The animals behind the prints: Forever Home Sanctuary
By Amy Byrne · · 5 min read
The horses, goats, dogs and cats in these photographs are not models. Most of them live at a small animal sanctuary in Ireland — some for life, some just passing through.
Almost none of the animals on this site were photographed for a job. They are the residents of Forever Home Sanctuary, a small animal sanctuary, and they were photographed because I am there anyway.
Who lives there
The horses, the goats, the dogs and a good many very opinionated cats. Some stay for life — the older ones, the ones with medical needs, the ones nobody was ever going to take on. Others are only stopping by until the right home turns up, and those are the photographs I am most glad to have, because they are the only record of that animal's time there.
The sheep and lambs that appear in the gallery are not ours. They belong to the fields around us, and I photograph them across a ditch like everyone else.
Why the photographs look the way they do
Nothing here is staged. There is no studio, no lighting, no posing. It is early morning in a wet field, or the last twenty minutes of light before the yard goes dark. The animals are doing what they were doing anyway — grazing, dozing, arguing, standing at a gate wanting food.
That is also why the same faces recur across the animal collection. You get to know an animal over a few hundred frames.
Where print money goes
A share of every print sale goes straight back into their care: feed, bedding, hooves, vet bills. The unglamorous running costs that never stop. Buying a print is not a donation, and I would not dress it up as one — but it does mean the animals in the photograph help pay for themselves.
If you would rather support the sanctuary directly, the place to do that is foreverhomesanctuary.charity.
Where to start
- Horse wall art — most of them are residents
- Farm animal prints — the goats especially
- Dog wall art
- About Amy and Holly — including where the name came from
Every image is available from €10 unframed, or +€15 framed in oak, in four sizes. Have a look at the full shop.
Frequently asked
- Are the animals in the photographs rescue animals?
- Most are. The horses, goats, dogs and cats live at Forever Home Sanctuary, a small animal sanctuary in Ireland. Some stay permanently, others only until the right home is found. The sheep and lambs in the gallery are not ours.
- Does buying a print support the sanctuary?
- Yes. A share of every print sale goes back into the animals' care — feed, bedding, hoof care and vet bills. To support the sanctuary directly, visit foreverhomesanctuary.charity.
- Are the photographs staged?
- No. There is no studio and no posing. Everything is shot outdoors in natural light while the animals go about their day, usually early morning or in the last light of the evening.
- Can I ask for a print of a specific sanctuary animal?
- Yes — get in touch through the contact page. If there is an animal you recognise and cannot find in the shop, there is a good chance there are other frames of them.
More guides
- Wall art room by room: nursery, home office and hallway
Which prints suit a nursery, a home office and a hallway — sizes, subjects, heights and colours for the three rooms people leave until last.
- How to photograph your dog (and get one worth framing)
Practical dog photography tips — get down low, use the right light, freeze movement, keep their attention, and how to tell if a phone photo will print well.
- Irish landscape photography: chasing light in a country with none
How to photograph the Irish landscape in bad light — golden hour, the twenty minutes after rain, blue hour, and which conditions actually print well.