“My intention is for the portraits to uplift spirits . . .
to capture love, joy, and celebrate life.”

Lori A. Cheung established thePortraitPhotographer.com and thePetPhotographer.com when her family and friends
encouraged her to follow her passion. She is fulfilling her dream by managing these socially and environmentally responsible photography businesses. Lori donates a portion of all proceeds to charitable organizations. She volunteers as a Member of the Development Committee for the Berkeley-East Bay Humane Society and is on the Board of Directors for the Esther Collins Memorial Children’s Foundation for Literacy. Lori is expanding her pet photography greeting card line and is working on book projects. She is a member of Professional Photographers of America.

Lori creates fine art using high-resolution digital techniques and classic black and white film. The freedom of digital
photography allows her to provide a tremendous amount of high quality proofs that results in significant cost savings for
clients.

Lori began developing film at 10 years old and has always loved animals. “My dad is a retired photographer and I marveled at his ability to make people feel at ease in front of the camera (he is Winnie the Pooh in human form). I played with his warm, crunchy flash bulbs that bubbled after firing them.” Her childhood pets, Mitzi, Mini-Poo, Mimi, and Muffin (a terrier mix and three poodles) had a profound impact on her life. She also delighted in Jeepers and Tiki (parakeet and cockatiel), Dinky (turtle), a big bowl of guppies, a goldfish won with a ping-pong ball, tiny crabs from San Francisco Bay, and planaria (aquatic worms) she rescued from her scientific experiments in elementary school and at U.C. Berkeley.

At U.C. Berkeley, Lori graduated with honors and earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Environmental Sciences with an emphasis in Biology. She also established an environmental consulting firm, managing environmental impact analyses and endangered species conservation plans.

Thank you to my inspiring family, friends, clients, and their pets for sharing your beautiful souls with me. Mom, Dad, Deb, Bob, Jenelle, Amanda, Eric, Sue, and John, you are my mentors. Thank you for encouraging me to soar. There are no words that can express how much I love you. My deepest gratitude to Oprah Winfrey for being my model of philanthropy.