The ideal dog for this challenge will have solid sit, down, & stay commands.

Incorporate bold colour, whether it's a natural or a man made location.

Find an area of bold colour and photograph the subject in front of it. We’re looking for images with a background comprising a single bold colour, or you may shoot against a background with multiple colours, with special attention paid to colour harmony.

The ideal dog for this challenge will have solid sit, down, & stay commands.

Shoot from a very low angle to show the ground plane and the full body of the subject. Images shot with the camera touching or nearly touching the ground will meet this challenge best.

The ideal dog for this challenge will have solid sit, down, & stay commands.

The subject must be perfectly centered in the frame. Symmetry in the pet’s pose and background can help create a balanced composition, but it’s not essential. The key is a centred subject and an overall sense of balance.

The ideal dog (and human) for this challenge will be up for an adventure which may include a long hike or walk to our location.

A natural landscape must be prominently featured in this image, though man made elements can be included. The image can be shot with any focal length or even stitched from multiple images, but it must give a sense of place, while still featuring the pet as the main subject.

The ideal dog for this challenge will be a fearless explorer comfortable on raised surfaces. Bonus points for a solid “paws up” behavior.

Capture an engaging portrait of your subject up on something – all four paws or just their front paws. As long as they are visibly elevated on an object, off the ground.

The ideal dog for this challenge will be confident with new people as the camera will be above their head.

Shoot from a high angle, looking down at the subject as they look up and make eye contact. The face should be evenly lit, with sharp focus on the eyes. Ensure the background is pleasing and non-distracting.

The ideal dog for this challenge will be comfortable in busy urban environments.

Photograph the subject in a man-made environment, paying special attention to showing features of the location – either large or small – to create an urban feel. As always, the pet should be the main star of the shot, with the location playing a supporting role.

The ideal dog for this challenge will love to run! They should have a solid “come” behavior and/or love to retrieve.

In this action challenge, the subject should be running directly towards you with plenty of expression. Timing is important, with the subject captured at the optimum position in their stride. The image should be shot from a low angle and the subject should be evenly lit. There should be no motion blur, with sharp focus on the eyes or whole face.

The ideal dog for this challenge should be a regular head tilter either to novel sounds OR on cue.

The main aim of this challenge is to capture a doggy head tilt. We’re looking for an engaging expression, showing personality and connection with the camera, so eye contact is preferable. For maximum impact, the eyes should be sharply focused and the image evenly lit.

The ideal dog for this challenge should be comfortable being placed in a specific spot with a solid stay cue.

Capture a backlit subject, with full rim light visible around the edges of the subject. Golden hour provides the best light source for backlighting, but artificial light may be used instead. The camera-facing side of the subject should be receiving plentiful natural light, balancing the rim light and creating clear catchlights in the eyes.

The ideal dog for this challenge should LOVE water! I’m looking for a dog who will happily jump, play, & splash in the water.

Find a way to incorporate water in your image, preferably with the dog interacting with the water in some way - running, swimming, playing, jumping or drinking. If there is action in the image, it should be captured sharply.

The ideal dog (or dogs) for this challenge should LOVE to play with each other, toys, you, etc. I’d love to find a dog who loves a particular toy that’s been well loved!

It’s the very last challenge of the course, so it’s time to par-tay! We want to see interaction – your subject should be at play – either with toys, other subjects or with you as the photographer. This is an action challenge so we want to see sharply frozen movement and great expression, telling the story of their party time.