A hound dog resting outside an Italian restaurant on a Raleigh sidewalk. A phone lock screen. A stranger who stops mid-step because something about that dog looks familiar. That is how Joanne found out, purely by accident, that one of her photos had changed a family's life. Since 2019, she has been doing it on purpose.

Who They Are

Joanne is the photographer behind Five Freedoms Photography, a rescue-focused photography business she founded in 2019 to help shelter and foster dogs get seen, and hopefully adopted, through imagery that actually captures who they are.

She did not set out to become a photographer. Her background is in the entertainment industry, where she learned firsthand that great photos help you book work. When she started volunteering at Wake County Animal Center, Raleigh's local open intake shelter, she noticed a gap: the dogs and cats up for adoption rarely had photos that showed their joy, their goofiness, their affection, their playfulness. She took the same methodology that works in entertainment and pointed it at the one place she thought it could matter more than anywhere else.

Her work today spans photography for shelter dogs, foster dogs, and the rescues and shelters that care for them, much of it done as complimentary sessions through her volunteer rescue work.

Their Origin Story

At the end of 2017, Joanne was closing a business that had left her feeling depleted and without much sense of purpose. A friend suggested she spend some of her newfound time volunteering at the local animal shelter while she figured out what came next. It started simply: walking and cuddling with adoptable dogs at Wake County Animal Center. It did not stay simple for long.

Before she knew it, Joanne was doing outreach, social media marketing, and fundraising events to help get companion animals out of the shelter and into forever homes. Somewhere in that work, she landed on the piece she felt was still missing: photos strong enough to actually market these animals, not just document them. By 2019, that instinct had become Five Freedoms Photography.

Joanne is also a working artist with HeARTs Speak, a national organization that partners shelters and rescues with photographers, graphic designers, writers, and other creatives to help more animals get adopted, while also providing those organizations with free resources like photography education and guidance on writing animal bios. Becoming one of their artists, offering complimentary shoots to shelter and foster dogs, was, in her words, a no-brainer.

What They Do Today

Joanne's sessions are built around one goal above all else: capturing as much joy as possible in every shot. She wants anyone looking at a dog's photos to smile and get a real sense of that dog's true personality, not a sad, flat intake photo that does not represent the dog at its best.

She is especially drawn to what the industry calls "adoption barrier" dogs, dogs who are not bad dogs, just harder to market:

Senior and adult dogs | Puppies and young dogs tend to get adopted quickly on their own. Older dogs need a bit more help getting noticed.

Black dogs | Coat color can work against a dog's features in photos and in person, a phenomenon often called Black Dog Syndrome.

Only-dog personalities | Dogs who do best as the only pet in the home, which can narrow their pool of potential adopters.

Dogs with minor, treatable medical needs | Conditions like heartworm-positive status, which is easily treatable but can scare off adopters unfamiliar with it.

In her short shelter sessions, Joanne works to figure out what motivates each dog: treats, toys, snuggles, play, movement, or simply being given space to exist. Giving a dog something it loves helps it relax and open up, revealing its true nature on camera, even in a photoshoot that only lasts a few minutes.

Charity and Giving Back

The name Five Freedoms Photography is not a marketing flourish. It is a direct reference to the Five Freedoms of Animal Welfare, a framework used across the animal welfare industry, and it doubles as Joanne's daily reminder of her mission. The five freedoms are freedom from hunger and thirst (access to fresh water and a proper diet), freedom from discomfort (an appropriate environment and shelter), freedom from pain, injury, or disease (prevention, rapid diagnosis, and treatment), freedom to express normal behavior (adequate space, facilities, and social companionship), and freedom from fear and distress (conditions that avoid mental suffering). Naming her business after them keeps her original mission in front of her every day: helping homeless dogs be seen, valued, and hopefully adopted through the medium of beautiful imagery.

