Positivity is trending in 2024: How Candice Sedighan of That Golden Dog cultivates wonder and joy through pet photography

Few things embody pure, unadulterated joy better than a dog.

With her account That Golden Dog, Los Angeles-based photographer Candice Sedighan captures her day-to-day life and blissful adventures with her Golden Retriever, Bear. The initial motivation behind That Golden Dog was simple: Sedighan wanted to make others as happy as her dog makes her. Her photos aren’t your typical pet photography either — Sedighan incorporates an element of wonder and whimsy into each shot, masterfully encouraging Bear to interact with props, make goofy faces, and even shooting him from unexpected, humorous vantage points — the bottom of a box of donuts, for example.

Finding a creative muse in a childhood pet

While Bear is the current golden dog behind That Golden Dog, Sedighan credits her childhood dog, Champ, as the original Golden Retriever that started it all. “I started taking photos of Champ when I was only 13 years old,” she says. With Champ, she was able to cultivate her own photography skills while also learning how to gently coerce her dog into sitting for the camera and performing other poses and tricks (hint: it usually involves a lot of treats!)

“I started sharing photos of Champ on some smaller online dog forums, because back then — I think it was in 2006 — social media wasn’t really a thing,” Sedighan says. “I just did it for fun, but it seemed to bring people joy, and so I just kind of kept at it.” Somehow, Yahoo! News found her photos of Champ and reached out about flying Sedighan to New York for a feature. “That's when everything kind of started for me,” she remembers. “It helped get more eyes on our work, and I guess the rest is history.” Sedighan started an Instagram account for her photos of Champ soon after.

As That Golden Dog grew, so did Champ. He aged, and the fur on his face turned a bit whiter. His community continued to follow along, engaging with each photo, expanding more and more each year. On his tenth birthday in 2011, Sedighan shared a photo that earned him the title of the "happiest dog in the world" across various media outlets. “It warmed my heart to see how many people admired a senior dog like Champ,” she says.

In 2015, after 13 happy, well-lived years, Champ was diagnosed with cancer. He passed away shortly after. “It’s always heartbreaking to lose a pet, but the photos we've taken throughout the years have been the greatest gift,” Sedighan says. To cope, she was able to relive countless memories with Champ simply by scrolling through her Instagram feed and her camera roll. “I always recommend taking lots of photos of your pets, because they’ll last forever.”

Overcoming loss through creativity

Nine months after Champ’s passing, Sedighan adopted Bear, another Golden Retriever. “I continued my photography journey with Bear, which really helped bring me comfort again after losing Champ,” she explains.

Today, Sedighan and Bear are a creative team. She’s long since mastered the art of dog photography, so she’s able to work with Bear to create truly unique images that stand out in a sea of Instagram accounts dedicated to people’s pets. Scrolling through her account, you’ll see Bear in his Halloween costume, celebrating with a group of dog friends — Bear on Thanksgiving, taking a bite of pumpkin pie (dog-safe, of course) — even Bear with a monarch butterfly perched on his nose, looking peaceful as the colorful insect flutters its wings.

To capture these types of seemingly tricky images, Sedighan says she had to help Bear to associate the camera with something positive. “Most dogs are either food or toy motivated, so I definitely recommend using either of those while shooting,” she advises. “Not only does it help get the dog to look at the camera, over time it gets the dog excited to take photos and this is key to getting happy, relaxed body language.” For Bear, his favorite treat usually does the trick when Sedighan is attempting a lengthy or complicated shoot. “People always say, Oh my gosh, your dog looks so happy in his photos,” Sedighan laughs. “ I'm like, Yeah, that's because I'm either waving his favorite ball or food in front of the lens.”

Eventually, Sedighan hopes to expand her offerings to take photos of other people’s dogs, too. Her unique perspective and uncanny ability to make dogs feel happy and at ease in front of the camera are invaluable (ask anyone who’s ever tried to snap a photo of their dog doing something cute — it’s often easier said than done). “Every dog's an individual,” Sedighan says of her technique. “Unlike people, I think the biggest difference is they can't communicate with you verbally, so you have to kind of be in tune with their body language. You have to have a lot of patience.”

A source of happiness online

While she couldn’t have predicted that those first few photos of Champ would launch an entire career, Sedighan is incredibly grateful that she’s able to spend her days with her dog, doing what she loves most. “I never really imagined that almost 20 years later, I'd still be taking dog photos,” Sedighan says with amazement of her unconventional career path.

Mostly, Sedighan is grateful that she’s been able to create an online community of dog lovers, all of whom seem to love Bear just as much as she does. She mentions a follower who gifts Sedighan’s annual calendar of photos of Bear to her grandmother every year for Christmas. “A couple years ago, she sent me a video of her grandma opening her gift,” she says. “You can just see the joy radiate on her face. I realized that not only does being creative bring me joy, but it can bring joy to other people, too. That really solidified the purpose behind my work”

Explore the Wonder and Joy collection on Adobe Stock

At Adobe, our Stock team works year-round to research emerging creative styles, consumer patterns, technology advancements, and stock buyer data, and are committed to identifying the key creative trends that customers need to know so they can produce campaigns and communications that really connect with their audiences.

The Wonder and Joy creative trend and collection helps us to reconnect with our sense of awe and enchantment, much like Candice does with her photos and videos of Bear. Visuals incorporate bright bursts of color using everything from photography and simple illustrations to AI-generated fantasy environments. While the subjects and mediums vary, this collection aims to inspire profound and positive emotions by helping people find joy in the world around them.

Explore the Wonder and Joy gallery

Keep up with Candice and Bear on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok at @thatgoldendog.