They say a home is just a house without a dog. Those of us with dogs know this very well, I bet you can’t wait to get home for those joy filled cuddles!

Cats are also a common fixture in people’s homes - whether they are draped over the back of the couch, crouched in wait behind the door to pounce on unsuspecting passers-by, or just covering you with a purring mass of fur while you’re watching TV. Cats are as much at home in our domestic environments as we are.

This Under Cover challenge is all about celebrating pets at home or enjoying our shared indoor, undercover spaces.

These are our top 10 for this challenge, in no particular order. Congratulations to our challengers, this is another wonderful set of images.

- Charlotte & Craig 🐶 📸 ✨

Nicole Moyer | Sweet Ellie Photography

This is a lovely take on a well known theme that works really well within the Under Cover brief. Lovely colour palette and subtle reflections. But what really makes it are the expressive ears!

Michelle Crandall | Pets in Focus

The toning in this is lovely and gives the image a metallic sheen.  Lovely composition and the lighter silvers on the left really draw you in to the dog.

Marika Moffitt | Soul Dog Creative

Beautiful posing and the light falling off really makes the cat stand out with no distractions. Love the curve of the table leading you in and is that a kitty head tilt? Bonus points for that!

Kelly Pettitt | Kelly Pettitt Photography

Lovely posing, great use of negative space and light to guide your eye around the image. The grey really makes the cats whickers stand out too.

Joanne Merner | Your Dog's Photographer

A beautiful shot with a lovely emotive feeling and a great story. 

Jeff Rooney | Hightail It Photography

Beautiful light and posing on this shot giving it an old masters quality. The setting and items in the background really support the story.

Florence Araujo | Peanut and Bean Photo

This has a lovely light and airy feeling which enhances the humour in the image.

Diane Gollowitzer | Dogs in Focus Photography

Lovely little bit of storytelling, peeking through the posts on the bar at these best buddies. The placement of the dog in the composition makes it clear it's story about her and her human is the support. 

Blue Amrich | Beyond the Fence

An incredibly creative take on the Under Cover brief. Perfect placement of the dog and shadow and the chandelier acts as a nice balance for the composition.

Andrea Fleury | Dogtography

Lovely use of humour with this guy peeking through the cat flap. Great editing treatment and a really nice take on the under cover brief.

Emerge is the second series in our Unleashed Challenge courses and is made up of 12 challenges over 6 months. It’s open to anyone who has completed our first course in the series, Embark.

So much more than just a challenge, the Unleashed Challenges are an invaluable educational resource that will help you build up a go-to list of shots to help create variety in your work. Designed for anyone to be able to complete whether you just want to photograph your own dog or you are a professional pet photographer.

If you'd like to know more head over here to register your interest and we'll send you all the details when enrolment for Embark next opens in 2022.