Help Portrait

If you're a fan of Photo de Novo on Facebook, you might have noticed me spamming you on and off about an event I'm involved in called Help Portrait. If not... read this!!! And then follow the links at the end of this post to learn more.

Basically, on December 12, photographers all over the world will take photos of people who need them, for free. It's an opportunity for photogs to give back to people in their community who are struggling this holiday season. The slogan is, "Don't just take photos... Give them." Isn't that nice? I sure think so... and I'm REALLY excited about this event, because it's gonna be rad.

As far as I can tell, I'm the first Fort Collins photographer to get on board, and so far I've got two other people who are interested in shooting and I'm working on getting some other Fort Collins studios involved. Which is awesome. But we need more than just photographers!

First, we need people to take pictures of. If you know ANYBODY who would be blessed by the gift of a free portrait this year, let us know (contact info below). Those of you who are employed at or involved in churches, hospitals, nursing homes, or various other philanthropic-type organizations - keep your eyes peeled. My hope is that we will be able to accommodate every single request. I want this to be a blessing to our community as a whole, not just to a few lucky people.

Second, we need people to help get the word out. If you know how to do Internet-y stuff, or graphic design, or how to hand out flyers, we can use you. Or, you can just copy and paste this post in an email to others in the Fort Collins area!

Third, we need people to help the day of the event. It could be as simple as greeting people at the door and handing them a hot chocolate, or writing down contact info for our "clients." We also need help downloading and organizing files, and photo "assistants" to move stuff around and hand the photographers lenses and that kind of thing. It's not hard - it's awesome.

Fourth, we need people AFTER the event to help process images. If you have Photoshop/LightRoom skills, etc, this is your department.

Fifth, we need help packaging and delivering images to the "clients." This could just mean a trip to the Post Office, or if you want to hand-deliver, we'd be glad to have you!

There are probably a lot of other ways to get involved that I haven't thought of yet. But we'll figure it out. The important thing is your willingness to help.

The event is set for December 12, 2009. If you want to help, please send an email to the address below.

You can also visit the community forum and watch the promotional video.

Thanks in advance for your big heart!

Sarah Boyd
FoCoHelpPortrait@gmail.com