Local dog photographer wins international competition

Monday 26 June 2017

A 26-year-old local photographer has won one of the 10 categories of the Kennel Club‘s 2017 Dog Photographer of the Year competition.

John Liot entered seven pictures in as many categories but hit gold in the "Oldies" one with "Kelly in her spot", a black and white shot of a 'collie cross,' sleeping on a couch while bathed in sunshine.

The 26-year-old first got into photography in 2009 "out of necessity" after dropping out of Sunderland University before the end of the first term. He told Express: "My parents had already paid for the first rent payment and my flight home for Christmas so they said, 'well you might as well stay in the UK.' I wasn't too sure what to do with myself in the weeks before I was due to come home as all my friends were at lectures and I became somewhat of a recluse.

"To get me out of my bedroom, I went for walks and took pictures of the surrounding area. I'd never really done photography beyond the module that was included in my Media BTEC at Highlands, so it was very much starting from the bottom, but it felt completely unrestrictive."

Pictured: A dog lover, John used to be fascinated with St. Bernards as a child because of their "massive" size.

After graduating from Falmouth University with a 2:1 in Press and Editorial Photography in 2015, John came back to Jersey but found himself struggling to pay the bills with photography. He started looking for a part-time job and became a dog walker and pet sitter for Kate Robertson's company, Walk&Wag. He then started snapping dogs, for fun at first, then as a "little side earner."

Since then John, who was fascinated by St. Bernards as child, has been learning a lot about the ins and outs of animal photography. He recently rebranded his animal photography as 'Project_Pawtrait' but says it is more than just business for him as he loves dogs and their big personalities.

He explains: "Dog photography gives me so much happiness and I get to take that positivity I feel, put it into my images and give it back to my clients. I'm still learning every day about how to be better at business, but my roots are in customer service, specifically going the extra mile to make people happy with the service I offer them.

"I don't want Project_Pawtrait to feel like someone just exploiting a gap in the market for a quick payday. I'm a dog person, and other dog people recognise what that means. The way I present this business is 'Art with Heart.'"

Pictured: John Liot at work with his furry models. (Rob Hansen)

He says: "I don't think, as the person I am, I'll ever be able to only ever do one style of photography. Right now, living in Jersey, I see the potential of dog photography and I'm giving my complete attention and drive towards it. But as to which I would rather shoot? In 2017, it's dogs. In 2018, it could be anything. I'm actually finding a lot of enjoyment in taking photos of chocolate right now, so who knows!"

Pictured: One of the shots John Liot took of comedian and actress Dawn French.

After a first entry last year in the Kennel Club's Dog Photographer of the Year, "the biggest dog photography competition in the world", John tried his luck again with seven different shots. The selection wasn't an easy one as you can only enter one image per category but John says Kelly's picture "exemplied everything the 'Oldies' category is about."  

"Old dogs are gentle souls, with a weariness about them that I feel we, as empathetic creatures, respect and give patience towards. Kelly is an apprehensive dog, she came from a difficult upbringing and it was only through time, effort and dedication towards training her that she has found her forever home and lives a comfortable life now. Bex, her owner, had told me that she would likely be cautious of me and I was finding her quite difficult to shoot, because I didn't want to encroach in her space.

Pictured: "Kelly in her spot" exemplified the "gentle souls" of elderly dogs according to John.

"At one point, Kelly jumped into a couch, found herself a familiar spot on the arm of the sofa and closed her eyes. I remember sitting at the kitchen table chatting with Bex when this happened and as soon as I noticed her I picked up my camera and silently manoeuvred myself to take the picture. Sleeping dogs as a subject matter on its own is something that fascinates me, because we all think 'what are they dreaming about?' so it's an image I love capturing again and again."

Pictured: John says dog photography gives him happiness and that working with dogs feels like "play."

"Don't misunderstand me, it's a pleasure and an honour to be credited with the 1st place prize in this competition because the amount of entries they get each year is incredible. But the most important thing is that my clients tell me they love the work I create for them. As a business trying to survive and thrive in this market, I need to use the satisfaction of a standard client as as much motivation to succeed, as the satisfaction of winning an esteemed award."