Quincie, seen above, is a former intern with the Sanctuary Experience team at our New York site, mainly focused on events, tours, stays, and other aspects of ensuring that our guests have positive and informative visits with us.

But Quincie also showed interest in personally learning more and asked Luke Hess, one of our talented content producers, to share some pointers on photographing farm animals.

Sanctuaries are rare places where farm animals are free to be themselves. Images of the animals in these relaxed and safe environments can help raise awareness of their sentience—that farm animals are individuals who choose to interact with the world around them differently. Learn more below!

• Get to eye level with an animal when possible

• Think about—but don’t obsess over—the rule of thirds:

Picture your image broken up into three equal sections, with the main subject of your photo (like an animal or person) in just one-third of the image. For example, grass might be in the lower third, an animal in the middle, and the sky in the top third.

• Pay attention to backgrounds. A great shot of someone with a distracting background will not be as good.
• Just have fun, and don’t be afraid to try some weird angles! You never know what you might capture, like this playful moment between Hercules and Triton goats.

Although you’ll see him below with Hans and Tina goats, Luke is most often behind the camera these days. He and Denise McCarthy, Senior Manager of Photo & Video Production, create most of the photos and footage you see from Farm Sanctuary. 

Their images help us tell the inspiring stories of our resilient residents—and millions of others who are much like them but still need our help.

Are you inspired to show farm animals for who they are, too? 

If you visit a sanctuary where you can take photos, take what you’ve learned in this blog and capture some images of your own! Don’t forget to share them with friends to raise awareness and spread compassion for farm animals everywhere.

Plus, click here if you’d like to learn more about internships with Farm Sanctuary!