The fifth challenge in the Embark Pet Photography Challenge Series was “Up Ups.”

The goal: capture a portrait of a dog elevated on something. Here’s the final image I created for this challenge:

You’d think it would be easy to find something for your dog to stand on. Logs, rocks, and stumps seem to be everywhere until you actually need one. Then suddenly, they’re nowhere to be found. I knew I didn’t want an urban shoot, which narrowed my options quickly. I was hoping for something natural, anything that would elevate my pup and match the outdoorsy aesthetic I was going for.

After several days of keeping my eyes peeled, one finally found me. I was driving into town when I passed a tree stump on the side of the road next to a beautiful farm. If nothing else came along, that would be the spot.

The window of opportunity was tight since another storm was on the horizon (shocker!), and I didn’t want to end up with a soggy, muddy dog. So my trusty assistant, a.k.a. my husband, and I loaded up and headed to the stump before the weather could turn.

Now here’s where things got interesting: this farm rotates bison through their property, and it takes them about a year to make their way to the area near the stump. So guess what day they decided to show up? Yep—that day.

At first I was nervous. I didn’t want my dog barking and startling them. Luckily, my model handled the situation like a pro. She remained quiet as we pulled up and was silently curious about them. Don’t worry, safety first! We were well away from both the fence and the road. If I hadn’t had a good buffer on either side, I would have come back another day.

Ironically, the bison helped more than they hindered. They held her attention in exactly the direction I needed her to look, allowing me to capture some amazing shots.

I used my 70–200mm lens for this one because I knew I wanted that creamy background blur to isolate her from the scene. I also paid close attention to my angle, making sure she was framed between the fences and that nothing intersected with her head, a distraction I definitely didn’t want.

And those bison? Once the treat bag rustled, they were mostly forgotten, though she did occasionally glance their way. For the most part her eyes, ears, and nose stayed locked on the treat movement.

Here are a few behind-the-scenes shots from the day. Sorry, no bison portraits. I didn’t want to provoke them. Pointing a giant camera lens their way seemed like a bad idea since it looks a lot like a giant eye.

Even without bison photos, the scene had so much going for it. That stump. The field. My dog’s focus. When I reviewed the session on my computer, the photo I chose stood out because it told a story. Her body language showed genuine interest in whatever was beyond that fence, and I loved the intensity in her stance and expression.

I finished editing the photo and thought it looked pretty good, warm but intentional. Just to be sure, I shared it in the Embark group for feedback. A couple of people pointed out it looked really yellow. I hadn’t noticed it at all; I just thought it had a cozy, golden tone.

But then again, I hadn’t calibrated my monitor in two years. My Datacolor Spyder was still packed away in one of our moving boxes. I figured it was time for a serious search. I pulled up our moving box list, went through it line by line, and finally found it.

As soon as I calibrated both monitors and reopened the image, I saw exactly what they meant. So much yellow. 😳

If you do any kind of photo, video, or graphics editing on your computer, I can't emphasize enough how much of a difference monitor calibration makes. Don’t skip it. I’m so glad I finally found mine because honestly, I felt like I’d been editing blind without it.

The judges described the composition as interesting and loved the leading lines of the fence. However, they felt that the fence intersecting with my dog’s head created some visual tension. They also noted that she was looking off to the side and leaning forward, which made it feel like she was about to leap off at any moment to chase whatever had caught her attention. It gave the impression that the moment was about to end.

Despite all the care I took removing the yellow color cast, I was told to be cautious about pulling too much color from the dog. With such a warm and colorful scene overall, it ended up feeling like I had a black-and-white dog in a full-color world.

One final note was about depth. The judges suggested incorporating more layers in future images. When a dog is perched on something with a very blurry background, it can sometimes make the photo feel flat or two-dimensional, almost like it was shot in a studio with a landscape backdrop.

Based on the feedback, I decided to submit a new image for portfolio judging, which will take place after the final challenge is completed.

Here's the new image I submitted:

I’ll be honest, this feedback hit hard. This was one of my favorite photos of my pup. She approaches everything in life with intensity, and this image captured that side of her perfectly. It felt like it told a story. But that’s the thing... I know her. I know her personality and what this moment means. To someone else, the story may not come through as clearly. That was a valuable reminder: when creating images for others, the story needs to be universally understood. Just because I see it doesn’t mean it reads the same way to everyone else.

I also need to remember that creating a story for a customer is different from creating one for competition. With clients, the story is often personal and known. In competition, the story has to stand on its own, clear and compelling to viewers who don’t have the backstory. Another important lesson learned.

As both a professional dog photographer and a graphic designer, I’m constantly working with color, composition, and visual storytelling. And like many designers, I picked up a bad habit: saying “I’ll fix it in post.” It stuck with me for way too long, even when the fix in post would take far more time and effort than just getting it right in-camera.

These Embark challenges have helped me change that mindset. Now I catch myself thinking, “Let’s get it right in-camera,” instead of, “I’ll fix it later.” That shift alone has saved me so much editing time and stress.

Of course, dogs are dogs. They’re unpredictable, and sometimes extra editing is necessary. But if you can nail the shot in-camera, you’re already 75% of the way to a finished image.

These challenges have also trained my eye to constantly scout for new photo locations. Anytime I’m out with my husband and I see a stunning little spot, I’ll nudge him and say, “This would be an amazing place to photograph a dog.” He’s used to it by now. 😉

Thanks for following along with Challenge #5! Stay tuned for the next adventure, and in the meantime, keep your eyes open for logs, rocks, or tree stumps. You never know when the perfect photo opportunity will pop up!