It's time to party! Our fun-loving furry friends spend so much of their time engaging in play. Most dogs are always up for a game and capturing these candid moments of pure joy in your photos can be challenging, but rewarding.

Dogs at play are the best entertainment. Fun-loving cheeky and mischievous, the best moments often happen when you're least expecting it.

Getting dogs playing freely and acting naturally gives you the best possible chance of capturing the best moments of their party time.

For the final challenge of Embark, we want to see challengers capture those playful moments and celebrate all the joy that dogs (or other pets) bring.

Our challengers finished on a high, the images submitted for Party Time were fantastic, and filled with joy of humour. Here, in no particular order, are our top 10.

- Craig & Charlotte 📸 🐶 ✨

Anthea Proudfoot | Malone Photography Australia

Everything here is reaching got the sky and the dog is places so well against the background. Almost defiantly pushing it's paw up off of the building to gain extra height! Simple, with soft light, beautifully composed and filled with joy.

Clarice Olayvar | R Olayvar Photography

The soft warm pastel tones in this image are divine. The moment captured perfectly with the ball perfectly placed the skid in the sand and the back legs raised. There's a great amount of space on the  right for the energy of this dog to move in to as well.

Donna Banks | Donna Banks Pet Photography

This is a dog that loves to get dirty, look at the sand in its mouth! A fantastic moment has been captured here, perfect for the Party Time challenge brief.

Kaori Stewart | Kaori Stewart Photography

This dog looks so chilled, he can fly but it's no big deal, it's just what collies do! Great moment, wonderful humour and the warm tones in the background really help the dog to stand out.

Nancy Grice

There is a lot to love in this image, the moment here captures exactly what this challenge and tug-of-war is about. The textures and depth also work beautifully.

Polona Železnikar

This is the absolutely definitive moment of play for this cat, the low angle and composition all work beautifully, even the simplified colour palette evokes a sense of joy and fun.

Samantha Brown | Samantha Brown Photography

What a wonderful Party tis is! Who doesn't want to get that balL! Each dog has their eye on the prize and they are all placed well within the composition.

Szekelyi Beatrix 

The timing to capture this moment is perfect, a second later and the dog would be on a downstroke and obscured by the to. But here we have them in the perfect place that add a sense of fun to the image.

Tania Mackie | Tania Mackie Photography

These dogs are having a great time with this tug toy, and their expressions show it. The graphic of this is lovely too and looks like a heart.

Are you ready to transform your pet photography in just 6 months?

The Unleashed Challenges are a series of 3 interactive challenge based courses, Embark, Emerge and Empower. Each one with 12 challenges running over 6 months. 

Much more than just a challenge, Then Unleashed challenges are an invaluable educational resource that will help you build up a go-to list of shots to help create variety in your work. Designed for anyone to be able to complete whether you just want to photograph your own dog or you are a professional pet photographer.

If you'd like to know more, head over here to register your interest.

P.S. Doors will soon be opening for Embark 2025 so if you've been reading our Challenge blog posts thinking you might like to give this fun, challenge based course a go, you won't have to wait much longer!