One Picture Saves a Life Workshops Make Shelter Pets Into Photo Stars

Seattle, WA, April 19, 2013 --(PR.com)-- Can a cute photo save a life? Absolutely, if the photo is of a pet in a shelter, says famed pet photographer Seth Casteel. Teaming up with GreaterGood’s The Animal Rescue Site and Petfinder Foundation, Casteel is barnstorming, or more appropriately, "shelter storming" across the nation to teach anyone with a digital camera how to help their local shelter.

Casteel will visit shelters in New Jersey, Nevada, California, Illinois, and North Carolina between April and September. At every stop, he will offer a free half-day workshop for anyone who wants to learn how to take a better pet photograph. Registration is now open at www.onepicturesaves.com for anyone who wants to participate. Space is limited and early registration for the public workshops is recommended.

An award-winning photographer, Casteel’s series of Underwater Dogs pictures have been seen by millions on the web and became the basis of the bestselling photography book published last year (Underwater Dogs, Little Brown).

In 2007, Casteel began volunteering to photograph homeless pets to help them find loving families. Shelters where he volunteered found adoption rates went up when the animal was presented in a positive way. Now, with the One Picture Save A Life Workshop, Casteel will be teaching others how to improve the lives of shelter pets through grooming, photography, and presenting them with “best paw forward” to prospective families.

At every stop, besides the public workshop, Casteel will offer a second half-day program for regional shelter and animal rescue groups to help them improve their photography. Besides one-on-one training on everything from getting a dog to look its best to how to photograph a black cat so it isn’t a large blur, participating animal groups will receive a digital camera, lens, photo editing software, John Paul Pet grooming products, and other gifts from the One Picture Saves A Life sponsors.

“It’s no easy task to take good pet photos, but Petfinder has found that good pictures on its website helps homeless pets get adopted faster,” said Lisa Robinson, executive director of the Petfinder.com Foundation. “We hope this workshop will enable shelter workers and community volunteers enhance their skills and start snapping even more pictures to win the hearts of potential adopters.”

More information about this program is available at www.onepicturesaves.com. People who cannot attend the free workshop still can find tips on pet photography from Casteel in a series of online videos available on the website as well as information on how to volunteer at their local shelter.

The One Picture Saves A Life workshops with Seth Casteel are currently scheduled for St. Hubert’s Animal Welfare Center, Madison, NJ, on April 27, 2013; The Animal Foundation, Las Vegas, NV, on June 15, 2013; Baldwin Park Animal Care Center, Baldwin Park, CA, on July 13, 2013; Santa Barbara County Animal Services, Santa Maria, CA, on July 27, 2013; Chicago Animal Care and Control, Chicago, IL, on August 24, 2013; and Charlotte Mecklenburg Animal Care and Control, Charlotte, NC, on September 28, 2013. Additional stops will be announced later this year and shelters may apply to host or attend One Picture Saves A Life workshop at www.onepicturesaves.com.

More About One Pictures Saves A Life Sponsors:

Since 2002, GreaterGood’s The Animal Rescue Site at (www.theanimalrescuesite.com) has provided funding to animal rescue charities through the company's innovative Click to Give program, direct donations through such site programs as Gifts That Give More™ and contributions paid for by items sold through The Animal Rescue Site's store. The Petfinder Foundation is one of the major beneficiaries of The Animal Rescue Site's Click to Give program.

John Paul Pet has developed the first comprehensive system of pet care products that not only improves a pet’s appearance, but its overall health and longevity as well. John Paul Pet consists of high-quality grooming products for cats, dogs and horses, including shampoos, conditioners, and a system of hygiene products that are veterinarian recommended. John Paul DeJoria is the John Paul in John Paul Pet, and co-founder of Paul Mitchell Haircare products.

The Petfinder.com Foundation, a nonprofit 501(c)3 public charity, helps homeless pets by saving lives through adoptions, helping shelters prepare for and recover from disaster and working to make sure animal welfare organizations across the country are more sustainable. Its mission is to ensure no adoptable pet is euthanized for lack of a home. Since 2003 the foundation has provided over $20 million in grants to animal welfare organizations and Petfinder.com member shelters and rescue groups.