Pet portraits

What a wonderful black and white image, really grasping the 'pet portrait' idea. I love the soft focus you have achieved here, the texture of all the hair is brilliant, and the light catching the top of the nose underneath all that hair! It really pulls in the viewer to look more closely at the image, first off to work out what they are looking at – and you instinctively find yourself looking to see if you can see the dog's eyes... but cant. This works brilliantly in black and white.

This made me chuckle when I saw it – I wonder how long you had to wait to capture some action between these two? It's great to see that you've taken the image from a lower perspective; this really helps the viewer to connect to the picture and to understand what you're trying to do, and it's really worked well for you here. The dog's face is just wonderful, with all those thoughts going on, and with the kitten yawning at the same time – well caught! A lovely image with a great story capturing two pet portraits in one.

Stunning image! A very soft effect which works extremely well – the colours are captured very creatively, tying in soft pinks and greens to give the rabbit a more dreamlike appearance. Including the flowers around the rabbit's head adds to this picture I think, as it it helps to compose the colours together, and you can see that this little bunny is absolutely treasured as someone's pet. It's a wonderful capture, something that you'd see on the front of a girl's magazine if ever a rabbit was needed. Great image, well done.

A fantastic image with wonderful colours that work extremely well. I would never have thought that yellow could be so effective as a background to a shot like this. The dog's eyes are firmly connected to the viewer, and match the background very well. Great sharpness from the nose, to the eye, and to the tips of the ears. You can see you really thought about this, with flash, colours and posing the dog. I really like the use of blank space to the side, and using a bold colour has really made this image work perfectly.

A fabulous wintery image with a great colour palette! Placing the the dog in the centre of the frame really draws the eye to him, and I really like the snow around his muzzle. It gives the viewer a strong sense of what he has been doing, clearly playing in the snow! Great depth of field control allows for the dog to stand out well against the winter backdrop. You've picked up his facial features really well with both eyes looking straight at you, as if to say 'come and play'. Lovely capture, well done.

A very cool image! Great to see creativity that goes outside the norm, and out of all the images I've seen for this competition, this has to be one of the most creative! I'm curious to know how you achieved it? Great sharpness on the nose and the fur, really gives the viewer a sense of how cheeky the dog is being looking for 'socks'. It looks like you've controlled the flash very well to highlight the nose and inside the drum of the washing machine, without the highlights going mad. Great capture, and great fun! Well done.

What a lovely expression you've captured in this image. Black against black doesn't always work, but you've balanced the light perfectly and I think it works extremely well. It's those eyes which really draw the viewer into the picture, and the colour really 'pops' out. The light on the tips of the ears and across the chest allows the softness to be created in this image, and by this you can feel the depth created – with the shiny nose standing out, and the tilted head which almost wants you to reach out and touch him.

This looks like a very 'happy' dog – a great character and a wonderful colour range of fallen autumn leaves as a backdrop. It is well cropped to include the tail, and it's great to see the eye detail and the eye colour working so well with the background colours. Using a higher perspective to take the shot, so that you are right above him and looking down, has allowed a very fun image to be created – with the head filling up the frame, and the unusual perspective making it more of a 'caricature' style image. Well done.

How cute...? Very! This tells the story of a puppy trying to understand us. It really does feel as though he is thinking "what do you want from me?" The tongue hanging out slightly, and the quirky eyes gives a look of not understanding, and the over exaggerated rolls of skin around the eyes and feet are just perfect - you can't help but want to give him a cuddle! My one comment would be that this is a ‘portrait’ competition, and given the fairly static pose, which should be easy enough to set up, a less cluttered background might have worked better – but still, a great take on a puppy's view of the world.

What a character! Great capture, especially with the tongue – it really creates a feel of the dog saying 'Did you really have to do that?'. The colours are subtle and soft, which helps you feel an affection for him. The background, although the same tone as the little dog, is soft and non distracting – helping the viewer to connect to the picture. The pink skin showing the the wet fur, and the pink tongue, provide just enough colour to make this image work - and for the dog not to blend into the background.

This puppy looks a bit sad... caught out in the rain. Turning the image to black and white has allowed the rain to show up and be more obvious than perhaps it would have been in a colour image. There's a great use of shallow depth of field, and the facial features are lovely and sharp which helps to take the viewer's eye straight to the puppy's eyes, creating a connection. You've left some space around the tail which often gets forgotten, and this is good – but the tight crop on the right makes it feel a little ‘closed in’, as he is facing that way. A little negative space for him to move into might have told more of a story as it would show a little more of his surroundings.

This dog looks very cheeky, like he's waiting for you to let him off the lead so he can go straight back into the water! This is a lovely, characterful shot, with a good depth of field – the person in the distance adds to the sense of depth, and having the tide a long way out has created layers of colour and texture. I do find the colours a bit too bright, and think the saturation could do with being turned down a notch. But otherwise a great shot which really captures the ‘British beach walk’ which dogs love so much!

Excellent capture. It really makes you want to get down to the beach with your favourite dog and enjoy the Great British weather! It's wonderful how you have taken this from a lower perspective, looking up towards the dog, and by doing this you can see the water dripping off him/her. The tail and ear moving in the wind gives the viewer a real sense of being in the image with you. The colours work very well, and with the bright pink tongue you've captured the element of fun that he is having. His eyes are determined, as if he is saying he doesn't want to go . . . he wants to carry on digging his hole in the beach. It's a very powerful shot which also tells a story Great image, well done.