Smiles are Free

Last December 2009, I found out about a project called Help Portrait. It was founded by celebrity photographer Jeremy Cowart, and is about a community of photographers, coming together across the world, to use their photography skills and equipment to give back to their local community, for one day, December 12th.

Help Portrait

The basic premise is:
1) Find someone in need
2) Take their portrait
3) Print their portrait
4) Deliver it to them

This project had moved and inspired me to participate, but due to some severe sciatic pain, I was unable to attend in December.

I posted this info on Flickr with a group of photographers that I am active with in New York City. They to were inspired and some of them were able to attend in December.

As it turned out, the emotions and the success of this day of giving back made such an indelible impression, that two of our Flickr members, Mike Abshier and Kaity Volpe decided to start our own "Smiles Are Free" group.

I suppose we are a copy of the original idea, but we wanted the spirit of giving back to continue and grow.

Our group is now an official non-profit foundation, and we completed our second shoot!

We have a similar mission as "help portrait", except we wish to continue the giving back part, by finding ways to help some of the neediest, get out of a bad situation and get a new start.

As a participant, it was one of the most fulfilling experiences. Working with my friends, and the families we photographed was better than I ever could have imagined.

Flickr - Smiles Are free

What is a new movement in photography without some cool swag!

Cafe Press

Order yours today, and we hope to see you as a volunteer at one of our next sessions.'

One final thought
I know there is a lot of sensitivity about doing photography on-the-cheap, or in our case, for free. I am in agreement that we should all work hard not to diminish or cheapen the value of professional services. However, this is an exception.

What we are doing is charitable and brings enormous happiness to many people who never could have afforded a professional portrait before.

What we get back is not measurable. The joy and love we bring to others, we get right back.

And, we get to practice and improve our craft. It's very hard work, long hours of shooting, post processing, and spending our own money for material and supplies, but it's worth every penny!

So to all the $500 wedding photographers, do what you need to do. In time, you will, and should be able to charge a higher rate, but know your clients' needs and serve them the best way you can.

Ivan

Print is not dead!

Fredrick Van Johnson, a great photographer and host of the podcast This Week in Photography (TWIP), said something that has become a common perception I don't completely agree with, regarding print design.

During an interview on the January 18th (episode 125) with photographer and former graphic designer, Michael Corsentino, Frederick said something offhand that really bothered me.

Michael was describing his background and that he was a former graphic designer specializing in print-only design. Frederick responded "Print? What's that? Hehe!!". Michael's reaction to that was an uncomfortable "yeah, right".

I feel it's disparaging to print designers, and spreads the perception that print is dead.

Yes, it's true that printing on paper has diminished greatly. We've seen many legacy magazines become thinner, and smaller, and many have disappeared. The newspaper industry is hurting and it has impacted print designers, but it most certainly is not dead.

In fact, there's new trends of marketing that say that a print campaign with direct mail yields better results than just email marketing alone.

In fact, too much email marketing has become a negative! People are often sick of spam and constant bombardment of ads, and click the delete button before reading a single word.

I'm not saying email or electronic marketing is bad, just that in combination with a printing campaign is much more powerful.

And, with new print-green technologies, you can argue that printing IS actually more tree friendly. When you print web pages on your laser printer, the toners and paper you use are often more wasteful!

Never discount the power of holding a beautifully designed printed piece that you can touch, feel, and carry anywhere, compared to a web screen!

I hope Frederick will say something on a future podcast, to support graphic artists who specialize in print as well as web design.

Frederick, if you read this, I'm still a fan of your podcast, I just wish to set the record straight on an aspect of the profession that I've devoted my life to.

Here's the links for your reference:

This Week in Photography
TWIP episode #125

Frederick Van Johnson's website:
fredericvan.com

Michael Corsentino's website:
www.corsentinophotograpy.com

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Ivan Boden
Graphic Design
Photography