Family Portrait Event (community action guide)

this is our first attempt to take one of our ideas and turn it into a guide that can be easily replicated in other places. your feedback is very welcome! on this page is a rough overview that should be more than enough information to jump-start your own efforts. at the bottom of the page is a link to even more info, including some of our own original planning documents in case you’d like a head start.

on the first saturday in december, the st.elizabeth arts foundation offered the families of the neighborhood free sittings for family portraits taken by a professional photographer. we had several goals, and had varying degrees of success in achieving them.

-the event offered a service that lower-income families sometimes do not have the money or time to receive.
-the event served as a very low-key introduction to our fledgling organization, and the spirit with which we hope to do things; additionally, it created a warm neutral ground where neighbors could meet and mingle.
-the children’s activity table provided a first opportunity for us to both find the young hidden artists of the neighborhood and to subtly demonstrate our primary desire: to empower young artists.
-by accepting canned goods as the primary form of “payment”, we were able to give our neighbors the opportunity to give back to their own community.

family portraits taken by a professional photographer are made available to the community at a wonderfully low “price” = SIX CANNED GOODS. simple frames are offered at the door (one per family) to go along with a “portrait for the mantle” or “holiday gift for grandma” concept.

upon arrival, each family is added to the list and assigned an appointment for their 10-minute sitting with the photographer. after every three sittings, the digital memory cards are removed and handed to the assistant who called each of these three families to come individually to view their proofs on-screen and wait for their prints. instant gratification!

here is a rough sampling of the sort of talent you’ll need to recruit.

event leader:

a detail-oriented organizationally-minded person with strong leadership skills.

in our case, the photographer was also the event leader… and this is a good way to do it if you are also so lucky as to have a professional photographer with leadership skills on your team. however, the roles are separated here in case you plan to hire an outside photographer for the event.

1) start with these sample resources and edit as needed to create a game-plan that suits your own context.
2) enlist volunteers and make sure the assistant and line manager are quite clear on their roles in the process.
3) manage to-do lists and other check-lists.
4) manage cash and food donations at the end, and get them to their final destination.
5) manage all other administrative tasks.

photographer:

a flexible and dynamic artist who can perform under pressure and work with diverse populations.

not just any photographer will do. to take a great family portrait is a skill that takes practice, and you’ll need someone who can work under pressure… and can guarantee a professional-quality image with less than 10-minutes per/family. if this person is hired from outside your own organization, attempt to find someone who believes in the vision of the event. it would be a shame to offer such a great service to the community but have them leave feeling insulted by a photographer who was gruff or aloof.

photographer’s assistant:

a tech-savvy artist who can quickly select and manage digital media quickly and confidently, keep images organized, make basic photo adjustments using image editing software, and use/maintain a color photo printer.

host/ess

there should be at least one volunteer who can mind the refreshments, answer questions, point to the restrooms, get lunch for the crew, etc. its up to this person to maintain a warm and welcoming environment for all involved.

line manager

a people-person who can be kind and welcoming at the front desk, communicate the process and options clearly, and set firm boundaries. must have great administrative skills.

journalist:

experienced photographer would be great, but enthusiastic amateur with a polaroid would do nicely too. document the event, chat with the guests, etc. this role is very fun and very helpful, and is the reason we have all the lovely images that appear in this document.

youth activity chaperone:

enjoys and appreciates children. encourages creative play and draws children in.

additional volunteers:

the more the merrier, particularly when it come to setup and cleanup.

would you like to browse, adapt, and adopt some of the actual documents we used in planning this event? download them as a ZIP package by visiting www.stelizabetharts.com/arts/resources and clicking on “community action guides”. eventually we hope to polish and streamline all this stuff. for now, its a very rough package, so don’t expect glitz.

if you choose to host this event in your own community, please report back: take your own notes of what worked and what didn’t. if you improve on our materials or process, we’d love to incorporate those changes into this package. each time the event is hosted – it can get cleaner and smoother and easier.

this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License. this basically means that we’re glad to share this information with any and all who are interested. but if you use or adapt our ideas and don’t share with the other kids when its YOUR turn, then you’re mean and you’re in trouble.

St.Elizabeth Arts Foundation (2008)