When I got a call from Sophie & Luke’s dad, one of the first things he told me was that they’ve been meaning to book a photo session with their golden retrievers for a long time. And that’s the case for a lot of my clients – they’ve been looking forward to their photo session for years and years! But life tends to escape us, things get busy, and the important things get pushed to the back burner because they aren’t urgent. Photo sessions are almost never truly “urgent”, but they are incredibly important (I know, I’m biased) – so I was thrilled to hear about Sophie & Luke and start planning our long-awaited photo session together! I knew we had to plan something truly special, since these pups have been patiently waiting for their close-up for so long… :)

These adorable golden retrievers are 10 & 12 years old. Sophie is the senior girl with a delicate personality, a gorgeous white face and and wispy fur… trust me when I say she’s absolutely precious. She reserves her energy these days, and sometimes needs help getting around, but somehow her calm spirit has a regal quality to it. Unimpressed by balls and toys, the way to Sophie’s heart is through treats – whereas Luke is in love with his tennis ball and will happily run around all day chasing it! He may be 10 but he’s still a puppy at heart, that’s for sure. His thick red fur made me want to give him alllllll the snuggles! He’s a total sweetheart and was beyond fun to work with.

Our session started at the park, and finished at the beach… but an unexpected high tide quickly pushed us back up on the dry sand, instead of allowing us to play in the surf as we anticipated. So I was super proud of Luke & Sophie for enduring a few big waves before we threw in the towel – although I think overall they may have preferred the park, haha! I’m loving our images and can’t wait to share more in the future, but for now, this “sneak peek” will have to suffice!

This is Luke, and if you don’t immediately fall in love upon meeting him I don’t know what’s wrong with you.

This gorgeous girl is Sophie, basking in the sun’s glow. There’s something truly magical about the last couple hours of the day, and I think Sophie’s relaxed nature helped me capture that ephemeral mood perfectly.

Could they be more gorgeous?! I just love these happy siblings.

Remember how I said the high tide changed our plans? I’m actually glad it did – because we were able to create images like this!

Joe & Paul, thank you so much for introducing me to your beautiful dogs. I can’t wait to show you the rest of our photos soon! :)

Tags: beach, dogs, golden retriever, park, San Diego, San Diego Dog Photographer, San Diego pet photography, senior