Town snapper’s doggy photos raise funds for worthy cause

A Kirkcaldy photographer has been taking some fetching snaps of local pooches during lockdown to raise money for a very worthy cause.
Kirkcaldy photographer Paul Adams took pics of local dogs to raise money for the Cottage Family Centre in fundraising photo shoots near his home. Pic: Paul Adams Photography.Kirkcaldy photographer Paul Adams took pics of local dogs to raise money for the Cottage Family Centre in fundraising photo shoots near his home. Pic: Paul Adams Photography.
Kirkcaldy photographer Paul Adams took pics of local dogs to raise money for the Cottage Family Centre in fundraising photo shoots near his home. Pic: Paul Adams Photography.

For two weeks Paul Adams held two photography shoots each evening in the field opposite his house and snapped 20 dogs.

But instead of taking payment from the owners, he instead asked them to give him a cash donation which he is giving to the Cottage Family Centre in Templehall.

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And as a result, he was recently able to hand over £380 to the local charity which is based in the town’s Cawdor Crescent.

Kirkcaldy photographer Paul Adams with one of the dogs he photographed. Pic: Paul Adams Photography.Kirkcaldy photographer Paul Adams with one of the dogs he photographed. Pic: Paul Adams Photography.
Kirkcaldy photographer Paul Adams with one of the dogs he photographed. Pic: Paul Adams Photography.

Paul explained where the idea for the fundraiser came from: “I was seeing loads of dogs and their owners in the field opposite my house and because of Covid-19 and a lot of people being off work it has been a very busy place!

“I work as an engineer for Scottish security and fire who are based in Kirkcaldy and have been furloughed since April 1 so I came up with the idea to fill my time and raise money for the Cottage.”

He continued: “There is a local Hollybrae Facebook page and I posted on there for local owners in the estate and walking distance to the field outside my house to come along each evening. The field is massive so social distancing was easy to do. I arranged for two sessions per evening for two weeks from May 4 and photographed 20 dogs in total.

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“Each session was 30 mins and the editing each morning meant over the two weeks I’ve spent nearly 30 hours in total on this fundraiser.“Most of the dogs were great to photograph and some a bit more energetic than others! I also found black dogs are so hard to photograph as the camera can’t focus on them all the time but I got there and it just took a bit longer.

Kirkcaldy photographer Paul Adams took pics of local dogs to raise money for the Cottage Family Centre in fundraising photo shoots near his home. Pic: Paul Adams PhotographyKirkcaldy photographer Paul Adams took pics of local dogs to raise money for the Cottage Family Centre in fundraising photo shoots near his home. Pic: Paul Adams Photography
Kirkcaldy photographer Paul Adams took pics of local dogs to raise money for the Cottage Family Centre in fundraising photo shoots near his home. Pic: Paul Adams Photography

“The secret for anyone wanting to take dog pics it to get down low or lie flat out on the dogs eye level.”

After taking the photographs, Paul created 20-30 fully edited hi-resolution and ready to print images and emailed the images to the dog owners the morning after.

He then set up a Just Giving page and sent the link to each owner with a couple of preview pictures each evening after the photoshoot.

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Paul always made sure he had a least 20 usable images for each session and most were up towards 30.”

Kirkcaldy photographer Paul Adams took pics of local dogs to raise money for the Cottage Family Centre in fundraising photo shoots near his home. Pic: Paul Adams PhotographyKirkcaldy photographer Paul Adams took pics of local dogs to raise money for the Cottage Family Centre in fundraising photo shoots near his home. Pic: Paul Adams Photography
Kirkcaldy photographer Paul Adams took pics of local dogs to raise money for the Cottage Family Centre in fundraising photo shoots near his home. Pic: Paul Adams Photography

Paul revealed why he selected the Cottage Family Centre as the recipient for the funds he raised.

“I chose the Cottage as it’s an amazing local centre which does brilliant work for young kids and the community. We have donated presents for years at Christmas for the centre.

“I have seen loads of people doing stuff for the NHS but wanted to support a local charity and the cottage do amazing work!”

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Paul has been talking photographs for six years now and it’s a hobby that has turned into a passion.

Kirkcaldy photographer Paul Adams took pics of local dogs to raise money for the Cottage Family Centre in fundraising photo shoots near his home. Pic: Paul Adams Photography.Kirkcaldy photographer Paul Adams took pics of local dogs to raise money for the Cottage Family Centre in fundraising photo shoots near his home. Pic: Paul Adams Photography.
Kirkcaldy photographer Paul Adams took pics of local dogs to raise money for the Cottage Family Centre in fundraising photo shoots near his home. Pic: Paul Adams Photography.

He has also done previous photoshoots too.

“I have done a few dog photoshoots before for Fife Dog Rehoming in Cowdenbeath. We ran photoshoot days at the centre and it was a great thing to do for them.

“The cottage are constantly doing stuff at the centre all year round but it must be especially hard for parents nowadays with the schools being off and so I was happy to help them when they must be so busy just now.”

Paul revealed he has collected £380 for the Cottage: “I asked owners to only donate what they could afford and they have been brilliant with the donations, most have given between £20 and £30 pounds and I can’t thank them enough.

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“I loved doing the shoots and I am well chuffed with the total of £380 raised. My target was £100 so I am blown away with all the donations!”

Pauline Buchan, service manager of the Cottage Family Centre in Templehall, which helps the most vulnerable children and families in Kirkcaldy, said staff at the centre were really pleased with the money Paul donated with his photography sessions.

Kirkcaldy photographer Paul Adams took pics of local dogs to raise money for the Cottage Family Centre in fundraising photo shoots near his home. Pic: Paul Adams PhotographyKirkcaldy photographer Paul Adams took pics of local dogs to raise money for the Cottage Family Centre in fundraising photo shoots near his home. Pic: Paul Adams Photography
Kirkcaldy photographer Paul Adams took pics of local dogs to raise money for the Cottage Family Centre in fundraising photo shoots near his home. Pic: Paul Adams Photography

She said: “We are absolutely delighted that Paul came up with such a fantastic fundraising idea to raise funds for the Cottage.

“This will enable us to continue to provide support to children and families across Kirkcaldy who are experiencing significant hardship during this challenging time. His kindness is very much appreciated.”

To see more of Paul’s work visit: Paul Adams Photography

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