Bored Panda reached out to Craig Turner-Bullock, who together with Charlotte Reeves are the team of Unleashed Education, a pet photography education platform offering online and in-person education to an international student base. This duo is also running the International Pet Photographer of the Year Awards and this is why we wanted to get some more information about the contest.

First, we asked Craig to provide us with more details about the categories for this year's competition. We found out that: “This year we had 5 categories, Action, Portrait, Creative, Pets and People and the brand new category - Documentary. Each category is a celebration of these genres of pet photography and allows entrants to showcase their best work. All images must be the work of the photographer, including any components used in making composites in the creative category. It’s really exciting to see how entrants create their own unique vision of the subjects in front of their camera.”

“The documentary category must be single-capture and portray or give context to an actual event or situation. They should be thought-provoking images of real life. Rescue work, humanitarian causes, working animals, dog sports, and images that showcase stories of pets in their daily lives are suited to this category. Staged, contrived, or manipulated situations that deliberately alter the truth are not acceptable in this category.”

“The action category: Images in this category depict the movement of a pet in action, running wild and free, playing, or in some way conveying movement.

Images entered into the Creative Category can use the full array of post-production and composite techniques available. However, all images and all additional elements must be photographic in origin and be captured by the entrant.”

“The Pets and People Category is all about celebrating the connection we share with our pets. Images in this category must contain in full or in part, at least one person and one animal.

The Portrait Category: Images in this category must depict a portrait of a pet in the studio, on location, or at home. Images may be candid or posed.”

Asked about what criteria the panel of judges use to evaluate pet photographs, and how they ensure fairness and impartiality in their assessments, Craig explained: “Our 16 judges are some of the most respected and successful people in pet photography today. They were all trained on the rules and judging criteria of the awards and they were provided with guidelines for scoring. Every image was scored by 5 judges and the entry's final score was an average of these scores. We are extremely happy that this year, thanks to our judges' hard work, all entrants received two pieces of constructive critique. We feel confident this will help every entrant grow as a photographer. Judges abstained from any images they knew or felt they had a bias against judging.”

We were wondering if there are any trends in pet photography that have recently evolved. We wanted to know if there are any notable shifts or developments in styles or techniques. Craig shared with us: “Over the years trends in pet photography have definitely shifted, as technology improves, we’ve been able to capture action better, we’ve seen the use of drones in the awards, and many other trends have developed. Following trends is not the best way for images to stand out, pushing the boundaries and creating something new is what will do that!”

We were also curious if there were any finalist works from this year's competition that Craig found particularly captivating or noteworthy. Turner-Bullock said: “I can only speak for myself here and not on behalf of the awards. The category finalists and winners all speak for themselves and are all noteworthy in their own right. Personally, I was thrilled to see An Di Prima’s images showcasing the Podenco Rescue work in the Documentary category. This kind of imagery and storytelling is exactly why we added the category and her winning image is beautifully poignant.”

Lastly, we wanted to know what impact the founders of the contest hope the recognition of these finalist works will have on the broader world of pet photography, both in terms of inspiring photographers and promoting the art form. Craig told us: “The goal of the International Pet Photographer of the Year is to reward and recognize excellence in this genre and we hope that anyone entering who is awarded, is a finalist, or wins a category or title howls about their successes! We know it will have a positive impact on their work and push them to create more incredible imagery in the future. For the industry as a whole, we aim to highlight pet photography as a fantastic niche filled with incredibly talented and creative artists.”