On Saturday I attended an event called HELP PORTRAIT. I participated in this last year while living in NC… and knew after that experience that I wanted to do it again.

After finding out through the Help Portrait forum’s that there was one locally. I immediately signed up.

I just think it is such a simple way that we can serve… while it may not seem like much to some, it really is a blessing to others. I for one know how difficult financial situations are right now. My husband has been without a job since August. It is hard to find work… and even though he has a masters degree, it still will not happen over night. For us, this year… and really the past few years, we could not afford to pay for a photographer to take our portraits. Thankfully through my profession as a photographer, I have friends who give me the generous hook up… and that is the ONLY way we could of done it.

So for those who do not have connections in this way, its hard to get a portrait done of the family, without feeling the pressure of cost…

I love being able to just give this to people… and honestly if I had more of me & more hours in a day, Id do so much more.

While at Help Portrait this year, I had a young man helping me set up a backdrop… I had no back drop materials, since I got rid of most of mine before our big GA move… so he hooked me up with what he had. As I looked at this backdrop set up though, I just thought to myself how much cooler it be to just use a slate gray wall I saw right by my area… It was the perfect size for smaller families and individuals/couples…

So even after having my area set up….

I dared to ask…

“Can I use that wall instead?” – I felt like a loser lol…

Seriously, I had this heavy weight that everyone in the room thought I was an idiot. But as the day progressed it really was awesome. I loved the look much more than the fabric backdrop. I loved that it was different than anyone else in the room. I loved that I was able to take a plain spot, that no one else thought of – and make it special.

Daring to think differently really can be hard…

I think we should all try it :)

At the end of the day, another photographer came up to me and just encouraged me – letting me know how creative I was to use that space… It did my heart good to hear :)

So here’s to an awesome weekend photographing for Help Portrait.

*Btw: The mom who is expecting in one of the photos – was being induced that night! I thought she was just adorable… and said a prayer that her labor would go smoothly…