We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Joanne Wetzel. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Joanne below.

Joanne, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?

Back in December of 2017, I found myself burned out and emotionally exhausted. I had recently closed a business of five years and found myself with a lot of extra time on my hands. It was at that time that a friend suggested I check out volunteering at our local county animal shelter. Walking and cuddling adoptable dogs seemed like a great fit for me being an avid animal lover.

Over the course of the preceding years, I became increasingly aware of the difficulty and plight of homeless animals across North Carolina. Breed restriction legislation, overpopulation, unethical breeding, lack of community awareness, and euthanasia are just a few of the adversities these animals face.

It got me thinking: instead of simply walking adoptable dogs, which is obviously important for their enrichment, how can I help them to be seen to get them out of the shelter and in a home?

The answer for me was easy: great photos. Coming from an entertainment background, I knew that great photos gets you booked. It’s no different when an adopter sees a gorgeous image of a dog they instantly fall in love with. In fact, the large majority of adopters base their adoption decision off of a single photo.

And that’s out mission. To help adoptable dogs, especially harder to place ones, be seen, valued, and loved among the millions of animals available for adoption through beautiful imagery and marketing. Hopefully through the work we do, we can increase community awareness, reduce overpopulation, and save lives.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I always joke and say that I stumbled into pet photography. But, for me, it was simply a decision I made to help shelter dogs be seen through beautiful imagery. Over the course of a couple of years, I realized that pet photography was an actual thing, so it felt like a no brainer to expand upon it as a business as well.

The company name, Five Freedoms Photography, is taken from what are known as the five freedoms of animal welfare. These are considered to be the gold standard of animal welfare in our country. You can read more about those at my website, but the name itself is a constant reminder of our mission to be an advocate for homeless animals in need all the while lending magical, joyful pet portrait experiences to pet parents.

Obviously, the rescue photography we do drives every decision in our business. We regularly work with our county shelter and numerous local rescues to provide adoptable photography, gift our photography services to fundraisers, and donate 10% of our product sales to a rescue of choice each quarter.

For our pet photography clients, customizing a session that’s unique to you and your pup(s) is our number one goal. We want to learn as much about your pet(s) prior to their session, so they are not only comfortable and stress-free, but we capture them as you know them best. This could be with their favorite toy, their quirky left ear, the way they leap in the air when catching their favorite frisbee, etc.

Ultimately, the digital memories we create are turned into curated artwork for your home, office, or as gifts for other loved ones. These are the keepsakes and mementos that you’ll cherish of your pup for years to come as one day we unfortunately have to part with them.

I think what I am most proud of is not only the rescue photography and advocacy work that we do, but also the beautiful relationships we build with both our human and dog clients and the gift of giving them extraordinary images they will also look back on and smile at.

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

What has been interesting for me in my business is that my best source of new clients has come from word of mouth of people I volunteer with. I didn’t start volunteering to have a client base, but rather, my client base has come through the rescue photography work that I do, which is also how this whole business has started.

My word of mouth has expanded significantly also by simply offering foster sessions for rescues locally. It truly was an unintended benefit of wanting to help photograph more dogs in need. I feel like when a lead comes through the door they say that they found me through someone they know in rescue or from photographing one of their foster pups and that feels really cool.

How do you keep in touch with clients and foster brand loyalty?

I’m a big proponent of cultivating relationships. I don’t ever want my clients to feel like they are just a number, because to me, when I meet and work with their pup, I take that energy exchange very seriously. They become part of the Five Freedoms family.

With that in mind, I love to send my clients little thank you gifts and notes, send them Christmas cards, and offer them special incentives or occasional gifts (like free coffee) via my email list. It also helps that some of my clients have become fosters or volunteers and I regularly work with them or see them in our effort to help homeless animals.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.fivefreedomsphotography.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fivefreedomsphotography
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fivefreedomsphotography
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joanne-wetzel-4491b7219/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/joannewetzel

Image Credits
Headshot photo with pup of me credit by: Heather Westervelt Photography Rest of photos by me :)