Blending her artistic talent and a stong passion for dogs, Silke van de Grift helps pets at Berkeley Humane and Rocket Dog Rescue get adopted by unleashing—no pun intended—their true personalities for the camera.
Van de Grift’s focus on pet photography began when she adopted and started posting photos of her own dog, Molly—“a shy and anxious little weirdo,” she calls her. As Molly grew closer to her, she noticed the difference it made on camera. Her photos gained attention from friends, and she began photographing their dogs. Eventually, van de Grift volunteered with a friend at the Milo Foundation, a shelter in Richmond. She thought, “Maybe I can actually make this my full time thing,” and started her business.
Today, van de Grift photographs dogs for private clients and public shelters with a goal of capturing the authentic character their humans know and love.
Shelter dogs can often be emotionally responsive to their new placement at the shelter, and a camera may only amplify that or evoke other reactions. “The camera is like a big eye looking at them, and that’s very scary,” says van de Grift.
Potential adopters can feel discouraged by poorly representative photos, or when dogs they meet at a shelter don’t run up to them playfully, but are instead uneasy or reserved. Van de Grift’s photography for shelters is important because quality photos that accurately depict a shelter dog’s charm help them get adopted. When given the opportunity to choose dogs to photograph, she gravitates toward ones who’ve been there longer or who are less outgoing, understanding they may just need the extra love and attention.
While pretty backgrounds and posed photos are fun, van de Grift’s philosophy is centered around helping dogs feel comfortable and confident. There aren’t necessarily tricks to make her photos happen.
“There are definitely a lot of treats and weird noise makers,” says van de Grift. “But my style is more relaxed, more like documentary-style.”
Every shoot is different. Generally the task is to gain the dog’s trust, pick a good location, collaborate with the owners and do all of this while the dog is likely distracted by the setting. This can be a challenge with especially reactive or anxious dogs, though van de Grift also recalls fun memories shooting with a new puppy litter: “They were tumbling over each other, falling off the stage, and they peed everywhere—it was a mess, but it was a lot of fun.”
Photographing dogs is a process that van de Grift finds rewarding not only for the animals, but also for herself, as she takes joy in witnessing the impact her photography has.
“The fun with puppies, puppy kisses and cuddling is great, but seeing them open up and with their new family afterwards is very rewarding,” she says. “The best part is some people hire you afterwards to take photos of the dogs once they’ve been adopted and are happy at their new home, with their new family.”
Seeing the difference between her first impression of a shy pet, versus the final photos, is important to van de Grift. She recalled a shepherd mix rescue who had been initially very uneasy, until she worked with a shelter volunteer to comfort the dog, who eventually revealed an abundant supply of affection and friendliness for the camera. The experience was meaningful to her—she has a blog post about it on her website for those interested in reading more.
Van de Grift’s work is a strong example of how individual passions and skills can be used to take initiative and create community support that is both enjoyable and mutually fulfilling. She notes that shelters are constantly looking for people to make video content, fix things or help at events.
“All the small things help, even if it’s just a few hours of your time—that can make a very big difference,” notes van de Grift. And whether it’s a pet shelter or any other organization, she encourages reaching out and taking the first step. “Just email them. You could do anything,” she points out. “There’s always something to do, whatever your skill is.”
For more info, visit Feral and Fab Photography, feralandfabphotography.com.
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