Iris van Velzen - Member Spotlight
Apr 01, 2026
I’m Iris, a pet photographer based in the northeast of the Netherlands, specialising in dogs and Icelandic horses. I try to photograph feeling, character and connection. I don’t have a formal photography education, my background is in animal and horse care, Icelandic horse riding instructor education, working as a veterinary assistant, and assisting and guiding Icelandic horse rides for guests at different Icelandic horse stables. I work slowly, intuitively and outdoors. Photography became the place where everything I love came together: animals, nature, slowing down and storytelling.
Tell us a bit about you?
I live with my husband, our dogs Mist (an Icelandic Sheepdog) and Ysja (a mixed breed), and our Icelandic horses, Rúnar and Bjarmi.
I run my pet photography business, Iris van Velzen Fotografie, fulltime. Most days you’ll find me outdoors with dogs or Icelandic horses, or quietly editing at home. In my spare time I love being in nature, walking the dogs, horse riding, taking horse riding courses and lessons with friends, working on personal photography projects, and spending time with my husband, friends and family. I also enjoy slowing down with movies, series, music, books and knitting.
Why did you start photographing pets?
I am not a people person. I love animals. They show up exactly as they are, and that honesty fascinates me. I wanted to capture who they are, their character, their soul, and how they exist in nature. I started photographing more when I got my first horse, Pipar and dog, Gáski.
The moment I decided I really wanted to pursue photography and learn how to create strong images more seriously was in 2007, sitting in the stands as a spectator at the Icelandic horse championships. Watching the horses tölt around the track in the finals, I thought: I want to show people how cool, fast and amazing the Icelandic horses are. I could see the images I wanted to make in my head, but had no idea yet how to create them.
What came first for you, pets or photography?
Pets — always pets. Photography came much later, but when I think about it, it was also always there. My father and grandfather loved photography, so there were always photos around while growing up.
I’ve worked with animals my entire life, and photography became the perfect way to translate that connection into images.
I grew up with a Drentsche Patrijshond (a traditional Dutch hunting dog) and had guinea pigs, hamsters and rats as pets. I got my first Icelandic horse at 18 and my first dog — of course an Icelandic Sheepdog — at 20. I studied animal and horse care and spent years trying to find my dream job: assisting and guiding Icelandic horse rides for guests at different Icelandic horse stables, working as a veterinary assistant, working as an Icelandic horse riding instructor, and doing other jobs that made me very unhappy, before finally realising I could pursue pet photography as a career. Really?! So cool.
What camera and lenses do you most often use?
I shoot with Canon. I started with a Canon 350D, then moved through the 7D and 90D, and now work with the Canon R6 Mark II. My favourite lens is the Sigma 70–200mm f/2.8. Somewhere in my bag is a 50mm and a wide-angle lens that I sometimes use. I also have a GoPro for behind-the-scenes footage.
What’s one thing in your camera bag you can’t live without?
My Spider Holster. And very nasty, smelly, breakable soft dog snacks for anxious dogs.
What’s the best thing about being a pet photographer?
Having a perfectly valid excuse to always be with animals and outdoors, playing in mud, sand and water, and discovering the most beautiful natural locations along the way.
How would you describe your style?
That’s a difficult one. I’d say my work is muted, soft, natural, calm and emotional. I try to focus on atmosphere, light and connection, how the moment makes me feel, and how I want other people to see the animal.
What is your proudest achievement as a pet photographer?
Photographing at the World Championships Icelandic Horses in 2023 for the organisation of the event, getting my photographs published in and on the cover of our national Icelandic horse breed magazine, attending Iceland Style Lab in 2023, and receiving my IPPA associate accreditation badge.
What are your photography goals for the future?
To keep growing creatively, expand my personal projects, and photograph Icelandic horses and Icelandic Sheepdogs all over the world. I would love to have my photographs published in other Dutch magazines and in Eiðfaxi, the international magazine for Icelandic horses, and to create a book. I’d also love to meet up again with my Iceland Style Lab friends from 2023, do another in-person course with Charlotte and Craig, continue working on my accreditation, and celebrate my 10 years in May 2026 as a full-time pet photographer with an exhibition.
What do you do to cultivate and nurture your creativity?
I give myself time to slow down. At the start of every year I reflect, read, learn, brainstorm, create vision boards and set intentions for the year ahead. Through the year I work on personal projects, spend time in nature without a camera, and let curiosity lead instead of pressure. I try to keep one day a week free from obligations, a day when nothing is required, everything is possible. Animals, books, movies, series, music, nature, life inspire me.
Personal photography projects
I work on long-term personal projects with Icelandic horses, focusing on herds, landscapes and the quiet relationships within them. Every summer I try to photograph as many Icelandic foals in nature as I can. I also love working with dogs in action and collecting as many Icelandic Sheepdogs in front of my camera as possible. These projects allow me to explore storytelling without deadlines or expectations.
What specific skills have improved since being an Unleashed Education member?
My understanding of light, composition and editing has grown. I’ve found my style and niche, become more confident in my choices, and more intentional in how I translate feeling into images.
What's your favourite thing about being an Unleashed Education member?
The combination of high-quality education and genuinely kind, supportive teachers and community. It feels like a safe space to grow at your own pace and to connect with like-minded creative animal lovers.
Have you ever had something funny happen during a shoot?
At the start of one session, two perfectly clean Golden Retriever ladies decided the best possible way to begin the photoshoot was by fully committing to a large muddy puddle. I loved it. The owner didn’t at first, but later could laugh about it — and at the IPS session, it turned out to be one of her favourite moments.
I’ve also had puppies climbing onto my back while I was lying on the ground photographing them, something that, as you all know, is quite normal when photographing puppies and one of my favourite moments during puppy sessions.
I once missed a sunrise on the way to a foal session in Germany after taking the wrong exit very early in the morning. Luckily it was misty, and it took some time for the sun to appear from behind the tree line.
One of my most beautiful moments was photographing a herd of Icelandic mares in 2018, some heavily pregnant, one with a foal. I lay down near the foal while its mother kept watch, and slowly the other mares lay down around us. In the end, I was lying in a quiet circle with mares and foals all around me in the morning sun with the sound of the birds. Last year, in 2025, I experienced this again with another herd. It feels like such an great honour.
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