I don't ask a dog to sit still or expect a cat to perform – I watch, I wait, and when they show me who they are, I'm ready.
I'm Balint Hamvas, and I love photographing pets because no two are alike. Every session brings a new character with their own energy, quirks and opinions. Earning their trust is the part of the job that never gets old.
I learnt most of what I know about pets during four years at local vets, Pennard Vets, photographing for a practice full of people who genuinely love what they do.
I'll admit that a job which occasionally involved photographing puppies didn't always feel like work.
But it gave me an irreplaceable education from being around vets and nurses who read animals for a living. I learnt to notice the small signals – when a pet is relaxed, when they're only tolerating, when they need a minute – and how quickly they'll trust you if you let them set the terms.
The technical side came from a previous life. I've had a camera in my hands since I was twelve, when I begged my dad into handing over his film camera, and I spent fifteen years as a professional sports photographer before turning to pets.
It taught me to be ready for the moment rather than chase it – useful, it turns out, when your subject is a spaniel at full tilt who can change direction in a heartbeat.
Shooting cycling often kept me on the road 150 to 200 days a year, which is hard on a relationship and harder still with a family. When my son arrived in 2019, I wanted work closer to home – and I found that photographing pets gave me everything I'd loved about the old job, with better company.
I moved to Kent from London ten years ago and I've been quietly amazed by our beautiful county ever since.
The countryside is on the doorstep, I still haven't run out of new walks and Haysden Country Park alone has given me more good frames than I can count. It's a wonderful place to be a pet photographer.
If you'd like some photographs of yours, I'd love to hear about them.