"We can hope, can't we?"

Friends Forever Animal Shelter - Freeport, IL

Wow..
Interesting picture.
To me the high key treatment does not fit the rest of the picture.
To me the dog looking out of the kennel is sad and it almost looks like a tear in the eye.
Then having the other dogs in the background in a sad posture, really gives it a sad feel. Making this a high key shot really removes the tension that could be felt with this.
IMO this would have been a much better low key shot to get the correct feeling across.

Mike,

Thanks for the look and comment. This was straight from the camera in regards to the lighting.

Cheers,
Jon

Jon, very emotional photo. Makes me feel very sad. Love the high key treatment, but i feel that the soft glow you have given in the sides makes it look dreamy and is eating away the stark realism you have captured.

Pradeep,

Not a dream - a nightmare.

Best,
Jon

I hope somebody took one of these little guys home...This one really tugs at your heart. It's a beautiful photo in theory. Would make a good advertisement for adoption!

Tammy,

Thanks for the comment - we are giving some serious thought to adopting the pup in the foreground. The pregnant mother of these pups was thrown from a car and killed - the pups miraculously survived and were placed in the shelter. I shot this on assignment.

Best,
Jon

Jon,
Obviously you waned to portray a message...and I can read it very clearly! An amazing photo in my opinion!

Noah

Pound puppies are the best, I say!!!

Great shot, agree about the softness. Conflicts with the high amount of emotion that could be there.
Did you get the pup? Sweet thing he is.

I think the contrasts serve the photo well -- the reality of their dire situation conflicting with the dream of a "forever home" for the puppies.

If anything, I think there's a bit too much white space for me and would like to see the crop tighter to add emphasis to the puppy's face/expression. Of course, that would be the artistic or editorial edit. From a PR side, I imagine that the white space to the right would make a perfect spot for important messages -- such as encouraging things like "Adopt don't shop" or "Spay and Neuter."

Since it was an assignment, I'm guessing the shelter wasn't merely looking for adoption mugshots or something for their shelter walls (those would be more cheery) but wanted something with a stronger call to action.

A very emotionally charged shot. And, I hope you can adopt the little darling. :)