Photography For The Web: Conclusion

My name is Shelby Decker and I am a senior at Meredith College majoring in Exercise and Sports Science- Health Wellness. In the spring I began searching the art catalog for a course that would fulfill my general education art credit. I am not very good at drawing so I was afraid that was the only thing that would be available to take. I was happy when noticed there was a photography class offered for the summer. I love taking photographs and have always wanted to take a photography class. Then when I was digging deeper into the course description and realized I would be photographing animals I was thrilled! I have always dreamed of working with animals and this course would give me a chance to test out a possible field dealing with animals. Thanks to this course I was able to combine many of my passions all into one and get credit for a class at the same time. This class has taught me so much and given me experiences that I could not get anywhere else. For starters I received a very good foundation in photography and editing that I have always wanted to learn. I now know what different terms mean, have a better understanding of pixels and other things, and I now know what to look for in order to make a great photograph. Secondly I learned the ins and outs of the shelter and surprising data that I did not expect to learn from this course. I learned the difference between the SPCA (and other no-kill shelters) and the WCAC (and other county shelters). On the first day of orientation we were alarmed to find out that plus or minus 40 animals a day enter the WCAC with a slower rate being adopted or moved to specialized adoption groups like a breed specific rescue group. I thought going into this class we would just take the pictures and learn about editing photographs on the computer but in fact I have learned much more. This was one of the most valuable experiences I have ever had the opportunity to be apart of. Now with my knowledge and hands on experience from actually being in the shelter I want to continue volunteering as well as educate friends, family, and the public about the staggering rates of intake and the unfortunate euthanasia rates. In addition, I have a better understanding of pet owner responsibility and animal overpopulation which are two things that I used to not ponder everyday but now I find myself thinking about it a lot and asking others.

Photography is an art form that is extremely important to the animals at the animal shelters as well as animal over population. The images taken by my classmates and I as well as the professional photographers that volunteer really help improve the chances of the animals getting adopted. We take the time to cuddle the animals so that the photographs are much more relaxed than the intake photographs when they are scared. If more of the animals from the shelters are being adopted then it would slow down the number of pets being purchased from breeders or puppy mills. Also these photographs can be used for educational purposes. The public needs to be educated on the importance of responsible pet ownership and getting their pet spayed/neutered. Along with their basic needs to survive animals need to be spayed or neutered to cut down on the number of pets in a given area causing animal overpopulation. Beautiful photographs of animals can be used to really catch the attention of the viewers and draw them into the information being presented.



 

Jax (88363)
The picture below is one of my photographs of one of my favorite dogs from this experience. His name originally was Pepper but is now Jax. He is currently in foster but still looking for a home. I really hope that my photograph makes a positive impact on him and getting adopted. However he is the one who has made the positive impact on me. I watched him come into the shelter and get surrendered. His story broke my heart but his personality mended it. I owe my awesome experience at the shelter and passion to continue volunteering to him and a few other dogs.