Ah, Say What. I had such a clear vision for this one. Mabel going up a set of stairs, pausing halfway, looking back at me with that perfect little head tilt. It was going to be adorable. Keyword: was. Turns out, getting a dog to both look cute and follow precise composition instructions is a lot harder than you’d think. LOL.

After a few failed attempts at the stairway shot, I scrapped the plan and thought back to another participant’s image where her pup sat next to a ground length window and created a fun reflection. That gave me an idea. What if I could get Mabel to do a double head tilt with her reflection? Yes please, sign me up for that. Mabel will do anything for me… or so I thought.

We drove to Elevate Rapid City, one of the few spots in town with large outdoor windows that go all the way to the ground. I went later in the day when the building would be quiet and the sun was low on the horizon, giving us that perfect golden light. On the walk up, I noticed a cool circular bike rack and decided to give it a try first. The composition was promising until the building design behind it completely ruined the background. Bummer. Back to the window plan.

The only issue? There was a small lip in the concrete right next to the windows. And apparently, we found Mabel’s line in the sand. She refused to sit tight against that window. No amount of treats, sweet talk, or creative bribery would convince her otherwise. I could practically watch my Top 20 dreams slipping away in real time.

So, in defeat, we started heading back to the car, and that’s when I spotted another set of bike racks. Clean, simple, and perfectly placed. Huzzah! Round two. The composition was great, the pose was great, but Mabel, whose head usually works like a bobble toy on caffeine, suddenly locked her neck in place. I spent 45 minutes trying to get a head tilt. No tripod, dog off leash, trying to frame and engage all at once. Pretty sure my lack of eye contact wasn’t helping.

We went home at sunset, downloaded the photos, and found one frame, just one, with a good tilt and solid pose. The eyes and focus weren’t quite as crisp as I wanted, but it was something. At least I had a backup.

A few days later, once I’d recovered from my mild meltdown, we went back for one more attempt. I tried again at the same time of day and spent another hour coaxing out that magical head tilt. Eventually, I found a few magic words that caught her attention, and there it was, the tilt, the expression, the connection.

When I got home, I compared both shoots side by side. To my surprise, it wasn’t the image I thought I’d love most that ended up stealing my heart. I went with a completely different pose from the second shoot, and I’m so glad I did.

Because guess what? Charlotte and Craig loved it too. It was one of my best image reviews yet, and I felt so proud of what Mabel and I created. This streak of placements has me over the moon. Honestly, I’m starting to think maybe Mabel should be the one working nine to five while I drive her around Hollywood.

You can check out the Say What Top 10 winners here:
👉 https://www.unleashed.education/blog/embark-2025-say-what-top-10

— Erica (and Mabel, the diva, model, and occasional head tilt negotiator)