I had a Pet Photo Day at the Pet Supplies “Plus” store in Westbury, NY  last weekend and there was a dog and cat rescue group celebrating the opening of their new facility within the store. Stanley Lang, the store owner had generously donated a large portion of his property to construct an area to house kittens and cats that have been rescued from the street and from other shelters. The name of the rescue group is Forgotten Friends of Long Island.

Their web site is here: Forgotten Friends of LI
 and they have a   Facebook page here: Facebook

They had also brought with them, several rescued dogs that live in foster homes while waiting to be adopted. They don’t have room to house the dogs, so some volunteers with very big hearts become foster “parents” to these animals that would have otherwise been euthanized.

I asked Milena Apath, the Foster/Rescue Coordinator of their Dog Program,  if I could donate some of my time and take pictures of the foster dogs which could then be used on their web site. I hadn’t seen their web site or the pictures of the dogs on it, but I have seen other rescue sites and I know what the pictures usually look like.  It is a known fact that the better the picture, the better the chances are that a dog will get adopted. Even without having seen the pictures they were using on their web site,I was sure that I could improve upon them, even with the limited set up I had to work with at the time.

Take a look at the pictures, maybe you would like to adopt one or perhaps you know someone who might like to. Please get in touch with Forgotten Friends of Long Island.

If you are a shelter or rescue organization in Connecticut, New York or on Long Island, I am available to do the same thing for your organiztion. 
Here are the “before” and “after” pictures:

The top row photos were taken by the rescue group’s volunteers. The rest are photos of the same dogs, taken by me.

Do Pets Belong In Family Portraits?

Richie Schwartz, Pet Photographer

In the modern American culture, pets are increasingly treated as family members. Pets have always been an important part of the family. As American culture evolved in the last twenty years, pets have taken on an even more important role.

More young couples are not just getting married later in life; they are delaying having children until older. As a result, pets seem to have taken the place of children in the lives of young couples and as such, they are treated much the same way that children are. Indeed, many people refer to their pets as their kids and they are themselves referred to as pet parents by the pet industry.

For middle aged American couples, pets are a welcome relief to empty houses as their children grow up and move out. These pets help make the transition easier. For older Americans, a pet often helps one get through the death of a spouse or loss of a job.

Whole industries have been created to service these pet families. These include dog walkers, pet sitters, doggie daycare, pet insurance, and of course, the pet photography specialist.

It makes sense that this unique member of the family is included in the annual family portrait and at other family functions. Pets are even showing up at weddings as part of the wedding party and are included in the wedding portraits as well. More often we are seeing portraits of pets on a coworkers desk along with their other family members. Some proud pet owners even carry small sized photos of their pet in their wallet.

Unlike twenty or thirty years ago, a pet in a family portrait is no longer considered an oddity, but just another loved family member. Is your pet included in your family portraits?

About the Author; Pet Photographer Richie Schwartz

Richie Schwartz, a former Veterinary Technician, Dog Groomer, and Dog Trainer, has over 30 years experience as a professional photographer. He is known as the “dog whisperer” of pet photographers. Richie has a special bond with animals and it has been said that he seems to hypnotize animals into posing for him. Richie is one of the country’s most prolific and sought after Pet Photographers. He has photographed over 60,000 pets in 30 states. Over the last ten years, he and his affiliated companies, including Pets Photography Studio, has provided Pet Photography services at hundreds of pet supply store locations for companies such as PETCO, PetSmart and Pet Supplies “Plus”. He has trained more than one hundred pet photographers in this time.

Richie  is a member of Long Island Pet Professionals, former President of the Professional Pet Photographers of America association and founded the Pet Photography School of New York. Richie is the NY Pet Photography writer for Examiner.com. Richie Schwartz is a regular speaker and educator at area photography clubs, pet expos and other events, where he offers pet photography seminars and workshops. In addition, he regularly volunteers his services to raise funds for rescue shelters.

Web site www.PetsPhotography.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/PetsPhotography
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/PetsPhotograph