Through her work, Joanne has helped raise $81,000 for rescue efforts in the Triangle. That funding has gone toward low cost veterinary care for pet guardians who could not otherwise afford it, paying off veterinary bills for a rescue or shelter, offsetting spay and neuter costs to reduce stray and homeless litters in the community, saying yes to pulling dogs in need during slow donation seasons like winter and early spring, investing in equipment and supplies for a rescue or shelter, specialty medical services such as surgery, dental work, heartworm treatment, physical therapy, or rehabilitative care not typically covered by a rescue or shelter, and basic supplies and needs for pet guardians across the Triangle.

The numbers matter, but so does the reach of a single photo. Joanne points to research suggesting that roughly 67 percent of people make an adoption decision based on a single image alone, which is part of why she believes photography can meaningfully move the needle on whether a dog gets adopted at all.

One story she comes back to often is Jive, a dog who spent more than a year in foster with no interest from potential adopters. After a photoshoot with Joanne, his photos were posted to NextDoor, and within three days he had found his forever family. Another is Bobo, an older hound who had been heartworm positive at the shelter, an adoption barrier in its own right. Long after his adoption, Joanne happened to walk past him resting outside a downtown restaurant with his new family and recognized him. When she introduced herself as the photographer who had shot him at the shelter, his adopter told her his photos were the reason they wanted to meet him in the first place, then pulled out a phone showing Bobo's photo as the lock screen.

Joanne is direct about what she thinks keeps more people from adopting: the belief that a rescue dog will come with "issues." Her answer, after years photographing dogs of every lineage, breed, background, and upbringing, is that all dogs have issues, fears, anxieties, and quirky behaviors, because they are individuals, just like people are. The other barrier she sees often is simple overwhelm at the number of available dogs. Her advice is to figure out what kind of dog actually fits your lifestyle, then reach out to a local rescue or visit a local shelter with those parameters in mind. Most rescues and shelters have adoption matchmakers or volunteers who can help guide the process, and Joanne herself is happy to make recommendations to anyone who reaches out.

Looking Ahead: A New Fundraiser and a Coffee Table Book

Joanne recently announced her next major fundraiser: her first coffee table book project featuring rescue dogs. Pet guardians will be able to apply to have their dog featured in the book, with all proceeds from the project donated back to Longleaf Animal Rescue.

The official landing page and application details have not launched yet. Anyone interested in following along can watch @thegreatestcompanion on Instagram, which will share more details as the project gets closer to opening applications in February.

Why Raleigh

North Carolina has one of the highest euthanasia rates in the country, and Wake County Animal Center, the open intake shelter where Joanne's work began, takes in a steady stream of dogs who need exactly the kind of marketing help she specializes in. Every dog she photographs spends up to 22 or more hours a day in a kennel, waiting. That is the reality her camera is working against, one shoot at a time.

Joanne's work is woven into a broader Triangle network of shelters, rescues, and volunteers all pulling in the same direction, from Wake County Animal Center to Longleaf Animal Rescue to the national reach of HeARTs Speak. It is a distinctly local effort with a distinctly local payoff: a hound named Bobo, resting outside a downtown Raleigh restaurant with the family who chose him because of a photo, his lock screen a small, permanent reminder of what a single image can do.

How to Help

Joanne's message to anyone who wants to get involved is that every bit of help counts, even when it feels small:

Adopt | Reach out to a local rescue or visit your local shelter. Joanne is happy to help point you toward the right fit.

Foster | A temporary foster home can be the difference between a dog losing its spot and a dog getting a second chance.

Donate | Even a small donation can help cover a life-saving medical procedure.

Volunteer | Something as simple as a walk can meaningfully increase a shelter dog's adoptability.

Share | Sharing an adoptable dog on social media helps that dog reach more potential families.

Follow Joanne | See her latest shelter photography at @fivefreedomsphotography on Instagram.

Follow along | Watch @thegreatestcompanion on Instagram for updates on Joanne's 2027 fundraiser and coffee table book project, with applications opening in February.

Five Freedoms Photography is a proud Best of Raleigh Partner. Follow @thebestofraleigh for more spotlights on the people, places, and businesses building this city's next chapter.