It’s not every day that I get to work with a high school senior, so I absolutely loved the chance to photograph Abby & her dog Samantha before she heads off to college next year! Senior photos with dogs? Yes please! :)

Abby & Samantha have grown up together; Abby was about 10 years old when her family adopted Samantha, a purebred golden retriever, from a champion breeder. And although she tells me there was a bit of sibling rivalry in those first few days together, Abby & Samantha have become the best of friends, and I’m pretty sure neither one could imagine life without the other at this point. So I was honored to meet these two sisters at a pivotal time for them & their family, and provide Abby with some cute photos for her dorm room too!

Samantha is a happy-go-lucky golden retriever who can be equally sweet & stubborn! She doesn’t have a care in the world, and lives the good life with her family in San Marcos, CA. Her mom saw my portraits on the walls at Dogs Abound, which is where Samantha goes when her family has to leave town, and she gave me a call to arrange a photo session for her two beautiful daughters. I’m so glad she did – they were fabulous to work with, and even though Samantha isn’t much for traditional obedience commands like “sit” and “stay”, she gave me the happiest smiles to make up for it, haha! I can’t wait to show you their images!

Here are the two gorgeous ladies, in their front yard… I just love all the color & life in this photo!

Cuties.

Samantha doesn’t work for free… we kept a steady stream of pets, attention & treats coming her way in exchange for a job well done! :)

Abby & Nancy, thank you so much for a fun afternoon! I’m excited to show you the rest of our images soon! :)

Tags: backyard, dogs, pet photography, pets, photography, San Diego, San Diego Dog Photographer, San Diego pet photography