Biography

Emily Rieman grew up sitting next to her father in their tiny basement darkroom watching him make black and white prints. When she was fifteen he gave her a Canon SLR and she began taking pictures of everything around her. She went on to study photography at the School of Visual Arts in NYC and the University of Washington in Seattle, earning a BFA in Photography.

While at SVA, Emily was primarily interested in a photojournalistic style of photography, not giving her full attention in studio class. When her studio lighting instructor told her the most difficult thing to light is black fur, Emily responded, “um, … and when will I ever have to photograph black fur?”

When she started her pet photography business Best Friend Photography in 1997, Emily bought a studio lighting kit and figured out how to light black fur. She has been doing commissioned pet photography ever since. Her work has also been published both commercially and editorially.

Emily lives in Seattle with her husband Mark and their dogs Dexter and Lily.