Time to Give Back

About two months ago a couple Kern Photography Association members posted similar links regarding HELP PORTRAIT.  Help Portrait is a movement of photographers who are using their time, equipment and expertise to give back to those who are less fortunate this holiday season. As a group, KPA  decided we would join the worldwide event on Dec. 12 by doing our part and giving back to our community.  There was plenty of hype to be found on the web and even a couple local Bakersfield groups attempted to organize their own event.  However, at some point toes got stepped on and egos got in the way and I never heard anything from either group.

So a small group of us KPAers got together, found a local organization, secured a location, and received assurances from local Hair Stylists and Make-up Artists from Model Mayhem and Federico College. We met several times to iron out the details and as the deadline got closer, more people started dropping out, and the weather forecast was calling for rain.  Even I was feeling under the weather, and the night before the shoot, Dec. 11, I spoke with my friend Teresa.  She noted stress in my voice and a bit of frustration.  I explained that when we started this journey we had a lot of people stating they wanted to help, but as of the night before the event, we weren't sure if the Hair and Make-up people would show, how many photogs would make it, would it rain, could we handle the 67 individuals/families without burning out, did we have enough equiipment, etc...  Teresa reminded me that this was a woorthy cause and that everything would work out as it was intended.

The next morning I woke up, got ready, packed my vehicle, and waited for Brian (a.k.a. strvngartst01) to arrive.  The sky was cloudy, but didn't look like we would get any rain. So far, so good.  Brian arrived at 7:30 AM and headed to the location.  We unloaded and set-up four stations within 45 minutes. We had 5 Make-Up Artists and 6 Hair Stylists arriving as we were getting the last minute details addressed.

We began photographing the men first while the women went for Hair and Make-up.  Everything was moving smoothly, no glitches, hiccups, or debacles.  The only problem we had was the tripping of each others studio lights, but no big deal.  We took turns letting other photogs shoot and gain some experience, all the while interacting with our newly found friends.

The point of Help Portrait wasn't to rush through the event and churn out pictures, but rather to spend some time getting to know someone and share a laugh, a smile, a hug and mostly some hope.  It was about listening and promoting humanity.  Before we knew it, we were down to the last two people and it was only 2:30 PM.  We cleaned up, bid farewell to the organization and decided to have a Wrap Party to share our experiences from the day.

As we sat in the Pizza Parlor, still juiced from the event, it began pouring rain.  We knew that we had done the right thing, everything went extremely well and not a single issue stopped us from completing our goal.  We were so excited that we decided we will do a similar event more than once a year.

What Did I Learn?
1) There is a bigger picture out there - all the little trivial things that irritate me about Model Mayhem pale to the real needs of people who may be struggling with self-esteem issues.
2) I belong to a wonderful association of photographers in KPA - Those that participated showed strength, courage and above all commitment.
3) Do more of this type of photography - I already give my work for free on ModelMayhem.  We "Trade" time, materials, expertise to help build each others portfolio, but honestly, I have a career, so why Trade?  I don't need a portfolio.

If you are a photographer, please try to participate in this event next year, you won't be disappointed.  Make it a personal challenge to hone your portrait skills.

Thanks for reading and That's A Wrap