ABOUT US

If your dog is:

your best friend

your co-pilot

your furbaby

your family

then you're in the right place.

Big White Dog Photography specializes in the adventures you take with your dog. On drives, walks and hikes, that’s where we find the sweetest wag of a tail, the boopiest snoots and the most incredible, unconditional love.

When you’re with me, I watch for The Magic Moment. It’s in that moment, that one gentle, quick click of my shutter, I see that bond.

That connection inspires me every time I pick up my camera to document your adventures together in the Inland Northwest.

See that big galoot?

That's Shep.

My bestie Dana in Calgary called him “that idiot hairbag” because he wouldn’t leave her cats alone.

I called him my soulmate and my co-pilot in life. He was there for me on days when no human was. He made me feel less alone.

He took me from the big city into the Rocky Mountains where we hiked the Foothills and Banff National Park. He put the camera back in my hands after I’d tossed it several years prior.

How can you be in the most beautiful place in the world with the most beautiful dog in the world and not want to take pictures?

He left my world on Aug. 20, 2014, the worst day of my life. My body still shakes with sobs sometimes when I have days where I miss him.

I have pictures. Hundreds, thousands of images that memorialize our adventures.

And he lives forever in my heart.

See that bitch?

That's Bella.

She came into my life nine days after Shep left. It was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up and yet I was riddled with guilt about replacing my boy so quickly.

She has never replaced him. She instead has helped me heal from losing him.

We are best friends, glued together as we hike and explore throughout the Inland Northwest. In our free time, we’re location hunting around Spokane and Coeur d’Alene to find epic backgrounds for portrait sessions.

She is fierce, defiant, stubborn and independent – and every one of these traits makes me love her more.

I grin from ear to ear when she’s giving my husband the what-for because it’s time for dinner.

She fills my heart with joy.

And then there's this jerk ...

Hi, I'm Angela Schneider.

My mother wanted a pretty little girl she could put in dresses and patent shoes. She got me.

With three brothers, I’m not sure how my destiny could have been anything except “tomboy.” I’m messy. I’m rough around the edges. I swear a lot … like a lot. It’s probably from growing up in newsrooms and around hockey players in my former life as a sportswriter.

I’m happiest when I take Bella and my camera and hit the hiking trails around Spokane and North Idaho.

I’m a recovering journalist who survived dipping her toes into a marketing career. As a journalist in Canada, I told amazing stories of athletes, coaches, wins and losses. It wasn’t a job, it was a calling.

I didn’t think I could have two dream jobs in one lifetime.

Then I found dog photography, something that stirs my soul every day here in Spokane, Washington, and the Inland Northwest.

Now I tell a different kind of story: the love you’ve found with your dog.

Grief educated

My mom? The one who wanted a girly-girl? She died on Jan. 28, 2022. That event put me on a path to better understand my own grief, including the residual grief from losing Shep in 2014 and my dad in 1996.

I’ve become certified as a Grief Coach under both CathyCheshire.com and David Kessler at Grief.com. I am also a certified Pet Loss Grief Companion under Coleen Ellis and Two Hearts Pet Loss Center.

This journey prompted me to create my own program to teach my fellow pet photographers how to be a part of your support network when you’re nearing your last adventures with your adventure buddy. One Last Network also hosts a podcast to help you find support and services for your healing.

Little bits ... some important bits

I studied English literature in university. I wrote my senior thesis on dream analogies in Shakespearean works. In two days.
I own a Nikon M3, a Minolta Maxxum 7000, Pentax K-1000 -- all film cameras. The K-1000 is the first camera I worked with in my journalism career.
My dream vacations are: the Tuscan region of Italy to visit the homeland of the Maremmano-Abruzzese sheepdog; Greece, because holy shit, they know FOOD; and Australia, because I've met online so many amazing Maremma lovers that I must visit.
I believe in responsible breeding and in the necessity of rescues and adoptions. If it wasn't for the opportunity to rescue, I never would have met Shep. If it wasn't for responsible breeding, I never would have met Bella.

I'm LGBTQ2S+ friendly. Nah, I'm LGBTQ2S+-fuckyeah. I love your community. and all of my friends who belong to it.
Black lives matter. Indigenous lives matter.
I was bullied and ostracized by the cool girls in junior high and high school. No one gets to feel like a wallflower around me. I will fix your crown.
I've lived in five Canadian provinces — Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland, British Columbia and Alberta — and one U.S. state, beautiful Washington.
I've visited nine Canadian provinces; I'm missing Manitoba and all three territories on my list. I've visited or driven through 24 states.

Ready to get started on the story of your adventure dog with a photography session beyond compare?

Even more bits

Just when you thought you had all the info about your Spokane and North Idaho adventure dog photographer

Giving back

I am so grateful for the support I’ve received as a dog photographer. I feel compelled to return my good fortune by helping pet nonprofits in Spokane and North Idaho.

Testimonials

I have the best clients! They love the adventures and memories we’ve created together and they say the nicest things about their pet photography sessions.

In the news

I’ve won a few awards for photography and writing. I’ve also been featured in the news and on dog-friendly websites, and I write about hiking with dogs in The Spokesman-Review.