Lights, Camera, Action -- Instagram!

By Nancy Schuessler

Cherish Martinez wants everyone to know the joy of loving a Labrador Retriever. Before she adopted Stella – the first and only dog she has ever owned – she couldn’t imagine how special it would be. “I knew I would love her so much, but I never could have predicted the bond that she and I would have.” It was something so amazing that she started an Instagram account called “StelloYellow.”

Stella is not a rescue, but loving her has changed Cherish’s life. It made her think about all the Labrador Retrievers in this world who are abandoned and homeless. “I absolutely fell in love with the breed, and I made a promise to myself to help,” says Cherish. So she started joining Labrador groups on Facebook and looking for rescue groups to follow. At first, she simply enjoyed seeing dogs get rescued and adopted. Then she found the Facebook page for Southwest Oasis Lab Rescue (SOLR), along with a flyer asking for a social media volunteer. “I went for it,” says Cherish. And the rest is history.

If anyone ever wonders whether a post on social media can change a life, Cherish can tell you that it can. Today, she manages the Instagram account for Southwest Oasis Labrador Rescue, which has over 2.2 thousand followers. According to Cherish, people often fall in love with a dog simply by looking at a beautiful photo or video, especially if it captures a dog’s personality. Social media has helped save countless lives. She also creates interest in SOLR by sharing our work, our events, our adoptions, our successes.

And then there’s the StelloYellow account, which is special in a different way.

Cherish started StelloYellow because she was having so much fun taking photos of three-year old Stella, whom she adopted as a puppy. “It acts as a fun photo album of my dog, which I enjoy looking at and engaging with,” says Cherish, who is a self-taught photography lover. She uses her Google Pixel phone and the phone's app for light editing – nothing fancy or expensive. “For the most part, everything I need is in the photo app itself or in Instagram.”

With 1,048 followers, her StelloYellow account is growing in popularity. Three-year old Stella is a stunning beauty – silly, fun, smart, engaging, quirky. As a follower myself, I suspect there’s an underlying message here about the pure joy in sharing your life with a Labrador Retriever. Does it invite people to adopt their own Labrador? This writer believes it does. And what could be better than that!

@StelloYellow

• Get down to the dog’s level. Avoid looking down at the dog. It’s tempting to hold a treat while taking the photo with your phone, but this makes the dog look out of proportion (big head, teeny body, small feet). Have someone else hold the treat, while you snap the photo.
•  Use simple, uncluttered backgrounds. Avoid messy backgrounds with things like garbage cans, food bins, too much furniture, or even human arms and legs in background.
• Shoot outdoors if possible. Look for nice outdoor settings, like trees, grass, flower beds, even water or pools. Indoor shots are fine if the lighting is good.
• Turn your back to the sun.
• Avoid shadows. Including your own. It’s hard to see a dog in shadow, especially black and chocolate dogs.
• Get a variety of poses. People like to see how the dog looks when standing, sitting, and from different angles. Dogs with cute toys, swimming, or other action shots can be a nice addition.
•  Use portrait mode. It softens the background, making the dog stand out.
• Shoot photos when the dog isn’t looking. Sometimes you get a great shot this way!

If you are a SOLR foster taking photos of your foster pup, here are a few additional pointers:

• Try peanut butter. One volunteer puts peanut butter on a flower to get her dog to sniff a flower. Or to stand still. It can help, especially with an active puppy!
• If using an iPhone. Put the settings on large – and send it to us in large.
• If shooting for the Paw Print. No photos of dogs on furniture, please!
• We're happy to help. We have many volunteers who can take nice photos, so please post on Groups if you would like help. Odds are a volunteer will happily help out. 

Reprinted from SOLR's Holiday 2023 newsletter.

More Social Media Stories!

It's not just Instagram that gets the word out about our dogs.

Our social media team works hard AND they love what they do. With a dash of creativity, a pinch of humor, a little wit, and lots of hard work, they've helped thousands of homeless Labradors!

Here's a big THANK YOU to all our social media volunteers: Michele Pleasants, Colleen O'Hara, Rhonda Burcham, Amy Woerner and Cherish Martinez. More stories about what they do and who they are will be coming soon.

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