How to Take Photos of Shelter Pets and Other Pets for Adoption

For as long as I can remember, my favorite photographic subjects were animals. I would take several photos of all of my pets. So when I started volunteering with animal shelters and rescues, it just seemed natural that I'd also want to help take photos of adoptable pets. Over the last few years, I've learned that a photo can make all the difference for an animal. A photo can determine if the animal is adopted or euthanized. If you're considering volunteering to take photos of adoptable animals, there are a few tips that you should know.

A Good Photo Can Make All the Difference

In the past, if you wanted to adopt from a shelter you had to go there to look at the animals. Those days have changed. While you still have to go to the shelter to pick up your pet, you can browse the available animals online first. If the cutest pet in the shelter has a bad photo, you may overlook that pet. If a funny looking old senior shows great expression and beautiful eyes, you may decide on that animal even if you wouldn't have considered him before. I've seen pets that normally would have been considered easily adoptable, but due to their photo, they stayed in the shelter for months (or worse, were euthanized). Sometimes a pet that would not normally be very adoptable, say a black cat or a white rabbit, would quickly be adopted due to a cute photo. A photo can make all the difference for animals up for adoption.

Expressions Can Help Tell Adopters about Personalities

It's not always possible to get a photo of an animal in a shelter with a great expression. However, if you have some time, try to get them to open up. Someone is much more likely to go to the shelter to see a smiling dog, than one that looks terrified. If the animal is in a foster home, ask the foster parent what the personality of that animal is like. See if you can portray that in the photograph. I've found that most people are drawn towards expressive eyes, whether the eyes are expressing happiness or even a longing sadness.

Tips for Taking Photos of Geriatric Animals

A lot of people are looking to adopt young animals rather than seniors. However, there are people out there who will consider senior animals or may even prefer a senior. I've found there are a few things to watch for in taking photos of seniors. Let's say you're taking a photo of a black dog who is about 10 years old, has a greying muzzle, and cataracts. It's probably not the best idea to take a photo only showing this dog's face, even if it does have a great expression. If someone isn't going to adopt a senior, they still aren't going to adopt this senior. But at least that way you'll be giving the dog more of a chance by showing the entire body rather than just the face, which is not its best feature.

Tips for Taking Photos of Sick, Injured, and/or Neglected Animals

Not many people want to bring home a sick animal. People often look at photos to see if there is crust in the eyes, nasal discharge, matted fur, or anything that could indicate health problem and thus, immediate vet bills. In these cases, you already have a very slim chance of getting the animals adopted out, but that shouldn't stop you from trying your best to give the best shoot at that slim chance. Let's say you're taking a photo of a dog who was neglected. This dog has ribs prominently sticking out. In this case, I would look at two options: either take a photo of the dog's face or take a full body photo of the dog with a sad expression. Sometimes people will feel sorry for such an animal and come adopt them, despite their rough start in life. This is especially true if there are written descriptions about the animals provided as well. You don't want to lie to people about what the animals look like, but in some cases you don't want to give them the full picture. If a cat has one eye missing and the other eye is fine, at the very least, show that the cat does have one good eye. I would never recommend using PhotoShop to alter pictures and make the animals more adoptable however. If the animal has cataracts, don't think removing them with PhotoShop will help. The potential adopters will still go to the shelter and see the dog's condition. The only thing I would recommend using PhotoShop for, is if you have to edit the background for some reason. Maybe the pen hadn't yet been cleaned and you want to make it look nice. Unfortunately for the animals, not all of them will be adopted. Just by taking their photo and putting it online, you're giving them more of a chance than they would have had otherwise.

Yes, You Can Use Props!

Sometimes you're stuck with some very unadoptable animal just by their looks. Let's say you are dealing with a very mellow cat, but they have a tooth that sticks out in front. It's not really a medical problem as it's a healthy tooth and they can eat just fine, but it certainly doesn't make them more adoptable. Try doing something funny and put a cowboy hat on the cat. People will really notice this funny photo and many people will at least look at the photo, with several going to the shelter to visit and hopefully adopt this cat. I've seen several volunteers who use holidays to their advantage as well. Around Halloween they'll put a pumpkin and fall leaves in the background, for the 4th of July they'll add in a flag, and for Christmas they'll use some lights and a tree. Just remember to be safe with your props. Also, you probably don't want to do something with a puppy coming out of a Christmas package if the shelter has a policy against Christmas adoptions. However, props can really help especially when there aren't many great features to highlight about the pet. Just think about how many black labs, solid colored rabbits, and grey tabby cats are in shelters. Props can help these animals look unique.

A Note About Rescues

While the animals in shelters are usually at risk of being euthanized if not adopted, most rescues are no-kill organizations. However, keep in mind that you still want to make pets look their best. The sooner pets are adopted from a rescue, the sooner a spot opens up for an animal from a shelter to come into the rescue. The great thing with rescue pets though, is that you'll generally have a second chance if the first photo isn't successful. Let's say that Harry the guinea pig has been in the rescue for 3 months. The first photo was okay, but not great. Well, since Harry is still there you can still try again and see if a better photo helps him out. Also, sometimes pets will come into the rescue with medical problems such as mange. The problem will clear up with treatment and at that point, the animal will look a lot better. At a shelter, you most likely will not have this luxury. You'll have to take a photo of the animal with mange, and just try your best to make it look like the animal could still be a good pet once treated. Unfortunately for pets, even easily treated conditions make them harder to adopt out. There are always going to be things you just can't help even with a good photo. The good news is, at least when you're taking photos of animals in a rescue, they won't be put to sleep even for being unadoptable so long as their condition is reasonably treatable.

Remember That You're Giving the Animals an Extra Chance

These animals previously only had the chance to be seen at the shelter. If you're volunteering to take their photo, they now have the chance to be seen online as well. Even if all the photos aren't perfect, you still gave these animals a much greater chance of being adopted than they had before you came along and started volunteering. Don't let yourself feel guilty when animals don't get adopted. You did your best; not all of the animals are going to be adopted unfortunately. Without you, the animals didn't even have that chance of being seen online. Any volunteer who is able to go to the shelter week after week and give the animals a second chance at a new home, has my respect no matter how their pictures turn out, because at least they gave the animals a chance. And that's more than most people do.