With the holidays just around the corner, I always like to remind people that one of the best presents you can give or receive is a portrait session from a photographer. This dog-friendly family session with Apollo, the Australian Shepherd/Lab mix, with Mia Lee Photography in Sumter, South Carolina, is an example of such a gift! 
From Mia: “Tracy and her family came to my studio for portraits in June of 2022. They wanted to have an overall fun, ‘modern family’ type aesthetic and to include their dog Apollo in the session.”
From Tracy: “My friend Lisa purchased us the photo session with Mia Lee for a Christmas gift.
Apollo is an exuberant 84-pound, one-and-a-half-year-old Aussidor! Our twins were born with special needs, and after years of deliberation and research, we decided on the type of dog we needed to complement their activity level and needs.
We saw a posting of puppies, and my husband and I immediately fell in love with Apollo’s floppy ears and sweet face. I traveled six hours to bring him home and couldn’t wait to see our girls’ faces.
It took him exactly 60 seconds to fall completely in love and devoted to all of them!
Despite his size, he’s incredibly gentle and gives the best hugs! He will bury his face in your chest and wrap his front paws around your neck!
His favorite things to do involve anything water related and fetching a ball but refusing to give it back.
Apollo is incredibly intelligent and sensitive, and he seems to know exactly what our needs are before we do!
We made the mistake of teaching him double hi-five. He’s excited to meet new people and usually runs full speed to greet them. Most strangers, however, see an 84-pound beast running at them and put both their hands up. They are almost never prepared for the hi-fives they get!
It’s never a dull moment with Apollo around, and we couldn’t imagine our lives without him!
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About Mia Lee Photography: Based in Sumter, South Carolina, Mia is a pet, family, and personal branding photographer.
I love the first photo. The dog blends in so well.
These are some great photos. I am loving the bow tie on the dog.
OMG these are so adorable! What great family photos. I love that the dog is included.
Your dog is so cute! We have a rottie and yours looks like he has some Rottweiler in him!
wow! Love these portraits! We have an one year dog and we are thinking of making some photos with him!
Wow! These are all really wonderful and lovely shots! Do dog is so adorable
Those are lovely family portraits, and Apollo is such a handsome boy!
These photos are great! I love that they included the dog. I would love to do something like this.
Aww, I can tell in the first photo that he was enjoying having a picture taken.
What a beautiful family. I love that they added their dog to their family photos. My dogs are my family too.
What a photogenic dog! Those are great photos; both the group shots and the portrait of just the dog.