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Journey to award winning images

Writer's picture: Lisa OlsonLisa Olson

Updated: Oct 23, 2024

The Emerge challenge with Unleashed Education has been a transformative experience, pushing me to develop my studio lighting skills and create impactful, storytelling images. Surrounded by talented pet photographers from around the world, I am truly humbled and inspired.

third place winner in an international photography challenge with unleaded education called emerge

Over the past 6 month doing the Emerge challenge I was catapulted out of my comfort zone and into an opportunity to grow as an individual and a photographer. I was guided through this amazing learning experience by two world renown leaders in the pet photography community. Craig Turner-Bullock and Charlotte Reeves.


At the beginning of the challenge, I struggled to achieve a Top 10 image in the first 3 challenges. My mind set of “good enough”, “This is the best I can do”, “I’m sure the judges wont notice” (little hint, they notice EVERYTHING) was simply not going to help me reach my goals of being in the Top 10 in each challenge.


I had to change my mindset and prove to myself I could do it and ‘good enough’ isn’t going to get me there. The feedback videos from Craig and Charlotte every two weeks, that lasted about an hour, are extremely helpful. They look at every image that was entered into that photo shoot challenge category individually and talk about what is great, what is good and what could have been better. To me the feedback videos are priceless and motivated me to continue to improve my photography skills, creativity and editing techniques.

 

1st Challenge: My creative version of ‘Framed’ for the first Emerge challenge was close to making it to the top 10, it was down to mine and two other photos for the final photo selection spot. It was intense watching and waiting for Charlotte and Craig narrowing down to the final top 10. The image was technically correct and meet the challenge brief, but I believe it needed to be more impactful and eye catching.

dog in a vintage tv infant of a blue backdrop in a dog photography studio in ogden utah

2nd  Challenge:  photo shoot challenge my image had a lot of editing mistakes and errors, so it did not do good. I learned my lesson to slow down, look at everything, and get the photo right in camera and not depend on photoshop. I ended up using a different image in my final portfolio.

Dalmatian puppy in a newborn swing infant of a blue backdrop in a dog photography studio in ogden utah

3rd Challenge: my image still had some editing mistakes, but they loved the rim lighting technique I used on the black puppy. With a few editing changes they suggested in the feedback video made the image look SO much better.

black puppy photographed on a black backdrop in a dog photography studio by Lisa Olson with pets r family

By the 4th challenge I got my act together and really stepped up my game and focused. I did some of my hardest, most creative, technically challenging photos I have done so far as a dog photographer. For each challenge I did a vision board and came up with ideas that would meet the brief in a creative way, used studio or artificial light (except on the panning challenge), and to try something I haven’t done yet. I took these challenges with a new determination to make it in the Top 10 for the remaining 9 challenges.  I don’t have to do the challenges in studio or with artificial light, but I thought it would force me to problem solve lighting techniques and be creative with setups.


The 4th challenge, Under Cover made top 10: This was one of the most technically difficult challenges I’ve done so far in Emerge upto this point. It's not always easy to shoot indoors, the light is lower and can cause unwanted color casts or shadows on the subject. I'm so glad my grand puppy was patient with me while I figured out the lighting. He hung out in his blanket fort and ate treats while I played with lighting and camera settings.


 It took me three separate photo shoots to get an image that I was happy with. I had this idea, and it was challenging to figure out the best way to photograph it, get the lighting I wanted, and still have the overall vibe that I was hoping for. The challenges I faced was keeping the warm light of the lamp, so I had to lower my shutter speed, open up my aperture, and raise my iso to let more of the ambient light from the lamp into the photo. 


This however, created a few white balance issues due to other ambient light in the room. So I turned off all other light, except for the lamp on my second attempt, and I was having problems with the shadows being way too dark losing detail due to small lamp. 


On my third attempt, I added a strobe to try and add light into the shadows, and it was overpowering the lamps warmth light (reflector didn’t work either). But I finally figured it out. I turned on the modeling lamp of the strobe only, which gave a soft light into the shadows, and the lamp was the main light source in the photo, which gave it that rich warm color.


Judges feedback: The warm tones and lighting provide a cosy scene, accentuated by the curtains and soft textures of the teddy. A beautiful storytelling image that has been expertly crafted.

irish setter in a blanket fort reading a book with his teddy bear by a lamp

5th Challenge, Pantastic made top 10:  I struggle with action shots, so I usually avoid doing them in photo shoots, however challenge 5 involved a complicated action shot where the dog is running across in front of the camera from side to side.

 

I figured since I’m not great at action shots I should get the biggest dog possible to keep my camera focused on their eye as I do what’s called panning (Panning is the technique of following the motion of something as it moves from side to side across the scene in front of you). Bigger the dog, the greater chance of keeping them in focus was my thought process.

