Our faithful friends

Anna-Marie Coster shares her skills for capturing great dog portraits

Dogs and photography are two of my favourite things in the world. I grew up with a four-legged best friend constantly by my side, plus a pocket camera, often using the entire roll of film to take photographs of my companion.

I finally put my two passions together and became a professional dog photographer in 2013. I have since been fortunate to capture thousands of dogs; although the equipment and concept is the same for each, every photo shoot is different. Each dog has its own character. They have different personalities, emotions and stories to tell, and that’s what I love to capture on camera. You will often find me lying in the muddy grass or covered head-to-toe in dog fur, all while holding a camera in one hand and a squeaky toy in the other. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.

It really helps to have an understanding of dog behaviour when you photograph dogs. My qualification in dog behaviour and psychology is especially important when I volunteer my time to give a voice to the voiceless and photograph rescue dogs on their search to find their second chance.

My digital camera journey has always featured a Sony A7 and my go-to lens, a 70-200mm. I’m lucky enough to have won many awards for my dog photography, but the most rewarding part of it is seeing how much joy those captured memories can bring to others. Whoever said diamonds are a girl’s best friend never owned a dog… photographybyannamarie.co.uk