Philanthropic Pet Photographer a ‘Hometown Hero’

This week's "Hometown Hero," Jessica Painter, of Albany, works to give animals a second chance at life with new families. She does this by taking professional photographs of animals in shelters in hopes that those photographs will get the animals adopted.

In the photography world, Jessica is well respected for her quality of work. So much so that she was recently quoted to be "one of New York’s most sought after professionals" by WellWed Magazine.

In regards to taking pictures of the shelter animals, Jessica travels to local, no-kill shelters and takes photos of the animals there. Jessica's nominator, Katherine Crandall, says that these photographs "directly result in their adoption."

"A good photo captures the dog or cat's personality, and is the main reason that a pet parent will come in and see them," Katherine said.

Jessica gives these shelter animals a fun photoshoot and makes sure everyone has a respectable headshot and chance at adoption.

As part of the “Hometown Heroes” series, we’ve partnered with County Waste, Latham Ford, Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Capital Region and Awards by Walsh to celebrate local unsung heroes for their good deeds and honorable work.