Elena Pressprich (you may know her as @findmeoutside on Instagram) is the staff photographer for Ruffwear and gets to take photos of dogs all day. Here’s what a typical workday looks like for her.
Talking to Elena Pressprich over the phone, you could hear her dogs playing together in the background. She recently added a third to her pack, Millie, a golden retriever. On Instagram, you may know her as @findmeoutside. Pressprich has built a following around her outdoor adventures, always with her dogs by her side. She said she got into photography in high school, and after a few years exploring careers in the medical field, she landed a job as the staff photographer at Ruffwear in Bend a little more than a year ago. Pressprich, 32, has lived in Bend her entire life, and spends her free time exploring Oregon. “When I’m not working my nine to five, I’m still working at home to find the next place to travel to get photos,” she said. She’ll go anywhere that’s driving distance, so she never has to leave her dogs behind. Here’s how she spends a workday at Ruffwear. — Bronte Dod
6:00 a.m. Wake up, check phone. (Guilty… and I know I’m not the only one who does this…)
6:05 a.m. Ok, let the dogs out to use bathroom.
6:08 a.m. Let the dogs into bed with me and hug and cuddle them for at least ten minutes.
6:18 a.m. Realize I need to stop cuddling my dogs and really get in the shower.
6:35 a.m. Feed dogs, dress myself, make coffee.
6:55 a.m. Try to convince Baya that she really should eat her breakfast because I need to go to work.
7:10 a.m. Still trying to convince Baya to eat, while trying to make myself a breakfast. Try to stop Millie from eating Baya’s food, put gear in the car, stop Millie from pulling the stuffing out of her toys (which are now scattered EVERYWHERE).
7:25 a.m. Now time is flying and Baya still hasn’t had too much food? I need to get to work RIGHT. NOW.
7:30 a.m. Actually leave for work after giving the pups lots hugs and kisses.
7:45 a.m. Arrive at Ruffwear. I left my job in the medical field kind of on a whim that there was something out there that would better suit me. While I loved being an x-ray technologist, I knew my true calling was something with photography. Ideally, that would be with dogs! When I reached out to local companies seeing if they needed photo help, my dream company wrote me back asking if I would accept a full time in house position; Ruffwear. I replied with in a minute, probably in all caps, YES I CAN START RIGHT AWAY!
8:00 a.m. Pack gear for photoshoot. I Make sure I have charged batteries, clean lenses, cleared memory cards, the dog gear I am shooting (leash, collar, harness, coat), dog treats, bowl, water, and that the van is ready to go.
8:15 a.m. Pick up talent at his house, head to the McKenzie River.
9:50 a.m. Arrive at the McKenzie River.
9:55 a.m. Begin to outfit the pup with the Ruffwear gear, making sure everything fits properly and pup is comfortable. Make sure the human is prepped and ready for the trail running photoshoot. Proper attire on everyone? Check, check, and check. We are ready to shoot.
10:15 a.m. Been scouting an exact location for a bit and just found the magical spot to photograph them. Stoked!
11:15 a.m. Exhausted, slightly muddy and 2,000 frames later. Oh boy, this is going to be a lot of editing—whoops! Got a little shutter excited.
11:25 a.m. Gear off, gear put away, give pup treats and water, and we are ready to hit the road back home.
12:55 p.m. Drop off human and pup at their house.
12:20 p.m. Arrive back and Ruffwear and I’m HUNGRY. Head back out to go grab a burrito at Longboard Louie’s.
12:55 p.m. Back again at Ruffwear, throw jackets, leash and harness in wash and unload photos from the photoshoot.
1:00 p.m. Social media planning meeting
2:15 p.m. Finally sitting down at my desk, excited to see how the photos came out.
3:15 p.m. Finalizing photography assets for a fun spur-of-the-moment social media idea.
3:16 p.m. Take a quick walk break, wishing I had my pups with me today like normal, but I’m almost done with the day and will be home to them soon! Head back in to begin to sift through the photos.
4:45 p.m. It’s time to head home! I need to go pack for a trip to Baker City.
5:05 p.m. Home! Play with the dogs, lay with the dogs on the ground, dogs jump all over me, lick me, step on me. It’s torture, but it’s love.
5:15 p.m. Time to pack! Things! Dog stuff! My stuff! Hiking stuff! Sleeping stuff! Wintry stuff? Camera stuff!
5:45 p.m. Friend picks us up, load car and we’re off! Night one to John Day. This was an assignment for Travel Oregon! It was a takeover for their Instagram Stories. My area to explore was to Baker City and Anthony Lakes. You can see the post on their account here.
6:45 p.m. Arrive at Crooked River Brewing for pizza and beer.
7:55 p.m. Leave and make the trek in the dark to John Day. Put on a ’90s love song Spotify playlist, sing loudly, and relive all my lonely, awkward high school dances.
9:55 p.m. Woof. We arrived. Check into hotel. Tired, and ready for bed.
10:25 p.m. Snuggle all my pups in bed and lights out.
