Togs 4 Dogs

PHOTOGRAPHERS WORKING FOR A GOOD CAUSE

TEXT AND PHOTOGRAPHY: LEE VAN HUYSSTEEN

Photography is an art of observation. It has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them

– Elliott Erwitt

In an age where the taking of photos has become short of imperative, and handheld image quality is improving at an astronomical rate, we still find a large divide between those who aspire to always have the latest smartphone and those who aspire to have as little communication online as possible, and are still sitting with their trusty Nokia N90.

I'll put that into animal welfare terms and exaggerate slightly for effect:

It's not often that you'll find a welfare staff member, or even founder, driving a Jag and rocking an iPhone 27XL. This is mainly because they spend most of their money on their six foster fails and pump what's left of their 'salary' back into the NGO they started 16 years ago in their backyard. I'm not saying one can’t ‘have it all’, but that would be the exception to the unwritten rule.

THE PROBLEM

Why is it that the dogs at, let's call them Soupy's Snoopies Animal Welfare, will struggle to be adopted? Dear sweet Soupy has put literal blood, sweat and tears into this shelter. Along with her loyal and equally dedicated staff, she has sacrificed salary increases, luxuries, and family time to raise, rescue, and rehome hundreds of dogs over the years. So, why is their adoption rate so low?

THE EXAMPLE

There is a multitude of factors that affect animal adoption, including breed, age, compatibility with other animals and visual appeal, among others. Here is an example of a typical situation where the names are obviously fictional, but the general situation is very real:

You're a pawrent. Thanks to the much-loathed algorithm, your social media is inundated with sponsored posts of pet food, accessories, and – you guessed it – adoptions. You come across a scroll stopping-image of a doe-eyed pupper staring at you woefully over velvet-like paws, and your little dog-loving heart breaks, so you tap on the ad. However, once the shelter's page loads, you're visually assaulted by scroll after scroll of rough and tumble, ungroomed types, looking forlorn and half covered in sand. As you slow your scroll on a particularly sad-looking grey-brown wire haired 'x-breed', you think to yourself, "Ag no, shame. The poor boy is probably fresh off the streets." Despite yourself, you 'like' the page to get updates, just in case you have some spare cash to donate next month.

What you don't realise is that Thorn, the doggo you're looking at, has been at Soupy's for over a year. The photo was taken on a flip phone with a scratched-up lens, at a rare opportunity when he was sitting still and Soupy herself was not being dog piled by six other animals ecstatic to see her. Also, Soupy can only afford to get a proper groomer in three times a year, so there's that. But I digress.

A few days later, you're sitting in bed scrolling as usual and are absolutely arrested by a pair of sparkling amber peepers. You blink a few times because you SWEAR you know this dog. You look at who made the post and realise this isn't an ad. This is a real post. This is a doggo up for adoption on the page you followed the other day, Soupy's Snoopies. You weren't even thinking about it, or maybe you were, but you cannot help but sit up straight as you tap on the post and pray there are more photos of this beautiful, sweet pup of your dreams. His name is Thorn. He's a wire hair. You barely skim his description in the caption because the more photos you see, the more in love you are. You have to meet this dog; you just know he's meant for you. He's a little scruffy, but that's nothing good grooming can't fix. You're looking way past that now.

Cue "Jane", the unsuspecting photographer who's not much of a pet person, but is pretty good at her job.

On a rare Saturday off, which is usually fully-booked with family photoshoots and weddings, Jane joins her old school friend, Rob, on a visit to this random shelter he found while Googling. Since it's on the way home from the wine farm they were just shooting at for Rob's social media, Jane agreed to go with, and figures, why not take the camera in. Who doesn't love dogs, right??

With permission, Jane takes some random photos with her DSLR around the farm-style shelter while Rob hugs one sand-covered rescue after the other. One doggo, in particular, a grey-brown wire haired 'x-breed', takes to him like he's covered in treats, and Jane can't help but capture deeply emotive images of the happiest, tailwagging dog ever. She picks up the chart on the gate; his name is Thorn.

Something makes her stop for a moment and look around. They're actually all happier since Rob was with them, she muses briefly but shrugs it off. He must just have that effect because he's such a dog lover.

As Rob chats to a kennel man about bigger breeds, Soupy approaches Jane and, expecting the worst, nervously asks what she will charge her for copies of the photos. The surprised photographer says, "There's no charge. These were just snapshots for fun; you're welcome to have them."

A week or two later, having exchanged details and sending over the images, Jane gets a sobbing but joy-filled voicemail from Soupy, "These are the most beautiful photos I've ever seen! Especially of Thorn! His real personality was shining so brightly; his eyes were sparkling! He was adopted within days of me sharing your photos, and his new mom said that she had seen the photo I took of him before but couldn't believe it was the same dog. I'll be taking him over after some inspections, but I can't thank you enough!"

THE POINT

The dog was the same; the shelter was the same; the viewer was the same. What was the difference?

Again, I will not dare say that great photos are the sole reason, or even the predominant reason, for higher adoption rates, but great photos are most definitely in the top five.

THE PROJECT

During the last five years of my tenure on cruise ships, I was in the fortunate position to be able to make regular financial donations to two shelters close to my family. As with many others globally, the pandemic dried up my income and then my savings, and as a result, the donations became less and less and eventually stopped.

Upon returning to South Africa in January 2021, and in a very random turn of events, I started a working relationship with the Animal Anti-Cruelty League Cape Town, photographing their 'residents' up for adoption every three weeks, then twice a month. The reaction of awe and gratitude by the AACL staff and their audience was immediate and is never-ending.

For this reason, Togs 4 Dogs was born in January. It will become a community of professional and hobbyist photographers who donate their time and talent, at no charge, to an animal welfare or shelter nearby their home by providing high-quality images of their pets up for adoption. The first goal is to have 80 photographers allocated to 20 shelters across the Western Cape by the end of 2022, so that each shelter has one photographer per week, to capture new arrivals, projects, products for raffles and fundraisers, special events and success stories for use on their websites, social media platforms and marketing materials.

I offer my time and talent free of charge because if I am not able to help financially, at least I can do this. Is that too much to ask of another person with a passion and aptitude for photography - to make a difference in their community with time instead of money? In my opinion, no, it's not.

ABOUT LEE

Lee van Huyssteen is the photographer behind Belle Lumière Foto, specialising in couples and canines. Her wide scope of genre experience over her 20-year career was vastly influenced by her early move to Johannesburg, where she established her first studio and shot for various print and online magazines. Thereafter, she spent 10 years on cruise lines abroad, where she worked her way up to managerial lead photographer on Disney Cruise Line and won multiple awards for both her photography and her excellent client interactions. She is currently based in Durbanville, Cape Town, where, in addition to her shooting schedule, she continues to give informal one-on-one photography classes and offers her time to various animal welfares. You can find her work at www.bellelumierefoto.com.

For more information on Togs 4 Dogs, please visit https://www.facebook.com/togs4dogssa