Anyone who has ever searched online for something—a house, a car, a dog—knows how important a photo can be. When you see something that catches your eye, you get excited and want to know more, but there are also tons of images that turn you off immediately. Animal shelters often suffer from a bad-photography program, and this can be disastrous for a dog waiting for adoption:
A terrified dog walks into a rescue shelter. He’s dirty, disoriented and unsure of what’s about to happen. A person he doesn’t know stands over him with a camera, snaps a photo and posts it on an adoption website.
Most likely, no one will call about him.
But an organization called Greater Good and photographer Seth Casteel (of Underwater Dogs fame) aim to change all that. You can see the difference a photo can make in the before-and-after images above.
Love this story. As a pet photographer I donate a lot of my time at my local Humane Society in New Jersey, and I can attest to the difference a professional photo can make. It can be the difference between someone buying vs adopting a dog. But it doesn’t take a professional pet photographer to snap a good photo. I compiled some tips on photographing shelter dogs and cats that even someone with a phone camera can take advantage off. 🙂