Aug 4, 20223 min read

Men's Best Friends strike a pose with Jo Lyons

✦ Every dog deserves a great life

Jo Lyons' journey into dog photography started back in 2011 when she discovered the poor quality of the intake photos for animals into pounds and shelters. She pondered on how many animals lost any chance they had to be noticed due to a poor photo.

This led to her volunteering at some of the biggest pounds in Sydney where she spent many a weekend for eight years photographing the impounded animals so they had a beautiful portrait and would be seen… and hopefully saved. Over those years thousands of animals were photographed and the vast majority went on to have a second chance at life through being rescued or adopted.

Jo Lyons, Dog Photography as featured in Brilliant-Online

Continuous Education and Training

For the past 11 years Jo has worked on her craft through continuous education, which includes travelling to France and New Zealand where she was trained by some of the world’s best dog photographers.

Dog Photography by Jo Lyons as featured in Brilliant-Online

She is an accredited professional photographer, operating her business Jo Lyons Photography for the past ten years. She is also a fundraiser for various causes, one being the “Tails of Barrington Coast”, a book project which will be out in time for Christmas.

“I’ve spent the past 12 months photographing dogs across the Manning Valley, Great Lakes and Gloucester regions and raised over $2600 for Aussie Ark,” Jo told us. “This is my second book project. The first was “Teeny Tiny Dogs and their Stories” which supported “Paws for Thought” Rescue in 2019.”

She loves her work

Jo loves working with dogs. “What more could you ask for!” she beamed. “My background is corporate human resources and I feel blessed to now have my own business which revolves around man and woman’s best friend!“

Although catering to all dog breeds, Jo is especially drawn to rescued dogs who range from purebred to bitzer and everything in between.

Seeing the joy in the dog as they embark on their photography experience and all the smells, sounds and textures they experience is a constant joy for Jo. “Seeing the reaction of my clients when they see their images for the first time and designing artwork for them to treasure and remember their dog is very fulfilling,” she tells us proudly.

All dogs should be photographed

Dogs are family and their lifespan is so short compared to humans. “My clients treasure their dogs and a beautiful portrait will ensure they will never be forgotten," says Jo.

"It is my job to create beautiful portraits to continue their legacy and I offer the finest Australian-made products, ranging from stunning albums and print collections through to framed fine art paper, canvas and metal wall art as individual artworks, storyboards or multi-artwork collections.”

“I believe every dog deserves a great life and an abundance of love; every dog has a story to be told and deserves to be remembered through beautiful imagery and artwork," Jo explained. "I work with families who consider their dogs as their family.”