 

I asked my sweet friend Tonya and her handsome boy Obi, an Irish wolfhound, to help me out with this challenge. I am so thankful they were willing to drive for over an hour to get to the location. Obi was a champ and ran back and forth at the park as I tried to get the perfect shot to enter into the contest. Tonya even ran with him, cheering him on as I worked on my technique.

 

Judges feedback: A great moment of this giant breed lolloping along as they tend to do! The texture and angles of the branches above echo the angles of the dog’s body beautifully and the panning technique has been executed very well

Irish wolfhound running in the grass for a photo shoot with dog photographer Lisa Olson in ogden utah

6th Challenge, All In The Details, made top 10: I had soooo many missed shots during the photo shoots with @utbulldoglife (on Instagram) to get the one image that would work. It looks like it should be easy to get a closeup of a 9-week-old puppy until you actually try it.

 

Judges Feedback: What a unique perspective of this dog. It’s lit beautifully, in a way that highlight the texture of the fur and the wrinkles

a 9 week old puppy looking up and lots of wrinkles seen under the chin and the photo taken by dog photographer Lisa Olson
Chin Up

7th Challenge, Silhouetto, made top 10: Silhouettes eliminate textural detail and black out facial expressions, relying instead on the pose and body language of the pet to tell the story.

 

Back when I did portraits of women, I took a Studio Lighting 101 course. One of the lighting set ups we learned was how to backlight a subject to create a silhouette using a single strobe light with a soft box.


The first thing you want to do is make sure your soft box is big enough that your subject can stand in front of it and be surrounded by the soft box. Adjust the power of your strobe light or the aperture on your camera so the subject is completely blacked out and there isn’t light wrapping around the subject. If too much light is wrapping around your subject, you will begin to see too much detail in the shadows. There are other ways and creating a silhouette with studio lighting, but I preferred the single light set up with a soft box.

 

Judges Feedback: This is a very interesting take on the silhouette brief! It's captured very nicely the kittens are all in interesting and cute poses and isn't really something we've seen before in this challenge.

three kittens photo taken in the studio with the words LOVE and the kitten is the O

8th Challenge, Slow Motion, made top 10:  Sisters playing twister was a little chaotic trying to get the dogs in the right position, paws on the circles, and have a feeling of motion within the picture to meet the challenge. Thank you Tonya Elizabeth Gardner for all your help

 

What the judges said   “What a fun capture! We felt this had William Wegman vibes and loved the interaction between the dogs as they look engrossed in playing the game.”

dogs playing twister and taking top 10 in an international photography contest with emerge

9th Challenge, Mirror Image, made top 10: I used a single light setup to my left with a soft box. It was originally centered, but with me moving around to get the best shot of the kitten in the mirror, it ended up to my left. I held a white reflector with one hand in front of my legs/feet so they would not be in the mirror. It would just show the white reflector. I got lucky with the kitten. She was so calm and sweet. She spent a few minutes looking at herself in the mirror.

 

Judges Feedback: This is a very sweet image; the props are carefully thought out and arranged in a spot that feels like it really is this kittens place to get dressed up and all fancy!

kitten looking in the mirror with pearls, jewelry box, and vintage perfume bottle. top 10 image in emerge photography challenge taken by Lisa Olson

10th Challenge, Double Trouble, made top 10: I had this idea I wanted to try with this adorable daddy daughter duo. I wanted it to be creative, fun, corky but still heartwarming with loving connection between the dad and daughter.


Thank goodness for Ashley's help (the human dog mom) because this idea was complete chaos getting two dogs to look at each other, the daddy to bow, the daughter to stay on the chair, and to get the shot I wanted. I almost gave up with this idea but so glad I didn't.


Judges Feedback: This is so fun and so creative! The careful planning behind it brings everything together really well. There is a nice diagonal from the dog at the bottom left, up through its portrait to the artist on the chair.

two bull dog puppies doing a oil painting in the studio and photo taken by Lisa Olson with pets r family

11th Challenge, Bokehlicious, made top 10: Doing the bokeh challenge in a creative way that was technically good and meet the brief outline was a super hard one for me to figure out. I tried a few different ways but was having problems getting the image quality good enough without using strobe lighting in the studio.


The strobes would overpower my Christmas lights and couldn’t see the bokeh anymore. I don’t have windows in my studio so I couldn’t use natural light either. My first photo shoot attempt to get bokeh in studio failed. On my second attempt I used my Watercolor series lighting technique for fun and got some cool results. But I started over thinking again and was worried it wouldn’t meet the challenge brief enough.

 

On my third attempt I used the Christmas lights in front and around the dog. Thank goodness Ella, the little white dog, was super patient with me. I felt like I was getting closer to my vision but when I started editing the pictures I realized my camera settings should have been different to get a better quality. My ISO was way high, and my shutter speed was way too low and got a lot of much motion blur. I could have stopped and said it was good enough, and I almost did, but I bought more Christmas lights and tried one more idea.

