Help-Portrait is about giving the pictures, not taking them. We give people who otherwise couldn’t afford photography a chance to capture a moment, a memory…and a whole lot more.
What’s it like to Volunteer?
During a single day in December, we provide more than 50 people in need with professional hair and makeup styling, a portrait session in a professional studio with an expert photographer, and a large, printed photo of the portrait that is mounted inside of a solid wood frame.
This takes a LOT of different volunteers, from photographers to hair and makeup stylists to people without any photography experience who can help with tasks like check-in and setup/takedown. It’s an incredibly fun and rewarding experience, as confirmed by some of our past volunteers:
“One of the best events I have ever volunteered for.” – Pastor Jay Wright
“An amazing experience, one we won’t soon forget.” – Mark and Leighann Dutton
“Helping that day so warmed my heart.” – Sue Alexander
“Help Portrait is such an incredible blessing for a community; to give a snapshot of time to people that can be cherished forever.” – Lyndsay Richter
Volunteers Needed
- Photographers who are comfortable shooting with studio lights, have experience posing both individual and group portraits, and can quickly grab a couple portrait and landscape orientations. No post-processing will be applied, both due to the limited timeframe for onsite printing and because the studio lighting will remain consistent and allow for manual exposure settings that don’t change throughout the day. Must provide your own camera. If you also have a background, studio lights, and wireless triggers – that is fantastic, but if not, we can provide a complete studio setup if you know how to use it.
- Hair stylists and makeup artists who can help make our guests look their best with a 5 to 10-minute touch up. Experience with both children and adults, female and male is preferred, but not required.
- Digital Lightroom experts who are comfortable taking consistent images from each portrait session (same exposure settings throughout the day), choosing the best photo, and then quickly applying only minor cropping before sending to an onsite photo printer. Experience with reloading photo paper and ink is even better.
- Framers who can take prints out of the onsite printer and load them into a pre-fabricated frame before presenting the finished product to our guests.
- Guest Guides that will meet each group at check-in and follow them through each station, from hair and makeup to the photography studio through to printing and framing. You’ll get an opportunity to answer any questions from our guests and in many cases, hear their life story.
- General volunteers who can help with “everything else,” including initial setup and takedown (before and after the event), the check-in booth, and other logistics.
- Santa has been known to show up and deliver special gifts to children.
Sponsors Needed
Local businesses are encouraged to donate gift cards for Santa to hand out to:
- Children who aren’t expected to receive any Christmas presents this year.
- Single moms who deserve a break, such as a massage or a pedicure.
- Families who can’t normally afford to dine out at a restaurant.
- Veterans who could use a free tank of gas or similar as a thank you for their service.
We also appreciate local restaurants who can cater breakfast and lunch for our volunteers and guests.