At Wander Pet Photography, every session is more than just capturing a moment—it’s about crafting art that speaks to the unique personality and bond of every pet. This year, I’m excited to share some incredible news: my work has been recognized for the second year by the International Pet Photography Awards!
These awards are not just a competition—they are a celebration of creativity, technical skill, and the shared passion of photographers worldwide for showcasing the beauty of pets. It’s both humbling and thrilling to see my images recognized, and I can’t wait to take you behind the scenes of this exciting journey.
What Are the International Pet Photography Awards?
The International Pet Photography Awards is the most prestigious platform for pet photographers globally. Open to professionals and enthusiasts alike, this competition brings together the best in the field to celebrate the artistry of pet photography. It provides photographers like me an opportunity to showcase our work, gain constructive feedback, and grow in our craft.
This year’s competition saw a staggering 3,621 entries, submitted from photographers all around the world. These images represented a diverse array of pets, ranging from dogs and cats to horses and exotic animals, each beautifully captured to tell a unique story.
Key Features of the Competition
The competition is built on a strong foundation of fairness and artistic integrity, ensuring that all entries are judged purely on merit. Here are some highlights from the entry guidelines:
Eligibility: Images must feature pets as the primary subject. While humans or props can be included, they must enhance the story and not overshadow the pet.
Submission Rules: Photographers can enter multiple categories, and each image must be taken while not under instruction from other photographers. This allows for a wide variety of creativity and storytelling, but omits images taken during creative and instructional workshops.
Judging Criteria: Each image is scored on several factors, including technical excellence, creativity, composition, and emotional impact.
Feedback Process: The feedback process is driven by a panel of 18 incredible judges from across the world. These judges are the best-of-the-best in the pet photography industry. Two judges provide detailed critiques for each submission, offering invaluable insights into strengths and areas for growth. The overall score is an average of assessments from five judges.
These guidelines allow the competition to foster a supportive and inspiring environment for photographers to push their limits and create truly remarkable work.
My Results
This year, I submitted 21 images, and I am ecstatic to share that 20 of them received awards! This marks a significant improvement over my results last year, and I couldn’t be prouder of this achievement.
Here’s a breakdown of my results:
2 Silver Awards: These images scored between 80 and 84, showcasing a high level of technical and artistic excellence.
13 Bronze with Distinction Awards: These photographs achieved scores between 75 and 79, reflecting exceptional creativity and skill.
5 Bronze Awards: These entries scored between 70 and 74, highlighting strong artistic merit.
1 Pro Standard: While this image didn’t reach the awards level, it still met the competition’s rigorous professional standards.
Out of the thousands of entries submitted this year, only 463 images earned a Silver Award and 914 achieved Bronze with Distinction. This context makes me even more grateful for these results and inspires me to keep honing my craft.
Why Do Photography Awards Matter?
For me, participating in the International Pet Photography Awards is about far more than winning accolades—it’s a vital part of my growth as an artist.
Constructive Feedback
Each image I submit receives personalized feedback from two judges. This critique provides insights into what worked well and areas where I can improve. As a photographer, it’s easy to get attached to your own work, but having fresh eyes evaluate it is invaluable.
For instance, judges might praise a photograph for its emotional impact but suggest refining the lighting or composition for even greater effect. This kind of feedback helps me see my work from new perspectives, challenging me to continuously refine my skills.
Receiving constructive criticism on your work is a lot like working out. It might hurt (a LOT) the first few times you do it... but the more you get it worked into your routine, the more addicted you will become to it and the STRONGER you will become! Artists who seek feedback on their work will without a doubt grow faster and stronger than their peers who do not.
Artistic Growth
Since I am blessed to work with amazing clients, I often use images for competition that are created during client sessions. However, some are created when I go out to shoot with a dog model to specifically create competition images. Model sessions are what I like to call "shooting with intention" and nothing can replace the artistic growth that comes from those. Every image is an opportunity to learn and experiment!
Preparing entries for the competition encourages me to think creatively, push boundaries, and explore new techniques. It’s a chance to step outside of my comfort zone and strive for excellence.
This process ultimately results in a better experience for my clients. By growing as an artist, I can deliver even more stunning and meaningful images that capture the essence of their beloved pets.
Building Community
The competition also connects me with an incredible community of photographers. This is a community of supportive, kind and beautiful humans who cheer each other on with every click of the shutter. We may all have diverse backgrounds and beliefs - but we all have one thing in common: The desire to improve so we can capture the best images we possibly can of our furry subjects of choice.
Seeing the work of other artists from around the world is both inspiring and motivating. It’s a reminder of the diverse ways we all interpret and celebrate the beauty of pets.
A Look at the Global Competition
To put my results into perspective, here are the overall statistics for this year’s awards:
Gold Awards: 24 (scores between 90 and 94)
Silver with Distinction Awards: 128 (scores between 85 and 89)
Silver Awards: 463 (scores between 80 and 84)
Bronze with Distinction Awards: 914 (scores between 75 and 79)
Bronze Awards: 1,220 (scores between 70 and 74)
These numbers highlight the incredibly high standards of the competition. Achieving any award in this context is an accomplishment, and I’m honored to have so many of my images recognized.
MY AWARD-WINNING IMAGES
Let's take a look at my award-winning images, listed from the lowest to highest score!
"Autumn Vibes" - Portrait Category - Score: 69
"Peek-a-boo" - Portrait Category - Score: 72
"TICAN SUNSET" - Portrait Category - Score: 73
"PARTY TIME!" - Portrait Category - Score: 73
"I'VE GOT YOU" - PEOPLE + PETS Category - Score: 73
"INCOMING" - ACTION Category - Score: 74
"Double POINT" - ACTION Category - Score: 75
"LEGENDARY LOVE" - PEOPLE + PETS - Score: 75
"THE DAYDREAM" - PORTRAIT Category - Score: 75
"THE GUIDE" - PORTRAIT Category - Score: 75
"Land HO!" - PORTRAIT Category - Score: 75
"SAY What?" - PETS + PEOPLE CATEGORY - Score: 76
"The BEAR CUB" - PORTRAIT CATEGORY - Score: 76
"SOUL SEARCHING" - PORTRAIT CATEGORY - Score: 77
"THE JOURNEY" - PORTRAIT CATEGORY - Score: 77
"A STUDY IN MOTION" - ACTION CATEGORY - Score: 78
"LEAVING THE SHIRE" - PORTRAIT CATEGORY - Score: 79
"NATURE'S FRAMING" - PORTRAIT CATEGORY - Score: 79
"SUMMER'S Breeze" - PORTRAIT CATEGORY - Score: 79
"AGAin?" - PORTRAIT CATEGORY - Score: 81
"URBAN LOOKOUT" - PORTRAIT CATEGORY - Score: 83
Gratitude and Looking Ahead
This milestone wouldn’t have been possible without the amazing clients who trust me to capture their pets’ personalities and the furry friends who make my job so rewarding. Your support fuels my passion and inspires me to keep creating.
As I look ahead, I’m excited to continue growing as an artist, exploring new techniques, and delivering even more extraordinary images. Competitions like the International Pet Photography Awards are a reminder of why I love what I do and how much there is to learn and achieve in this ever-evolving field.
Here’s to another year of creativity, community, and, most importantly, celebrating the pets who make our lives so much brighter!
Interested in seeing more images from the International Pet Photography awards? CHECK IT OUT HERE!
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