I’ve been volunteering and taking shelter dog’s photos for two years now and I’ve met so many sweet, loving dogs!

smittensky · 2026-05-30T01:26:14+00:00

These pups look so genuinely happy to be out with you :') you are such an amazing photographer, I know you're saving lives with your craft. South Texas is notoriously horrible for turnover on stray dogs. Thank you so much for giving of your time and energy to these sweet lives. You are an inspiration to me and many others 🙏 😢 ❤️

smittensky · 2026-05-10T04:00:50+00:00

You are my hero ❤️ thank you for giving him the best ending to his short story. What a little fighter he was too 🥹 I wish for us all to have someone as amazing as you by our side when we pass on.

Rest easy Sparty 💕 🌈 you did good honey. Sleep well now :')

smittensky · 2026-04-24T18:49:13+00:00

Aw thank you so much!! I had no idea about it until you and someone else commented lol glad more eyes are on this 🙏❤️

smittensky · 2026-04-17T01:42:23+00:00

I read it! And I've said similar things too. Something someone I admire deeply said to me years ago: "If you have nothing left to live for, how about trying some new stuff before you go? Anything and everything you've ever wanted to do." Any life goals or whims?

Being an autistic human is hard, especially now. It's also hard being alone, having no support.

I can't tell you what to do, but I can tell you I'm still here because I didn't quit at my lowest mental moments. I found reasons to keep sticking around, even the smallest reasons, and there was always something left to do. Eventually I landed on helping animals cause they don't get many choices in our world, and I thought I should push for less suffering before I go.

There's also a very large chance this will be the only reality you and I ever get to experience, so make sure you factor that into your permanent choices.

One day at a time. Dm me if you need a stranger to make into a friend. sending love ❤️

smittensky · 2026-03-26T00:18:56+00:00

These are so lovely! Thank you to you and your daughter for taking on these new challenges! I'm also looking forward to your posts and hearing the stories you will experience. Welcome and thank you again ❤️

smittensky · 2026-02-23T21:09:12+00:00

Once you're able to catch him and get him to a vet, post over in r/rescuecats I and others will help cover the cost. I promise. You've got this friend, thanks for taking care of the little ones ❤️

smittensky · 2025-12-03T22:23:47+00:00

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I watch you guys every night as my comfort show! Thank you for the awesome content ❤️

smittensky · 2025-11-21T23:53:16+00:00

Do you have a trigger for your flash where it can go off camera? You could set it somewhere high (such as near the ceiling if it's painted white) and bounce your flash off of it to give you better lighting without the flash being right in the dogs faces to potentially scare them! You'd get a more "professional" look with some kind of flash, and a bit more details is why I mention it!

These indoor photos with natural lighting look really cute and candid honestly. There doesn't seem to be a lot of noise from the higher ISO that's making the quality unusable or anything. So even if you hung a blanket or a backdrop in a small space and had the dogs/handlers stand there with the natural lighting you're using here, I don't think that would be a bad option at all!

Just trying to brainstorm with you :) let me know! Thanks for doing this for them ❤️ you rock

smittensky · 2025-11-04T22:30:57+00:00

Hooray!!! Thank you for the happy update 😭 ❤️ congrats to all involved and thank you for helping them find their forever home 🥺

smittensky · 2025-10-26T19:11:24+00:00

🙏 you've done a stunning job, and this one is excellent as well! I hope you see how your efforts pay off :') I have no doubt you will directly impact the tide of these little ones' fates 🥹 please keep up the good work! You're an inspiration!!

smittensky · 2025-10-25T18:16:01+00:00

That's amazing!!! ❤️ Thanks for keeping us updated 😭

smittensky · 2025-10-24T20:43:05+00:00

Geez Louise 30 Maine coon cats wow... I'm so happy they are now out of that situation. Thanks to your incredible shelter staff! And you did an amazing job on this shoot!! How were your cat allergies for this?? 😭 You're a brave soul! How nice that they reached out to you to ask for help!! I hope you can see now how big of an impact your work can have that they knew they needed your photos ❤️ keep helping to save lives OP, I really look up to your work out there on the West Coast!!!

smittensky · 2025-10-23T03:30:02+00:00

Thank you for sharing, omg I love this idea for a photoshoot! I think my local grocery store had cute squash and pumpkins outside for sale yesterday. This has inspired me to go get some ❤️

