There is power in a good portrait. When it’s done right, you can see into the soul of the sitter. You can see the beauty of who they are inside. It can change your perception of a person. It can change their perception of themselves. I was once again reminded of the power of the portrait at Saturday’s Help-Portrait event in Corvallis.
Saturday I was up early in the frosty morning with the other volunteers to set up for this year’s event. At 7am we met to haul all of the equipment up the steep flight of steps of the Corvallis Odd Fellows Hall: Photography gear, computers, printers, props, food and drinks. We turned the spacious hall into a temporary studio for three photographers, two hairstylists and hospitality space for the clients to wait. We had a separate room down the hall for the four of us who were doing graphic design, editing and printing the photos.
Over the course of the day, we served 139 people in 87 sittings. Each of them left with an 8×10 print and a CD of their images, to print more if they chose. They also left with a smile on their face after seeing the portraits printed on the page. We also printed one copy with the Help-Portrait logo, and asked that they share their story by writing on the portraits. You can see a few of the portraits pictured below.
This day could not have come off without the efforts of all of the volunteers, pictured below. This is a completely volunteer and self-funded event. While Help-Portrait is an international organization coordinating the day, purpose and marketing materials, they don’t provide funding for the individual events. Many thanks also go to the Corvallis Odd Fellows Hall for their donation of the space and the other sponsors of our day. The full list of sponsors is on Jones Oliver’s blog, here. Jones was our tireless leader, coordinating the event for the second year.
This is my second year participating and it was just as rewarding as the first. I can think of no better way to use my photography skills than to give back to the community like this.
Do you participate in Help-Portrait this year? How did your event go? If you didn’t participate this year but would like to know more for next year, visit the Help-Portrait website to find an event near you. Next year’s event will be December 7. Mark your calendar now!
What a great event, I vaguely remember hearing about this, and yes I shall look this up in my area for next year!! And yes, you are so right -“You can see the beauty of who they are inside.” When done right, you can see straight through to their soul.
I’ll try to put it in my newsletter a couple of times next year, to remind people!
I just added it to my calendar. I treasure the photos of all my family at all stages of their lives. Such an amazing gift. I’m in!
Awesome! I didn’t think about you coming down, it would be great to have you help for the day!
What a fantastic event!!