The Best Pet Photographs of the Year!

The International Pet Photographer of the Year Awards is an annual celebration of the artistry and skill of professional and emerging pet photographers from all around the globe by The Pet Photographers Club which began as a podcast in 2018.

This year, more than 2,500 pet portraits were submitted by pet photographers located in 52 countries.

The top 100 shortlisted images were released first, followed by the Top 25, then the category winners and now, the overall International Pet Photographer of the Year chosen by the prestigious judges, Cat Race of CatsDog Photography, Alice Loder of Alice Loder Photography, Craig Turner-Bullock of Furtography, Caitlin McColl of Ragamuffin Pet Photography and last years winner, Sara Glawe of Arts with Heart Photography is Veronika Šandorová from Slovakia.

The four main categories within The International Pet Photography Awards were

PORTRAIT: From the studio to outdoors, single pets to group photos, intimate closeups to wide environmental portraits. Photos in this category strive to capture the essence of the animal photographed.

ACTION: Running, jumping, swimming, playing - capturing movement is an important part of any pet photographer's job. This category is for pets in action.

PETS AND THEIR PEOPLE: The relationship between pets and their people is so beautiful -- a unique bond that deserves to be celebrated.

OPEN CATEGORY: The open category celebrates creativity and everything photograph can be, including (but not limited to) composites, conceptual themes and digital manipulation

Let us take a look at the amazing pet photographs by the winners

Please click on the images for a better look.

2021 OVERALL WINNER

INTERNATIONAL PROFESSIONAL PET PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR

Veronika Šandorová, SLOVAKIA

Veronika lives and breathes for dogs, adventure and photography.

Her passion for dog photography started with her first dog, Nabu. She says "I quickly realized that I need lots of dogs around me and also I need to cuddle with every dog I meet."

She made that happen three years ago when she became a professional dog photographer, right after her most recent dog joined her family, Jada.

Her goal is to capture the uniqueness of each dog and transfer our love for them into photos.

The 4 images above were the winning entries by Veronika Šandorová

EMERGING PET PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR
GINA SOULE, USA

Here are Gina's entries

Gina works in orthopedic surgery as a physician assistant and offers pet photography on the side.

She says "I like to bring the same attention to detail I bring in the operating room, to my photography, ensuring that I capture and create special memories for my clients to have to cherish for a life time!"

Gina also loves capturing, The relations ship of families with their pets

The 4 images above were the winning entries by Gina Soule

Apart from the two top awards Here are the winning entries of the other categories

2021 PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPH OF THE YEAR

2021 ACTION PHOTOGRAPH OF THE YEAR

Travis' entry also got selected in the JUDGES CHOICE Category by Judge Alice Loder

2021 PETS AND THEIR PEOPLE PHOTOGRAPH OF THE YEAR

Kirsty's entry also got selected in the JUDGES CHOICE Category by Judge Caitlin J. Mccoll

2021 OPEN PHOTOGRAPH OF THE YEAR

2021 MEMBERS' CHOICE PHOTOGRAPH OF THE YEAR

Each of the 5 judges too had their own favourites, Here they are

JUDGES CHOICE: CRAIG TURNER-BULLOCK

JUDGES CHOICE: SARA GLAWE

JUDGES CHOICE: CAT RACE

Republished as a photo feature with permission from The International Pet Photography Awards and The Pet Photographers Club

Photographs curated by Rajesh Karkera/Rediff.com
Feature Presentation: Ashish Narsale/Rediff.com