There’s nothing like a strong first impression. For many shelter animals, that first impression comes online as prospective pet parents scroll through intake photos. But those pictures don’t always best capture a pet. “The intake photo is taken right when that pet first arrives [at a she lter],” Adam Goldberg, professional photographer and founder of Stronger Shot Adoption Photos, told NBCUniversal Local. “Who knows why they got there…it can be for a number of reasons. And what I like to say is, that’s the worst day of their life. “So to get a quality photo on the worst day of their life, it’s tricky for anybody.” Goldberg, however, has proven that the right shot of a shelter animal can propel them to a forever home. Stronger Shot aims to increase pets’ adoption chances through professional photos and videos. “That intake photo is not the best representation,” he said. “And that’s where [the phrase] ‘stronger shot’ comes in, because we’re trying to give them a stronger shot at making a better first impression.” From marketing to animal photography Goldberg didn’t initially set out to be an animal shelter photographer — or any type of photographer for that matter. He had a background in marketing when he joined the Humane Society of Broward County in Florida around 12 years ago. He was hired to work on the shelter’s website before being asked to also take new photos of the animals. “Because I was at a shelter, I had access to so many different types of animals — big, small, different temperaments — versus most people when they start doing pet photography, it’s just their own dog and then maybe their neighbor’s dog,” Goldberg said. But what really sparked his passion for photographing shelter animals was his work with pit bulls. The Broward County shelter was taking in many pit bulls because, at the time, the bordering Miami-Dade County had a pit bull ban. Clear the Shelters Aug 20 Actor Josh Hutcherson visits California animal shelter to promote adoptions Clear the Shelters Aug 14 Interested in adopting your first shelter pet? Animal advocate offers this advice “I didn’t know anything about pit bulls prior to meeting them and I [would] just hear all the bad news about them, the bad reputation they have,” Goldberg said. “But then I met them and took their photos and they were the easiest to photograph. They were so friendly and easygoing. Even if they were in a negative situation, like being abused, they were just still loving. “That’s where I really fell in love with being able to take a photo, share it online and get a dog adopted. And then I got to do that over and over and over.” How Stronger Shot came to be Goldberg left the shelter after two years for a corporate marketing job because he wasn’t making a desired income. And while his salary doubled at his new gig, he realized that helping sell motor vehicles wasn’t nearly as fulfilling as helping shelter animals get adopted. So he started volunteering on weekends at the Humane Society of Tampa Bay. It was during this time that he met his wife and business partner, Mary, on the set of a photoshoot with a guinea pig. Mary had been working for the shelter’s advertising agency of record at the time, and the two immediately hit it off. “We adopted each other at the Humane Society,” Goldberg said. Volunteering at the shelter put Goldberg back on the path of pet photography for good. His work was gaining increased recognition locally, which first landed him for-hire gigs before he started doing photoshoot fundraising events for shelters. Adam and Mary then scaled those types of fundraising events to a national level. Over the course of four years, they traveled across the country while raising around $250,000 total for over 50 shelters and rescues. But the Covid pandemic forced them to alter their business model in 2020. They shifted to opening up a pet photography studio in Tampa where they did boutique portrait work, but Goldberg admitted he “kind of got bored of that.” Then, two years ago, Goldberg came up with the idea for Stronger Shot. His plan was to work with brands and local businesses to fund shelter animal photoshoots, which would help those sponsors get in front of pet lovers. In 2024, he did 120 shoots by himself before upping that number to well over 500 in 2025. Goldberg had reached his limit time-wise and wasn’t able to get the attention of national sponsors, so he decided earlier this year to scale Stronger Shot to other photographers in different locations. With a team of around a half-dozen photographers, Stronger Shot has photographed over 1,100 shelter animals this year. The network of shelters that Goldberg and Co. work with consists mostly of locations that already had a relationship with a Stronger Shot photographer. But shelters interested in collaborating with Stronger Shot are able to submit an online application. “We don’t take private family clients anymore,” Goldberg said. “At least for now, that’s my goal, I’d rather just dedicate all my time to shelter animals.” It’s all about the vibe Golberg believes he’s photographed over 10,000 shelter animals — so what are the keys to getting a great shot? Well, it all starts with setting the right vibe. “The vibe of the room is really important. Dogs are so perceptive, so we try to treat each dog the same no matter what” he said. “If you have a shy dog you might subconsciously be like, ‘Oh, it’s OK sweetheart. It’s gonna be fine. Don’t worry, we’ll take good care of you.’ But then if there’s a dog that’s seemingly normal, like has no shyness to them, is confident, loves you — you wouldn’t treat them that way. “So if we treat them all the same — with like a chill vibe, low energy — they kind of trust us a little bit more. And some of those dogs need a little more confidence. They need to borrow that confidence to feel more comfortable.” Once the vibe is set, the camera can start flashing. It’s best, Goldberg said, to photograph the subject at eye level to give prospective adopters a true sense of an animal’s size. He also looks to capture any unique features, like a cool marking or if an animal is missing a leg. These three shelter dogs at Irving Animal Services in Texas were photographed by Adam Goldberg in early August. Goldberg said most of Stronger Shot’s work is with dogs, though he’s also photographed cats, rabbits, guinea pigs, snakes and rats. “It’s usually just the pets that need it the most,” he said. “So like black dogs, senior dogs, dogs that have been at the shelter for a while.” One of many success stories Amelia, a 6-year-old pit bull, had been at Pasco County Animal Services in Florida for around six months when Stronger Shot visited in July. Following the photoshoot, Stronger Shot made an Instagram post from Amelia’s session featuring photos and videos. The post went viral, racking up hundreds of thousands of views. Goldberg said he was flooded with messages from people outside of Florida saying they wish they could adopt her, including one Brooklyn, New York, resident who expressed interest. But how do you get a dog cross-country from the Sunshine State to the Big Apple? Goldberg first reached out to an airline that allows pets to fly in the cabin, but there weren’t any upcoming flights out of Tampa. And some commercial airlines, he said, rebuffed feelers from the shelter upon learning Amelia was a pit bull. With air travel out of the equation, the shelter and Stronger Shot reached back out to the community that had shown Amelia so much love with an ask to help fundraise a private ground transport. And the community answered the call, raising nearly $3,000 to get Amelia out of the shelter and to her forever home. “That really was impactful to see the reach that our videos have,” Goldberg said. “Like a simple set of pictures and a silly video got this dog adopted and now she has a home in Brooklyn.” Amelia is one of several success stories that Goldberg has been involved in over the years. He said it’s difficult to track the exact percentage of animals that wound up getting adopted after being photographed by Stronger Shot. But he said they typically follow up with a shelter 20 to 30 days after a shoot and that timeframe has seen an adoption rate of around 80%. Clearing the shelters Stronger Shot has teamed up with Clear The Shelters, NBC Local’s annual pet adoption and donation campaign, to support this year’s adoption drive. The collaboration will see photographers visit participating Clear The Shelters locations in 12 different markets, including Boston, Chicago, Miami, New York, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. The photographers feature a mix of Goldberg’s team and photographers who had applied to work for Stronger Shot. The photoshoots are designed to help promote the participating shelters’ crescendo adoption events. Goldberg also took part in special photoshoot in early August he traveled to Irving Animal Services, a founding Clear The Shelters location, in Texas. After the session, Goldberg captured the dogs’ experience of attending the Texas Rangers’ Bark at the Park night. For more information on Clear The Shelters, including participating shelters, along with details on local events and television programming, visit ClearTheShelters.com and the Spanish-language site DesocuparlosAlbergues.com. Follow Clear The Shelters on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.  This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser. ...read more read less