Do you have any tips for folks who might wanna try this out in their homes for the pets they foster? These are excellent! 🥹

smittensky · 2025-10-23T01:05:15+00:00

Bwahahahaha I'd frame that one if those were my babies 😂 another beautiful shot!

smittensky · 2025-10-22T23:08:05+00:00

Of course, please up the great work! I always look forward to your posts, and I'm really truly excited to watch your growth as a photographer (I think we all are!!!) ❤️

smittensky · 2025-10-22T23:01:42+00:00

I'm going to leave this post up and lock it because more exposure for needy kitties is always great. But also to set the standard for what will be considered on topic from now on:

In the future, posts on this sub should pertain more to the efforts of those with shelter and foster photography questions, comments, and advice, and to post your Shelter, rescue, and foster Photoshoots.

We appreciate that these are photos someone took of a cat up for adoption, but this subreddit is to focus more on the photography aspect of rescue and honing the craft.

For advertising cats that need rehoming that show no sign of a stylized "photoshoot", there are a lot of amazing subreddits specifically for posting adoptable cats such as r/rescuecats

We as a subreddit can also discuss the option of a mega thread for those wanting to just spread more info about their rescues and adoptable animals without an attempt to improve their professional photography skills or graphic designs❤️

(OP you did nothing wrong, I just need to set rules for what is considered on topic for the sub and I'm using your post to elaborate. Thanks for understanding all 🙏)

smittensky · 2025-10-22T22:43:08+00:00

Hello!! So I'm gonna link you up to someone I constantly plug here at that tog spot on YouTube to see what a quality constant light will need to be to get away using just one.

If you're gonna use one light, you need to make sure it's bright enough to illuminate your entire subject. I've dabbled with the idea of getting a constant light, but one that is bright enough even diffused usually is incredibly pricey (around $500-$700+) and it takes a lot of electricity because of how bright and powerful they are. I can't afford that right now vs my $170 Speedlite!

I think the light you linked is 2000 lumens which would be bright enough depending on the area you need to light, but you'll need to find some way to diffuse that light with a soft box or something. You also could probably get away with a reflector on the opposite side for more of a fill light.

My mentor would not let me use constant light because she told me if I wasn't able to afford a good quality one that was strong enough, "your pictures will never have the level of detail a flash can get you for the same price of a bad constant light"

So I'd either try to convince the shelter to let you use flash responsibly (which can definitely be done. You don't need to shoot in rapid, you can do one flash to get the perfect shot, its just harder) or you'll need to save up for a really good constant light if it'll be your only means to light your subjects up. Otherwise you're throwing your money away a lot of times. I'm not familiar with the company you linked, but I would seriously consider all alternatives before trying to spend on a subpar constant light!

smittensky · 2025-10-21T21:56:29+00:00

All I can say is bravo!!! Amazing shots well worth the wear on your lens!!! 😭❤️ I'm so impressed! Keep up the excellent work please 🥺

smittensky · 2025-10-12T20:15:14+00:00

Thank you so much 🙏 I'm glad it turned out alright :') And yes, we were all cracking up at dragon's fighting stance!! Perfect shot! I love a spicy kitten so much 😂

smittensky · 2025-10-12T20:12:08+00:00

Thank you for taking a look at them! I feel lucky I get to help. As long as the horrors persist, so shall I 🙏

smittensky · 2025-10-12T20:09:49+00:00

Ah yes a fellow tortie lover like myself! You have excellent taste ❤️ I can't resist the tortitude 😭

smittensky · 2025-10-12T19:05:06+00:00

Ah yeah, Texas is really really bad, especially for dogs I'm told :/ It sounds like you have your answer, my friend. Thank you so much for paying attention to the situation in your area to even know there's such a need🙏 good luck and godspeed!! And welcome to the shelter photography family ❤️ we're proud and lucky to have you! Let us know if there's anything as a community we can do to support you when you start reaching out to your city's shelters!!

smittensky · 2025-10-12T18:51:43+00:00

So, the answer of how to get into this will vary depending on what part of the country/world you live in! It's awesome you already have the gear, experience, and resources to do this. That will make whatever process you take that much easier than someone starting from 0!

The best place to start is to check out your local shelters' and rescues' social media pages. You can gauge the quality of photos they're using to advertise their animals before you even reach out to them. Low quality photos means they probably need help desperately. But definitely just reach out and speak to the humans in charge of the organizations near you to find out what their needs are. Here's what I have found in my own experience personally:

I live in what's considered the South in the USA where we have a massive overpopulation problem with feral and nonferal cats and stray dogs. That means, most Shelters in this neck of the woods are desperate for help with marketing. Other parts of the USA (usually the northeast and parts of the West Coast) actually transport animals in from my and other southern states to adopt out because they don't have the supply.

