Photographs tell stories.

They invoke emotion.

This is why they are a great medium for helping bring awareness to homeless animals .

Photographers are such an asset to animal shelters and rescues as their work can truly inspire and encourage others to adopt, volunteer and be involved. They are a step in helping create a more animal friendly world.

I am constantly inspired to push myself further as a pet photographer and to be more creative – all in the effort to help homeless animals. If you are in the NJ/NY area and are interested in teaming up on a pet related project – please reach out, I would love to help!

Below are some photo campaigns & fundraisers I have worked on with local shelters and rescues.

Dogs Days of Woodbridge

This was a collaboration with the Woodbridge Animal Shelter – this photo calendar fundraiser was a true labor of love that resulted in not only $5K for the shelter – but more visibility for them as well.

By working with the local businesses in town we were able to build a community of supporters for this small shelter and not only brought awareness to the shelter – but to the businesses that support the shelter.

This was a successful campaign all around.

Pitties & Pretties

I worked with the Monmouth County SPCA on this photo project we named “Pitties and Pretties: Opposites Attract” which paired up adoptable pit bulls with local female animal lovers dressed in their finest girl girl outfits to show that pit bulls are not just for “guys” and are not mean dogs.

They can be a girls best friend when out and about for a day of shopping and lunch with the girls. We created the images in a local shopping center and just had a fantastic time putting it all together.

Bikers & Kitties

Another “Opposites Attract” campaign I worked on for the Monmouth County SPCA shelter, these bikers and kitties show that just about anyone can find love with a kitten by their side.

These images are meant to inspire people to think outside the box when getting a pet – to eliminate pre-conceived notions of what they “should” get as a pet to what their hearts tell them!

We worked with out local Harley Davidson dealer to acquire the biker models and the campaign was a huge success with all the cats getting adopted within the week of the images being released.

Now, on to other inspiring photographer marketing ideas that have been done!

Diamonds and Pets Are A Girls Best Friend

This is one of our favorite ideas! Trina Bauer is a photographer who had a vision and made it a reality! This concept is a WIN WIN WIN because not only does it get her name out there for her photography business but it gets much needed attention for the cats of her local rescue Center County PAWS and the jeweler gets some extra points with animal lovers as a brand that cares.

When Trina suggested the idea to the owner of Moyer Jewelers – she was all for it and Trina’s plan was now able to be executed!

The promotion was designed to celebrate Adopt A Shelter Cat Month – so throughout the store there are great images of cats looking for their forever homes alongside the jewelry they offer. The images were used in the window displays which we are sure captured the attention of local residents that were walking by the jeweler.

To read the full post or view more of her work, visit Trina’s website here.

Movies Can Make Adoptable Stars

Another great idea to work with a local movie theater to get more exposure for pets from a local rescue. Forsyth Humane Society partnered up with Catch A Spark Photography and a/perture Cinema, which is also a nonprofit, to create an “adoptable” board during the debut of Isle of Dogs at their theater.

We love how the photographs pop off the theaters black chalkboard background and that the Adopted signs are put up when a pet has found their forever home.

This gives potential adopters the idea that adoption is in! Which of course we know it is!

While this may not work with larger movie theaters (but it is still worth a try) – we suggest approach smaller theaters that may exist in your local area.

Cutouts Bring Pets To Life

We know that Ikea was a big name that implemented this type of campaign and we found some local shelters doing it as well with their local retailers which we think is a fantastic idea!

Ikea chose local rescues to work with for this campaign where adoptable pets were photographed then turned into cardboard cutouts to showcase throughout their stores. Each cutout also contained a QR code so shoppers can easily scan the code and get the most recent information about the pet!

A couple of rescues we found doing this were Paws 4 You and Humane Tomorrow and we love how each had their unique angle on this great idea.

The cutouts are lifelike in size making them quite a visual display in any store. The purpose of this campaign is to allow potential adopters to really “feel” like the pet is right there with them so they can imagine how it would be to adopt them.

Humane Tomorrow had their display in a local retailer called Yogi Kids & Fit Family and had a cute card hung from around the neck with the rescue details.

A mix of cat and dog cutouts were used throughout the store.

Paws 4 You took it a step further and added the rescues name and pet name to the base of the cutout and added a super cute “Adopt Me”  bandana which we think gives it an extra level of “realness”.

These cutouts were placed at Sunset Feed & Supply store and we can only imagine the impact it had!

The only downside to this campaign is the cost in the printing and mounting. A few people used a company called Postnet and the prices seemed to range based on location.

We highly recommend you look locally to get the cutouts printed since shipping could be high because these are large items. See if you can have someone sponsor the project to help subsidize or cover the cost!

Final Thoughts

As a photographer – and an animal advocate, finding unique ways for photographers and local businesses and photographers work together is one of my favorite things to do!

I believe in teamwork and think working together to help create a better world for animals is the only way to go!

If you have an inspiring idea of how a photographer and shelter have worked together please let me know so I can get it added to the post to inspire others!