Pet photographer helps pandemic pups find homes
Paws and Claws Photography’s passion for animals goes further than the photos
After noticing an increase in rehoming since the pandemic, an Emsworth pet photographer has been offering his services for free to animals in need of homes.
Olly Clarke, owner of Paws and Claws Photography, ‘loves to help animals’ and decided to utilise his skills to help them along in the adoption process.
He has worked with Clymping Dog Sanctuary and the RSPCA’S Stubbington Ark, where he has taken photos of a variety of animals, including dogs, rabbits and even cockerels.
Olly has also seen an increase in demand for litter photoshoots: where the pet photographer usually has around three-to-four yearly bookings, during the last 12 months he has had ‘around 13’, and has had jobs in areas as far as Birmingham.
He said: “Lots of people decided to breed puppies during lockdown and by the looks of it, that trend has continued, meaning there is still a demand for puppies.
“However, on the flip side, we’re seeing people who bought puppies during lockdown returning to work and realising that their schedules don’t allow for them to care for a puppy or a young dog.
“Although it’s sad that we’re seeing more pets being rehomed, a lot of them would struggle to cope with their owners being out of the house most of the time having returned to work and a lot of them suffer from separation anxiety, so if rehoming them means they will go to a better family for them then it’s a positive.”
Olly gives breeders and rescue centres permission to advertise their animals online with his photos, and also shares the images himself on the Paws and Claws Facebook page, which has a following of more than 11,000. Some of his posts have gone viral, with many receiving hundreds of likes and shares in an effort to find the animals new homes.
He said: “The good part of this is that good photos tend to lead to the puppies going to better homes, as the serious buyers, who are more likely to look after the dogs properly and treat them like family, tend to look for good, highquality photos.
“It works for the breeders as they know their puppy is going to a good home, but also benefits the dogs as they’re going to loving homes, which will lead to fewer being rehomed. The same goes for the rehoming and fostering too, where it is even more important that the dogs go to good homes.”
He added: “It’s the quality of the photos that sells.”
Kirstie Blakeley, manager at RSPCA’S Stubbington Ark, said: “The photos Olly takes do help the different colours of the animals’ coats look great, it is also fantastic for the animals to work with a photographer as this is something a little different from their day to day life here at the shelter. [He] is great with the dogs though and isn’t too bothered even when they jump all over him! The equipment Olly uses is also so much better than the staff using their phones.”
Olly believes the animals that are ‘most loved’ are the ones that have been adopted from rescue centres. He said: “The owners feel so much pride from rescuing their animals from horrendous situations.
“It’s amazing helping people have beautiful photos of their pets.”
For more information about booking a pet photoshoot, call Paws and Claws Photography at 07824 426614 or visit www. pawsandclawsphotography.
It’s amazing helping people have beautiful photos of their pets.
OLLY CLARKE Founder and owner of Paws and Claws Photography