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Your First Meeting

Before you you begin volunteering at the shelter, you will most likely have to meet with the volunteer coordinator and some of the other staff members. Before your first meeting, do some preparation so that you present yourself in a professional manner.

One of the most important things you can do is to assemble a portfolio of some of your photography. Try to have a mix of animal photographs, portraits of people, and any other photographs that you think show what the quality of what you can do.

Explain to the staff members how you think you can help them by providing them your photographic skills. Use some of the suggestions on this site about where they can use your photographs to help promote the animals and the shelter. Be sure to talk about what kinds of services they need, such as adoption animal photographs, event photographs, and so on. Your enthusiasm will show and the staff member will most likely be very happy to talk to you about ways you can help. It is often difficult for shelters to recruit and keep volunteers so if you are enthusiastic you have a good chance of pitching your services, even if they don't realize they need them!

If they agree to have you start volunteering, there are some business issues you will need to discuss such as financial issues, copyright, and attribution.

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