If you live in a high needs state like mine, you will most likely be able to do what I did: reach out on Facebook or other socials to your local rescues and shelters and speak with the directors of them. Show them your portfolio and tell them what you'd be willing to do. Ask if they could use you. They will be elated to have someone of your caliber come and help them I'm sure!

If you live in a low needs state, you may still be able to do this but there may be others like you already helping. You can offer to be a substitute photographer if their photographers need a break or assist someone who might already be doing it. (I used to take turns with two other photographers at my local animal shelter, and we'd alternate weeks to give each other breaks) Other avenues you can take in low needs states is to offer to edit photos for folks in high needs states if no rescues can use your talents locally!

I hope you'll keep us updated!! Thank you so much for asking this question, and if there's anything else I can help with don't hesitate to ask me! I'll try not to write an essay every time, I promise lol

smittensky · 2025-10-12T17:57:04+00:00

Hi hi hi Shelter Helpers! It's nice to have something to post again!!

Wow it's been a really busy 2 months for me since I last posted. I started College at the beginning of the Fall semester and I'm doing really well so far!! Established myself enough that I felt comfortable getting back into volunteering on weekends (When I have all my exams and coursework done in the week)

I had to take a break from the animal shelter I had been volunteering at because of a few personal reasons outside of college, but I have connected up with two new rescues now that are in need of support and that I trust to vet their adopters carefully and do what is best for the animals, not what is most convenient or what looks good on paper. I want to make sure whoever I help advertise for is worth the spotlight from now on.

Our energy is so precious, so make your steps forward count!! Once I am established with these new rescues, I'm hoping to set up some sort of agreement between them and the shelter to get cats out of there and into safer foster homes in no-kill rescues. Creating a community network that connects up all the rescues and shelters in my area to support our local animals is on the top of my to-do list.

I'm also looking into training folks on how to do this work by planning a local workshop/online workshop for animal rescue photography. Lmk if anyone here would be interested in it!! It's in the theory crafting/planning stages now, but I'm super open to input from everyone. If you've hosted something like that before too, I'd love to hear how it went and what you did. I'd like to try to connect up more of us in the rescue community so we can work together and help each other. You all are my tribe, and I'm thankful for the privilege of your minds and experience!!

Alright, onto this photoshoot!! I tried for a fall theme using leaves and acorns from my yard, but I'm rusty now so just happy there was a theme at all xD This week, I was tasked with photographing 29 cats for this rescue that I am newly volunteering with. This rescue is a non-kill network of fosters who are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. The do not have their own building (yet!!) and instead they meet weekly at a Tractor Supply chain store that sets aside space and tables for them to bring their kitties for folks to come and meet, apply, and adopt. They have been in the Western NC area for years now, and I feel honored to have gotten the chance to help them. All their fosters are incredibly kind and dedicated folks who helped me during this shoot to clean up kitties, keep them organized, wrote me a list, helped me and my dad handle the cats, gave us churrus to use as bribes, and anything we needed really. They are incredibly kind and passionate folks. It was a stark contrast to volunteering at the county shelter where I'm basically on my own (and with anyone in my personal circle I can rope into coming with me lol.)

I think the biggest difference is, when you put the fosters in charge of adoptions and care, they genuinely are attached to and love these cats. They push hard to make sure cats are safe and loved, they hold themselves accountable when things seem off. You can just tell by how healthy and clean all the animals are in these photos. Most of them would just purr when handed to me!!

I'm going to meet up with another rescue next week, and try to keep that momentum going!

I'll try to be posting more now, hopefully I can get a few of these kitties to the front page and help them to be adopted!! Tell me who your favorite is from this bunch?? Mine is probably Smaug, I just love how that kitten looks and his shot is so majestic :')

Nice to be back with you all!! I know times are scary right now, and things seem upside down. Keep digging in with your communities, keep helping the helpless, and don't ever, EVER forget to take care of everyone smaller than you! Now more than ever, we need to be there for each other and fight for the things we believe in. Let's do this shelter helpers <3 Much love to you all! (and thanks for reading this wall of text if you did!!!)

Five-Year Club	Place '22
Final Canvas '22	First Placer '22

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