For many of us pet ownership is a big part of our modern urbanised life. It's become commonplace to see pets out and about in cities and suburbs. Incorporating interesting architecture can add a sense of time and place to our images resulting in more meaningful and widely appreciated art that your clients will love to share.

For the City Slicker challenge, we sent our Embark students out to photograph pets in urban locations, making sure images had a sense of place, but that the location did not become the primary subject of the image, the dog/pet was still to be the star of the show.

We had a fantastic standard of submissions, clearly demonstrating that our challengers are growing from their fortnightly submissions and feedback on their images. So a special congratulations to those who made the top 10 this week.

Charlotte & Craig 🐶 📸 ✨

We provide video feedback on all images submitted for the challenge, and from there, we select our Top 20 and Top 10. Without further ado, here are the Top 10 images for this challenge!

Courtney Bryson | CM Bryson Photography

This adorable shot is beautifully sharp on both dogs, perfectly matched with the same floofy charm and expression. The umbrellas above leads the eye down beautifully, while the bricks below add lovely leading lines from the bottom of the frame.

Jacqueline Harris | Roam Photos

This up-close, engaging shot puts a wonderfully expressive face front and centre, with pin-sharp detail and a fun, funky collar to boot. The positioning is spot-on too, the dog's head sits perfectly clear of the pillar, with the rails leading the eye in beautifully from below.

Jenny Johansson | Jenny Johansson Photography

This striking, unexpected image plays with two halves! The funky ceiling construction above and the beautifully lit dog below. There's some lovely detail in the fur and a great pose with front feet up on the bench. The hints of yellow tones linking the top and bottom of the image tie the whole scene together nicely.

Joan Carey | @jcarey2016

This action shot is sharp and dynamic, captured in a fantastic location with beautiful colour in the background. The visual balance works really well, with the spires and light on the left offsetting the dog's energy and the dramatic, sky adds a lovely atmosphere.

Korina Joseph | Korina Joseph Photography

This dog is a character, it looks like they're inviting you in! The composition is beautifully balanced, with every element feeling purposeful. The colour palette is soft and harmonious too.

Sam Rowe | Sam Coral Photography

The soft light and lovely texture on this dog are beautifully captured, with a sharp, clean result and a gorgeous expression and pose. The composition is thoughtfully balanced to include elements like the colourful sign and dining area, giving the image a great sense of place.

Samantha Smillie

The vibrant street art brings great colour and life to the scene, complemented nicely by showing the curve of the street and buildings beyond. The dog's posing is fantastic and the expression is great.

Tamara Pérez Cordero | Oh My Pet Nicaragua

The dog's colours beautifully harmonise with the building, creating a cohesive and eye-catching connection between subject and scene. The positioning works really well, with the inclusion of the whole cross balancing the composition nicely.

Terri Jacobson | Terri Jacobson Photography

The photographer nailed the symmetry, perfectly aligning themselves to capture the tunnel with the dog framed beautifully at the end. It's a graphic, well-captured image with great texture, layers, and a wonderful expression on the dog.

Valerie Bavegems | @valerie_rusty_luka

The rust and blue colour scheme is a beautiful match for this Toller, who's placed perfectly within the scene to create a graphic composition with lovely depth. The balance is spot-on too, with the negative space on the right offsetting all that wonderful detail in the twisted staircase on the left.

Embark is the foundation 6-month interactive challenge-based online dog photography course in our Unleashed Challenges series, focusing on helping you to learn new shooting skills and create more variety in your work.

Want to be the first to hear when Embark opens for enrolment each year? Register your interest here.