Giving Back: Working with the Georgia English Bulldog Rescue
Animal rescue has a huge piece of my heart — and I do everything I can to give back to the rescues that matter most to me.
The practical reality is that I can't photograph every adoptable dog who needs it. I haven't yet worked out how to clone myself or be in three places at once. So I've had to get creative about how I contribute, and with the Georgia English Bulldog Rescue, I've found two ways that work.
The Bully Ball
The Bully Ball is GEBR's annual fundraising gala — an evening filled with animal-loving people, adorable smushy-faced bulldogs dressed to the nines, a live auction, a silent auction, and more raised for English Bulldog rescue in one night than most organizations see in a year. Over more than a decade, the event has raised more than $1.25 million for GEBR's mission.
My contribution is showing up with my camera.
For several years I served as the volunteer event photographer, documenting the evening — the guests, the bulldogs in their formal wear, the auction action, the community of people who show up for these dogs every year. It was genuinely one of the most fun nights on my calendar. It's also hard to be black tie when you're lying on the floor photographing bulldogs, but I manage.
The Silent Auction Donation
Beyond the event photography, I donate a complete pet photography experience to the Bully Ball's silent auction each year.
This is my favorite way to contribute because it creates a direct connection between the rescue community and the work I do. The winning bidder gets a full Signature Session — the same experience every client receives, including the gallery reveal and wall art and album design consultation. The proceeds go directly to GEBR.
It also means that somewhere out there, a dog whose owner won a silent auction bid at a rescue fundraiser has a portrait on their wall. That feels exactly right.
Why Rescue Work and Photography Work Go Together
I photograph what I love. And what I love, more than almost anything, is the particular kind of relationship that exists between a person and a rescue dog — the one that's built on something a little harder and a little more intentional than just bringing home a puppy.
Rescue dogs have stories. They carry history in their bodies. And when they finally trust someone — when they lean in, when they choose you — that moment is worth photographing the way any great love story is worth telling.
GEBR does extraordinary work for a breed that needs specific, knowledgeable advocates. I'm grateful to support that work in the ways I can.
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