The 2026 Dog Photography Awards have chosen their winners from roughly 1,900 entries sent in by photographers in 50 countries, and the top prize went to a portrait with a point to make.
Katie Brockman, a pet photographer in St. Louis, took the overall award with "Loved and Hated," a studio shot of Caldwell, a pit bull. He wears a crown made of newspaper headlines about his breed, pulled one way by a chain and the other way by a human hand. Brockman used to walk Caldwell at the shelter he landed in at age two, and she bought a house because her apartment building would not let her adopt him.
The other category winners range from a snowy action frame of Ori the Australian shepherd chasing a frisbee to a sunrise self portrait by Sarah Ebner with her dog Koda, taken on the first trip the pair made without the older dog who started it all. Elena Marchi won twice with galgos posed against London architecture. Zhang Tianhang took the documentary prize with "Waiting," shot inside shelters.
What this means for your dog: better photos, probably. The winning images share a few habits worth stealing. Shoot at your dog’s eye level instead of standing over them. Put a helper with treats behind the camera so your dog has a reason to look that way. Save the session for the hour after sunrise or before sunset, when the light goes soft. And take a hundred frames, because none of these came from one snap. If your dog would rather nap than pose, you are in good company: we have a whole gallery of dogs who can fall asleep absolutely anywhere.