and to provide accessible, educational, and supportive resources for photography, anticipatory grief, and pet loss/bereavement.

I got started with The Tilly Project in October 2021 after seeing Lauren Smith Kennedy’s end-of-life sessions on social media. It inspired me to start my photography page, Rutimeli Photography. I have had the honor of providing Tilly Project sessions in Michigan since then and have met so many amazing pets and their families. I was inspired to join The Tilly Project because of my senior dog, Tammy, who was 7 years old when we adopted her. We unexpectedly lost her in 2024 to cancer, which has made it more important to capture memories and cherish the time we have with our loved ones.

I am looking forward to working with an amazing group of people to bring The Tilly Project to more families. If you have any questions about The Tilly Project or would like to get involved as an affiliate photographer, please let me know!

08/04/2025

So excited to share that I have joined the Board of Directors for The Tilly Project! I’m so excited to work alongside an amazing group of people 💕

The Tilly Project is thrilled to share that we have welcomed Val Schieber, MPH onto our Board of Directors! 🧡

Val Schieber, MPH, (she/her/hers) is a public health data analyst in Michigan and a photographer at Rutimeli Photography. She got started with The Tilly Project in October 2021 after seeing Lauren's end-of-life sessions on social media. She has been providing Tilly Project sessions in Michigan since then and has met so many amazing pets and their families. She was inspired to join The Tilly Project because of her senior dog, Tammy, who was 7 years old when she was adopted.

Val has been helping with miscellaneous projects, including checking that social media links are active, engaging with participants in the Tilly Project Facebook group, and coordinating the weekly Affiliate Photographer Highlights. Val works and lives in Michigan with her wonderful husband, Aidan, and their dog, Bokeh. Bokeh is a Double Merle Australian Shepherd who is deaf and has been doing all of her training with hand signs! Val is so excited to join the Board of Directors for The Tilly Project and looks forward to working with everyone on the board!

07/29/2025

We have an exciting life update! ♡ Aidan and I got married back in December, but had our wedding celebration with our friends and family last month! I had taken some time to step back and focus on the wedding preparations, but will be able to focus more time for Rutimeli Photography starting in late August. If you have any pet photography needs, feel free to reach out! Stay tuned!

Photo by the amazing .elizabethphotography ♡

05/25/2025

🐾 🐶

Paws, play, and plenty of action... Frankenmuth Dog Bowl is BACK! 🐾 🎉
➡️ Learn more: https://www.frankenmuth.org/events/frankenmuth-dog-bowl/

05/15/2025

It's almost time for the ! 🐾 We loved meeting so many amazing pups in 2023 & 2024! Are you attending this year? We're attending with our pup and we are so excited!!! 😁

05/08/2025

Just realized that we have not done a proper introduction yet of Miss .cabana!! Meet our pup Bokeh, she is a 1-year-old double Merle Australian Shepherd, we adopted her back in June 2024 from and have been so in love with her! She’s so smart, silly, energetic, and loving! She is fully deaf so we are learning more hand signs to train her but so far she’s been doing an amazing job! She is the best model to practice our photography and her favorite part about photo sessions is all of the treats she gets for being the best girl! 💕

Speak! For the Unspoken is a registered 501(c)(3) pet rescue located in the Central Ohio area. They are a small foster based rescue, devoted to animal rescue and specializing in special needs rescue and education. Since they are a foster based rescue, all of the animals in their program are cared for in a loving home, including medical bills, food, microchips and preventative care. If you would like to learn more, you can check them out on social media or visit their website https://www.speakfortheunspoken.com/.

05/05/2025

In memory of Harmony. Harmony was a beautiful 15-year old cockapoo. We met with her and her family last August at Fort Gratiot Lighthouse. She was a wonderful dog, so sweet and kind. She loved her family and she was very loved by her family. Her owner shared: "Harmony is my heart and best friend. She's a 1 in a million kind of dog...sweet, loving, and gentle. Loves everyone but extremely loyal and my shadow."

We extend our condolences to her family 🧡

04/28/2025

In memory of Dakota and Krypto, they were two beautiful dogs who were the best of friends. They grew up together and loved being around each other. We met them and their family at Stoney Creek Metropark for a photo session earlier this month and they loved exploring the new place. They were so loved by their family 🧡

We extend our condolences to their family during this time 🧡

🌈

02/26/2025

We had a great time volunteering for the Fenton Polar Plunge earlier this month! If you participated in the event, the photos are available on the Special Olympics Michigan Flickr:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/specialolympicsmichigan/albums/72177720323560917/

Thank you for having us! 💙