Make time for Black and White

from the Photo Lab

Nova and her new mom.

Over the last two weeks, we had the pleasure of working with The Sonoma Humane Society (where Willow and RT came from) to create a library of images for their new website.
In the span of a few days, we photographed many adoptable, and recently adopted dogs, puppies, cats, kittens, bunnies as well as staff and volunteers that make up the heartbeat of this wonderful place.

This moustached kitty will soon be up for adoption, he is currently in foster care.

They approached us because they wanted our lighthearted, slightly documentary, lifestyle, yet fine-artsy style, and we did our best to give them just that. We love shooting in color, it tells a wonderful story and when used in conjunction with the honorable work of saving animals and finding them loving homes, all the better.

Grayson

A great photograph is capable of saving countless lives at animal shelters, and this is the mission behind a great organization of photographers and artists (us included) such as HeARTs Speak, to get animals adopted through great photography. If you are involved with a rescue or shelter and could use some HeARTs Speak help, please visit their website to find a photographer near you. We are all here to help.

When photographing adoptable animals, it is important to shoot in color, to be able to show an animals distinguishing features and one could say, to keep the tone and emotion of it happy, and hopeful. Color can be very dramatic too, but few can argue the sheer power the lack of color in a photograph can have.

My lovely friend Tundra, or as I like to think of her, my “white Willow”.

Black and White photography has been a powerful, and expressive art form for years. Remove the color, and you are left with the subject. During our photoshoot for Sonoma Humane, we took time amidst a busy shooting schedule to create some black and white images. These will likely not be used to promote that animal’s adoption, but they carry a more powerful message, and at the very least, they are quite beautiful.

Coconut

I misplaced this cutie’s name, but he’ll be up for adoption soon.

Solito

A kind stranger brought in this family of cats as we were shooting. The cats had been abandoned in a house, and this person had gathered them all and brought them to a safe place. Though scared and weary here, they are now off to a far better life, where they will never be abandoned again.

There is no great lesson here, for myself, I think I might be making more time for black and white when photographing shelter/rescue animals. If you happen to be a photographer yourself, I suggest you try it sometime. Simplicity is often capable of great things.