Join Embark!

Embark is suitable for intermediate to advanced pet photographers.

To get the most out of Embark, we recommend you understand the relationship between aperture, shutter speed and ISO, and know how to set exposure manually on your camera - even if you don’t usually shoot in Manual.

This free resource - Simplifying Manual Exposure for Pet Photographers - is a highly recommended watch to get you on track if understanding exposure is still a work in progress for you.

It’s also helpful if you understand how to change the focus mode and drive mode, and how to move the focus point around.

You'll also need to be editing your images with editing software - we recommend Adobe Lightroom and Adobe Photoshop.

If you’re beginner, we recommend you first join the Unleashed Education Premium Membership as there are plenty of further learning resources available there to get you up to speed before embarking on this course!

In Embark, you'll be learning how to take a wide variety of shots. Some challenges require you to shoot with particular exposure and focus settings, and there are some challenges that include shooting dogs in action. For this reason, we recommend a digital SLR or mirrorless camera with interchangeable lenses covering wide angle to telephoto.

While it’s not absolutely essential to edit your images, we strongly feel that editing goes hand-in-hand with shooting in this modern age of digital photography. Use whatever you are comfortable with - whether that be Lightroom, Photoshop, both, or something else entirely.

Definitely - as long as you have a keen interest in professional-level pet photography, you're welcome to join us!

No, enrolment closes right before the round starts to ensure everyone is on the same timeline to submit their images.

If you’re planning on submitting images in order and on schedule, you’ll need to allow time to watch the introduction video (around 10 minutes) or read the post, plan your shoot, shoot, edit your shot, and submit your image. Also allow a little time to read the (short and sweet) emails we send, and check in to the Facebook group every now and then. We estimate this should take anything from one to four hours per two week challenge, depending on a number of factors (like if you need to travel to a particular shooting location).

As long as you have one free half-day every two weeks, we think that should be easily managed.

To save time, you’re welcome to shoot a number of challenges in advance, or during the same shoot, and of course during client shoots if you have them.

If you don’t mind missing out on the social media shares and blog post opportunities for each challenge, you can complete the challenges in whatever order you like. You’ll still be able to submit your full portfolio of 12 images at the end of the six month round, to enter the Embark Awards.

And of course, if you don’t wish to participate in any of the interactive parts of the course, you’re more than welcome to complete the course at your own pace, whether that takes you a year, or more - you have lifetime access!

We’ve made all 12 shooting challenges available immediately once the course starts. This way you can get shooting straight away!

Each individual challenge in the course runs for two weeks.

If you’d like the opportunity to have your work featured on our social media and in the Top 10 blog post for each challenge, and feedback given by Charlotte and Craig, you’ll need to submit your image on schedule, by the end of the two weeks.

And of course, you're always welcome to submit early!

If you’d prefer to take your time with each challenge, you’re welcome to submit your challenge images any time during the 6 month course. You’ll still be eligible to enter the Embark Awards.

And if you really want to take your time, there’s no pressure to submit images at all. You can simply enrol, then complete the course in a time frame that suits you, without participating in any of the interactive components (we hope you do join in though).

The idea of Embark is to encourage you to venture out and shoot regularly, while learning new skills and brushing up on old ones.

We expect you to participate in the round fully and shoot new images for each individual challenge, rather than just delving into your image library for past images to share!

Because that would kind of defeat the point, wouldn't it? 😅

Yes! We have designed the shooting challenges so they should all be able to be completed with your own dog, as long as your dog is reasonably active (for the action challenges) and you are able to take your dog to new locations, and are willing to do some extra training for some challenges.

The only exception to this is one challenge that involves eliciting a "head tilt" from your dog. Some dogs, despite your very best attempts, simply will not offer this behaviour. So you should be prepared to find a dog that does for this challenge.

Yes! You’ll receive a completion certificate and a badge if you have submitted an image for each of the individual challenges by the final due date at the end of the 6 month course.

You’ll still be eligible for this, even if you don’t meet the bi-weekly due dates for the individual challenges.

Yes - for each running of the course, we have the Embark Awards! At the end of the course, we'll be judging all completed portfolios of 12 images.

There are cash prizes for first ($500), second ($250) and third ($100) and digital completion certificates for everyone who has submitted all 12 images by the final due date.

There will be a live online awards ceremony that you'll be invited to attend!

If you’re not on Facebook or just don’t wish to join the group, it’s not an essential part of the course. Any resources posted to the group will also be posted within the Embark course in your account on Unleashed Education, or emailed, so you won’t miss out on anything important!

Having said that, being a Facebook group member is highly recommended to help you get the most out of the challenges. 

As a popup group, after the round finishes at the end of the 6 months, the group will be archived. If you wish to re-do the round, you'll be added to the new popup Facebook group. This allows us to keep the group focused and filled with active members who are all on the same journey.

Yes! At the end of each individual challenge, Craig and Charlotte record their Top 10/20 feedback session of all the images, giving feedback on each and every image submitted, and explaining exactly why the Top 10 and 20 were chosen. You'll find watching this video replay invaluable to your growth as a photographer!

You'll also get a tonne of feedback from your peers in the private Facebook group, where Craig and Charlotte also pop in regularly.

If you fall off the wagon, it's not the end of the world!

It's not essential to submit by the challenge deadline, it just means you'll miss out on the feedback and the chance to be selected in the Top 10 or Top 20 for the challenge.

As long as you get your images submitted by the final course deadline, you've still completed the course and will be in with the chance to win!

If you get really behind in submitting your images and don't think you'll be able to get all 12 images in by the final due date, you can opt in to the next running of the course, with feedback on all your submissions, for $97.

Or you can choose to complete all your submissions at your own pace, with no feedback, for free.

No - Embark is a standalone, lifetime access course and is not included in the Unleashed Education Membership.

Our aim is to give people some flexible options here - not everyone who joins the membership wants to do Embark, and vice versa!

Separating them helps us cater to everyone's unique situation, and also keeps the price of the membership lower for those who do not wish to join Embark.

You don’t - the Unleashed Challenges are self-contained, standalone education.

However, we highly recommend it! There is so much education contained within the membership that is relevant to the challenges and dog photography in general. Plus, as a member of the Unleashed Education community, you’ll have the opportunity to get feedback on your challenge images through the monthly Unleashed Live sessions.

Since this education is so helpful and valuable to refer back to, you’ll always be able to access it, even after the course officially finishes - you actually have lifetime access.

Lifetime access means that if we ever take the course offline (which is highly unlikely), you'll be given plenty of opportunity to download everything first.

Yes! We run Embark yearly always starting in May, so if the timing isn’t right for you this time, you’ll be able to enrol at a later stage.

If you don’t fully participate in the course the first time, you can also opt to re-do the course when we run it in the future (though we hope you can complete it and move onto the next course instead).

There are an additional three courses in the Unleashed Challenges series! Emerge, Empower and Emblaze are only available to those who have completed Embark.