As we wrap up another year, I’m filled with gratitude for all the wagging tails and purring companions I’ve had the joy of capturing through my lens. 📸✨ Your furry friends have brought so much light and love into my year, and I can’t thank you enough for sharing them with me.

Today, I‘d like to share a photo that beautifully captures the profound connection between this stunning Maine Coon cat and her owner, with a focus on their eyes - windows to their souls. These eyes, each telling a unique story, remind us of the depth and emotion they carry.

I was already over the moon to be shortlisted for the 2023 British Photography Awards. But finding out that I won the People’s Choice award… just beyond words!

All 5 of my entries to this year's Pet Photography of the Year Awards have won an award! 3 Silvers and 2 Bronzes. They received brilliant feedback from the judges. I’m super chuffed to read the judges’ comments. Some of them were…

“Can my children be in the images, too?” Absolutely!

Although the majority of my work is in colour, I do enjoy playing with black-and-white retouching when I have a suitable image.

As some of you may know, I don’t particularly like including a lot of the landscapes in my portraits. Because our subjects - our furry friends and their humans - should be the centre of all the attention! Right? Yeah, but… when the background helps to show the nature of the dog, how happy they are, and the moment of freedom and joy they’re living in - all in a clean, refined and artistic way not in a distracting way, environmental portraits are a great way to show your pet’s story and immortalising their life memories with you.

This little fluffy girl was fighting bladder cancer when I photographed her. During her End-of-Life portrait session, my goal was to celebrate her life by capturing her happy moments and the love she shared with her owner.

“Heart Warmer” This image has a special meaning to me because I created it as an act of overcoming a stressful time, while nervously waiting for breast surgery. Now whenever I look at this image, I remember Guillaume's warmth striking all the way to deep in my heart, the softness of his fur stroking my naked skin and his gentle cuddles comforting my vulnerable mind. That's the goal whenever I create images for anyone. Immortalising meaningful moments in photographs. Once again, I'm proud of what I do and more importantly, grateful to everyone who appreciates my work.

Featured in a pet photography magazine as Image of the Quater! Swipe to see the magazine and read more about how this image was created.

I feel lucky that my job is to create art that documents people’s life memories. I believe photography is an act of showing our appreciation for our lives. We photograph the moments that we want to remember. To celebrate. To treasure. I am grateful, honoured and proud that I can help people appreciate their lives and what they love in their lives in the form of photographs.

This is one of the biggest reasons why I dedicate myself to pet photography. To document these magical emotions that warm your heart and those wonderful moments that deserve to be remembered.

Multiple dogs, cats, or both? No problem. At all. As a professional pet photographer, I know how to photograph untrained general pets, even hyperactive dogs or grumpy cats, not just highly trained model dogs. Plus, with the power of Photoshop, I can take individual images of each animal and combine them to create a perfect group portrait.

The new studio of Chohee Courtois Photography is under construction. You will soon be able to have sessions in my beautiful newly-built studio! Of course, the usual locations such as my home studio, outdoor locations or your own home will still be available too, if you prefer.