Pet portraits
Hold your head high
PHOTOGRAPHER
Maisie Hayman
CATEGORY
Pet portraits – Winner 2025
DESCRIPTION
This is Coco, my senior rescue Staffy, and I’m so proud of her for sitting patiently (with the help of a few treats!) so I could take this photo. I set up a make-shift studio in my bedroom using a black duvet cover hung up with pegs on my closed curtains and a small adjustable light that I’d borrowed. Afterwards, I adjusted the contrast, sharpness and saturation a little, to darken the background and make the image more impactful.
Pip
PHOTOGRAPHER
Jamie Smart
CATEGORY
Pet portraits – Runner-up 2025
DESCRIPTION
This is Pip the guinea pig. He loves carrots, dandelion leaves (must be fresh!) and cuddles. I wanted to shine a light on often-overlooked guinea pigs by getting some studio set-up images that show their personalities. To take this image, I used a two-light set-up with a yellow background sheet, and then used some favourite treats to encourage him to look up a little towards my camera.
Lenny
PHOTOGRAPHER
Jamie Smart
CATEGORY
Pet portraits – Commended 2025
DESCRIPTION
This is a 70-year-old tortoise called Lenny. His family started looking after him when his original owner passed away. He’s quite a character and has been known to go for a wander. Once he was missing for three weeks before being found over three fields away. He may be slow but he's a bit of an escape artist!
Treat time?
PHOTOGRAPHER
Poppy Wilkins
CATEGORY
Pet portraits – Commended 2025
DESCRIPTION
I took this photo of my dog Willow in front of a white door in my conservatory. I could see reflections from the roof in her eye, so I made this the focal point (you can see me reflected too!). I made the image black and white. This helps draw attention to her eyes and the white hairs around them, and creates negative space, thanks to the contrast between the dark fur and light background.