Shooting after the sun goes down is what the penultimate challenge of our Empower course is all about.

Heading out during twilight or later presents opportunities for creative photography, often resulting in images with captivating ambiance. An important part of this ambiance lies in capturing the details of the location, giving the images a profound sense of place.

Whether our challengers shot during the blue hour or in the dead of night, we wanted to see the dogs front and centre on location.

We've loved this challenge and the top 10, presented to you here are so inspiring, we're sure you'll agree!

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!

Angela Rose | Angie Rose Photography

A well-lit subject with nice connection to the viewer. They've been placed well against the background too, with the lighter area of sky in front of them, which gives the image a good visual flow.

Beatrix Szekelyi | @pawtion.dogphotography

A sense of wonder fills this submission, The pose of the dog on the natural rocks draws you in, the blue hour and bokeh, perhaps of city lights below all contribute to the emotive qualities.

Carol Mudra | Apawture Studios

What a fun image, with the use of wide angle creating a heroic cartoonish look to the subject. The hat and skateboard colours match nicely and the rest of the image has tones that match the subject. The lighting is handled very well and the hints of nighttime in the background is perfect for the challenge.

Ginger Wick | Ginger Wick Photography

What a bunch of misfits, perhaps accidental superheroes! The humour in this is fantastic, there are some nice details too, the wind blown capes, the bokeh-filled city backdrop. We're not sure these caped-crusaders would be able to rescue from danger, but they'd certainly bring a smile to our faces!

Jackie Searies | Photos By Jackie.S

This is an unexpected subject! They've been captured really nicely and have a lovely alert expression. The low light provides a soft light that has still been enough to showcase lots of texture in the wool.

Juliette Bercovici | Juliette Bercovici

This image really does embrace the night. The warm glow of streetlights provides an wonderful ambience. The corgi placed well in the composition and nicely framed by the car window.

Liz Dranow | TimePunk Pet Photography

What a sweet dog and it's nice to see a little movement too. The little bow ties in nicely with the pinky tones in the twilight sky.

Melissa Schiestel

Right after sunset (or right before sunrise) is a great time to shoot for the Embrace the night challenge and this looks like it has that soft afterglow light illuminating the subject. The composition works well and this pose and time of dat make the image feel almost a little lonely or lost, which is a strong narrative.

Rebecca Labs

The use of negative space here is excellent, the subject is well placed and well posed and there a lovely soft light on them. The murky, cool blue tones evoke feelings of calm, peacefulness.

Yvonne Jansen | BlissfulTails

The pose of this dog is fantastic with good space around them in the composition, The centrally placed moon at the top of the frame is a nice touch that gives a sense of time to the image.

Empower is the advanced 6-month interactive challenge-based dog photography course in our Unleashed Challenges series, investing you with the power to refine your creativity and explore new horizons in dog photography.

Empower is open to students who have previously completed the first and second courses in the series, Embark and Emerge.

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