The Society of Photographers has announced the overall winners of their Dog Photography Competition. Enthusiast pet photographer Emma Pope won the top spot with her photo of a cute dachshund named Levi, titled ‘Ebony Elegance’.
Pope shot her award-winning image with a Sony A7R III and FE 24-70mm F2.8 GM lens. She said: ’During the second half of 2023 I really wanted to learn and grasp studio photography. Using my own Dachshunds and a very basic single light set up in my living room I practiced hard all though out August and September.’
Explaining how she got her shot, Pope noted that photographing black coated dogs like Levi can be tricky. She’d need the softest light possible – or risk him looking grey, with the amount of shine on his coat.
‘There was a fine line between having enough light on the subject and it look soft, without clipping the shadows on the subject. By posing Levi in the pose he’s in and creating that curve in the body, I was able to really expose the neck/chest area. Which previously I kept getting a lot of clipping if he was sat straight on. With a simple one light set up and the use of a reflector below him (I had to have him on the sofa poof to give extra height) I was able to reflect the light and really fill in the space that previously was over shadowed.’
Colin Jones, The Society of Photographers CEO, said: ‘Congratulations to Emma on winning the Dog Competition. The Winning image is a beautiful picture of Levi which has been handled well and showcasing the dog’s personality, Well done Emma’.
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