Embark is back for 2026, and we are off to a fantastic start with a high standard of submissions from our challengers from the start!

The first challenge is Colouriffic.

Shooting against a coloured building, wall or other coloured object can be a great way to convey personality or focus the viewer’s attention on a dog’s physical features in otherwise distracting outdoor environments.

We can't wait to see how they progress throughout the next six months.

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!

Birgit Zimmermann | Birgit Zimmermann Fotografie

Fantastic blues, a great use of negative space, and the complementary warm orange in the fur draw us right in to the subject.

Breanna Burge

Fantastic colour and use of leading lines to draw the eye right to the subject. The expression is excellent.

Cynthia Hall | Snug Pet Sitting

What a fun image! The subject's expression is lovely and the introduction of orange in the ball gives us a reason for the off-centre composition and adds a complementary colour harmony to the frame.

Dana Gookin-Owens | Studio D Portrait Design, LLC ~ Boutique Pet Photography

This is such a bright and joyful image. The eye contact and expression of this dog are really engaging. The attention to colour harmony is a nice additional touch.

Emma Coulter

What a fabulous take on the challenge brief! So bold and harmonious, with a touch of humour added for good measure.

Joan Carey

Great low shooting angle that brings us into the subject's world, the expression is lovely and the bright background suits the colouriffic brief perfectly.

Nicki Endt | Nicole Endt Photography

The joyful colours juxtaposed by such a serious expression is brilliant! The clarity and image quality here are also fantastic.

Sam Rowe | Sam Coral Photography

Great use of colour to give the image harmony. The expression is lovely and being such a low camera angle, the viewer is immersed in this little corgi's world.

Sara Waldon | paw_sitive_pixels

This is a humourous image that works so well at drawing the viewer in. The soft and subtle pink frame holds the eye in the image and the other colours work well complementing the warm tones of the subject.

Tamara Pérez | Oh My Pet Nicaragua

The choice of editing treatment to make this more contrasty gives this the boldness of colour we love to see in this challenge. The quirky personality on display from this wonderful dog is strong enough to hold up to that style of edit.

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.