Dog photos are most successful when they're engaging, when they show the personality of the dog and make you feel like you're right there with them when you're looking at the photo. For maximum engagement, you just can't go past a doggy head tilt.

The jury is out on exactly why they do it, but it's thought to be in order to hear us better. A change in head and ear position can help them more accurately locate the direction and distance of a sound.

 Whatever the reason they do it, it's always something to strive for in your work to take the expression and emotion of your photo to the next level.

 The "Say What?" challenge is all about capturing those tilting heads. After much deliberation (seriously, this is one of the best-ever sets of challenge submissions), here are the top 10 images. Huge congratulations to the photographers.

- Craig & Charlotte 📸 🐶 ✨

Ashley Summerville | Paws for Portraits

The extreme angle of this dogs Say What? follow all the way through its angular body. The clouds act ad fluffy and inviting leading lines.

Kaori Stewart | Kaori Stewart Photography

Gorgeous rim light and tones of texture in the dogs fur that you could get lost in. The texture is so good it feels like you could reach right in and touch it. And that head tilt? Come on!

Kate Maxwell | Kate Maxwell Photography

There is a wonderful light and atmosphere in this image. The cool dark tones really allow the warm colours of the corgi to shine and the expression and heat tilt do not disappoint!

Margaret Buckman | CapraCam

This is surely a canine magician or wizard! A striking portrait with beautiful expression, perfectly angled head tilt and the starry backdrop adds a little extra touch of magic.

Rachel McCready | Furtographer

What a happy looking dog, fabulous engagement with the viewer. A lovely soft warm colour palette perfectly suit the black and tan fur.

Rebecca Labs

A beautiful image with gorgeous warm light and a very wet but very sweet head tilt. The layers add a lovely depth to this Say What? image.

Rita Suva | Rita Marie Studios

This quirky angle give this head tilt a more extreme appearance. That provides the viewer with a huge personality to enjoy! The image has a lovely flow with that tail wrapping us around and back to that face.

Samantha Brown | Samantha Brown Photography

This is a lovely portrait with a captivating and engaged expression. This allows the viewer to connect with the subject easily. Lovely light and colour harmony.

Wendy Abbey

What a simple yes beautiful image. The 'Say What?' expression is wonderful and draws you right in.

Yvonne Jansen | BlissfulTails

Yet another simple portrait that really shines because of the dogs engagement with the camera. The rustic tones really add a wonderful feeling to this too.

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.