 

I finally got it. I taped the lights to my lens hood for the closeup bokeh, I used a ring light so I could even light on the dog’s face, and taped Christmas lights to the floor in the shape of a heart.

 

Judges Feedback: a very cute and creative take on the Bokehlicious challenge brief. The large bokeh in the foreground add depth and the color palette is well thought out and executed for a wonderful harmonious result.

irish setter in a heart shape from Christmas lights looking up for for dog photographer Lisa Olson with pets r family

12th Challenge, Shake, made top 10: The final Emerge challenge goal was to take a picture of a dog shaking water off that is sharp and visually interesting. This is the challenge that helped me figure out the lighting setup for my watercolor series. I wanted to photograph this challenge using strobes to light the water.


I knew that the best way to see the water was to light it from the back (learned that from my portrait photography days). I originally didn’t plan on using gels on the strobes but after the first photo shoot I realized it was missing some visual interest.

 

I tried a variety of colors and found I liked a combination of a warm color and a cool color. Such as blue and red together and teal and bright pink (the pink went more purple pink in the photos) It was really hard to select which image to enter because I did 8 photo shoots to get the technique right and got a lot of amazing images from each photo shoot.

 

Judges Feedback: Wait a minute, did someone intentionally use the Unleashed brand colors to score bonus points?!? Aside from the awesome color, the dog is in a great cyclical flow of the shake, and that has allowed all that water to create a frame that is not unlike a galaxy pulling you into the center. A fantastic and original take on this challenge brief.

husky shaking off water that is light up by gel lights against a black backdrop. top 10 image in emerge challenge

The Emerge Awards!!

Under cover winner: 

What the judges said: really loved this one, it was beautifully crafted. You see in studio work but have taken this to another level with the careful use of lighting, making everything consistent, really good use of props, the color scheme, even the teddy bear, it all works together. 

dog in a blanket fort reading a book with a teddy bear by the light of lamp. photo taken in studio by dog photographer Lisa olson

All in the details winner: 

What the Judges said: The wrinkles are incredible and the way it is presented so symmetrical. Love the element of the mystery of it, you don't look at it and automatically see the underside of a puppy's head. Aesthetically gorgeous with all that texture. 

9 week old bull dog looking up, a puppy with lots of wrinkles under their chin won in international photography challenge

Bokehlicious winner:

What the judges said: This is just so cool and creative. We love the concept you have gone with. Shooting from this angle isn't often done in a studio with controlled lighting conditions. Absolutely nailed it, those circles of bokeh are just so aesthetically interesting and really great expression from the dog. It has been really creativity thought out.

bokeh image with a dog taken in the studio won first place in emerge challenge taken by dog photographer Lisa Olson with pets r family

Joint Third Place Winner:

What the judges said: "This is something we have never done before, we have a joint winner for third place. We looked at everything when trying to decide the third place winner, over all images, how well they meet the brief, how respond to feedback, how many top 10 images, we compared each image from each challenge against each other. It was a tie, we felt we had to give a joint third.


"Congrats Lisa on your portfolio, it's amazing how far your work has come through the challenge, how creative your concepts always are, how dedicated you are to the execution of getting it right. How you responded to the feedback and really take on what we say. Love that you are a studio photographer and have such a unique take on studio photographs, it's very different from what we have seen before, we really enjoyed all your submissions."

Lisa also takes third place in an international dog photography challenge, three photos take first place and 9 photos take the top 10

I am overwhelmed with joy, gratitude, and surprise at the incredible achievement of my three images winning 1st place and receiving 3rd place overall. The Emerge challenge with Unleashed Education has been a transformative experience, pushing me to develop my studio lighting skills and create impactful, storytelling images. I am so thankful Craig and Charolette for all they have done.

See all the Unleased Education Emerge Challenge Winners:


Pets R Family

Lisa Olson, Dog Photographer

Ogden Utah


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Pet Photographer Lisa Olson with Pets R Family, located in North Ogden Utah

Hi, I'm Lisa with Pets R Family

My photography is for pet parents who believe Pets R Family and belong in photos too. Making memories and capturing moments that last FURever because your pets are worth it.

 

I'm a professional pet photographer and my dog photography studio is located in North Ogden, Utah. I also travel on location throughout northern Utah and photograph the most fabulous pets and people. 

On location photo shoots available in the following counties in Utah: Weber County, Morgan County, Davis County, Cache County and North Salt Lake. 

Not only do you want to preserve these times and moments, but you want to put them on display in a way that will make you smile every single day. I know that's how I feel about my Furbabies. 

 I'll help you every step of the way to create images and an experience that are perfect for you and your pet

Call/Text: 801-941-3142
Email: LisaOlson@MyPetsRFamily.com
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©2020 by Pets R Family, LLC. All rights reserved.

Dog Photographer and Owner: Lisa Olson 

North Ogden, Utah 84414

Pets R Family Registered Trademark 2023

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