A Summer Dog Photography Session at Moon Township’s Robin Hill Park with Soren & Aketa – Bark & ​​Gold Photography

A Summer Dog Photography Session at Moon Township’s Robin Hill Park with Soren & Aketa – Bark & ​​Gold Photography

Summer dog photography sessions among the wildflowers at Robin Hill Park are absolutely breathtaking! There’s really no other way to describe them. The abundant greenery that spreads across its 140 acres, a sprawling meadow of vibrant wildflowers where butterflies and bumblebees dance, and its colorful Fleur de Lune Garden provide the most picture-perfect spots for capturing the dreamiest portraits of your best friend.

A Flower-Filled Moon Township Gem

Soren and Aketa experienced the beauty of this Moon Township location firsthand alongside their humans, Jennifer and Forrest, during their early August session, chosen to appeal to the couple’s adventurous and relaxed personalities and their love of natural settings with lots of greenery and flowers.

Gifted a session for their wedding from close friends, Jennifer and Forrest arrived beyond excited to capture their three-year-old merle Australian shepherd/Great Pyrenees mix named Soren and their six-year-old German shepherd/husky mix Aketa.

“Soren came from The Road Home Animal Project, a rescue in Ohio that brought dogs up from the south. We got him when he was a little over a year old, a week before the pandemic!” says Forrest. “Soren’s name was chosen because he was an old soul and the name just seemed to fit.”

“Aketa came to us through a friend of a friend of a friend. Her first owners felt they weren’t home enough and wanted to find her a new home where she could do lots of fun things,” recalls Jennifer. “They are still part of her life!”

“Aketa is enthusiasm galore! We often call her Kiki because she’s so upbeat and friendly,” Jennifer adds. “She wants to smell anything and everything new. She loves new people and new animals [and] is typically distracted in new settings and takes longer to settle in and focus. Soren, on the other hand, is more reserved and wants slow introductions. He is lazy and slow, [but] he’s very food motivated and happy to do anything for treats.”

Related: Walter the Pit Bull’s FlowerFilled Session at Robin Hill Park

Space to Run, Play, and Explore

There are few things more important than making sure your dog feels comfortable during the session and having a space to move and play allows for a variety of poses and action shots to be captured. Offering a more relaxed and open environment for him leads to better, more natural portraits that capture his true personality. An open field is always a great idea to start, and Robin Hill Park has an expansive level of clearing just behind its stunning 24-room Georgian-style home where the inviting illumination of late afternoon light gently filters through the lush treetops.

Aketa showed off her high-energy love of ball, which Forrest says she’ll play for an hour straight. Her tongue fell wildly out of her mouth with a wide smile as she bolted back and forth from Forrest to Jennifer chasing her tennis ball. Look at that eye-on-the-prize focus!

Not one to be outdone by his sister, Soren gave us tons of laughs and hilarious shots of his own, including one of him mid-run with the most perfect tongue-to-nose expression. I feel like he’s saying, “Nana nana boo boo, you can’t catch me!”

At Robin Hill Park, the colors of the flowers come to life as the late afternoon sun sinks behind the trees, bathing the park in a gorgeous golden glow and creating a natural setting that’s perfect for capturing both posed portraits and candid moments of your furry companion .

Love Blossoms in Every Portrait

You’ll never convince me otherwise that the bond between pets and their people isn’t something worth celebrating! As Soren and Aketa taught Jennifer and Forrest, every dog ​​has a unique personality and a one-of-a-kind connection to each of us. This unspoken language between animals and humans is incredibly special and irreplaceable—​and something I believe should be reflected in your portraits.

It captures so much more than just a photo of your four-legged companion; it’s an attestation of the adoration and love that comes from being part of a family. Being in photos with your dogs shows how much they are loved, appreciated, and accepted for exactly who they are! I especially adore these photos of the four of them, the top which was chosen for a grand-sized natural maple framed canvas, and the bottom for a two-page spread in their luxurious fine art album.

Celebrate Your Dogs Exactly as You Know and Love Them

Aketa and Soren were two of the most gentle, sweet-natured pups I’ve had the pleasure to photograph. In their satin pink and blue bows, they looked like they belonged among the wildflowers where their personalities shone through in each portrait. I am so grateful to Jennifer and Forrest for reaching out to me to help them celebrate these two exactly as they know and love them and for the opportunity to create the most beautiful artwork for their home!


Are you interested in learning more about Robin Hill Park to see if it’s the right fit for your dog? I’d love to tell you all about this versatile Moon Township dog-friendly location! Choose your adventure below to begin.

Did you enjoy this post? Great, there’s more coming your way because it’s part of a photography blog circle featuring pet photographers from all over the world! This week, we’re shining the spotlight on some of our favorite sessions. Let’s head to Massachusetts where Boston’s North Shore dog photographer, Darlene Woodward, shares a recent Memory Session on Salisbury Beach celebrating sweet senior, Clover. Continue to click the link at the end of each post in the blog circle until you eventually find your way back here. If you get lost along the way, just look for the trail of dog hair. I won’t be far off…