Done any free work lately? I did.

pixmedic · Nov 9, 2013

what do you do when your neighbors cant afford school pictures?
i know, i know...everyone has financial problems nowadays right?
they could probably find some photographer on Craigslist or FB to take some cheap pictures of their kids outside in the parking lot or something...
But shes a teachers assistant, so that's probably not making her a ton of money.
plus, they have had a several car issues over the last few weeks requiring a bunch of money for parts.
When does "they can either afford a photographer or they cant get pictures" simply not acceptable?
For us, it was when the husband went in for triple bypass heart surgery 2 weeks ago.
he is out now and recovering well, but the hospital bills are pretty steep.
school photos were just not going to happen.
the school photos are all done on green screens now, and you can choose different backgrounds.
conveniently enough, I have a green screen and a ton of backgrounds. we offered to do a few photos for them for free.
the wife has been sick all week, so i dusted off the green screen, set up some OCF, and took a few shots. (thank goodness i remembered how to switch the background. its been a while) I didn't get the lighting QUITE how i really wanted it....but the girls didn't have a whole lot of time.

If you are noticing the distinct lack of DOF in these pictures, it is because this is what it looks like when you shoot with a green screen and digitally remove the background and replace it with another. I basically replicated the school photos so they could choose their own backgrounds.
yay for digital technology!

ratssass · Nov 9, 2013

well done,jason...i did something very similar last year.Young neighbor girl that was really the only means of support in her household.Went to school all day waitressed at a local small mom/pop restaurant after school,and graduated!!She missed photo day,so i did what i could.......no background,so we just found something neutral.It worked better than i thought it would.

sm4him · Nov 9, 2013

Once again, I commend your generosity and giving spirit, pix. As a single mom who raised two boys on about half-a-shoestring budget, I can say from vast experience that THIS is an awesome thing. Yes, this lady has a husband--but the circumstances they find themselves in are certainly familiar.
I probably wouldn't have EVER had a school picture of my kids if it weren't for the fact that my sister-in-law always made it a point to pay for them every year. So many don't have families that they can count on for that kind of thing.

Ironically, my current "project" isn't doing FREE work (let's face it, MOST of my work to date has been free!). My current "good deed" actually involves *charging* for my work! Our women's ministry is having its annual craft fair tomorrow--usually, this is NOT a "come and BUY crafts" affair, it's a lunch and make-a-craft event. But we have a family in a similar situation at our church--the mom is a dear friend of mine, and her youngest son (who just got married) grew up with my kids--in fact, most of my kids clothes were hand-me-downs from either this friend or the pastor's sons! Anyway--they are in the late 50s now, but find themselves raising three extremely active grandsons (all from one daughter who isn't really in the picture). They've always struggled--she's a school cafeteria worker, he's a carpet installer--but always managed. But two months ago, he ended up with some severe heart problems, a lung infection and shoulder surgery--all of which combined to land him in critical condition in the hospital for about three weeks. He'll be out of work for up to six months.
SO--tomorrow, I'll be taking orders of several of my photos and donating all the proceeds to this family. Hope it goes well!!

tirediron · Nov 9, 2013

Good on ya' Jason! :thumbup:

I always enjoy worthwhile pro bono work.

pixmedic · Nov 9, 2013

in hindsight, I had the flash set just a little too high.
its not terrible, but I can see a bit of glare from the flashes.
the family did less nitpicking than I did though, so I got lucky there. :mrgreen:

tirediron · Nov 9, 2013

pixmedic said:
...the family did less nitpicking than I did though, so I got lucky there. :mrgreen:

Which is how it should be! That's how you know you've done a good job.

Tiller · Nov 9, 2013

Very cool!

I always hated those backgrounds lol

oldhippy · Nov 9, 2013

Nice to see this. Your a good guy. Ed

ronlane · Nov 9, 2013

Nice job Jason.

pgriz · Nov 9, 2013

Jason, I know you're not counting, but that is worth a few good karma points. Good job, and even better, the "right" thing to do.

pixmedic · Nov 10, 2013

so...found out from the wife this morning that our neighbors have not had a family picture done in many many years.
I would say she was trying to give me a hint, but, "we are going to do a family portrait for them" is not really a hint. :mrgreen:

Robin_Usagani · Nov 10, 2013

You made me sound like a bad guy. I used to do this a lot 3 years ago, but at some point I had to stop. My time with my family is valuable. But I did do this recently to my wife's best friend. She was diagnosed with breast cancer so I offered a shoot with her husband. I figured she will lose all of her beautiful long hair because of the chemo.

ronlane · Nov 10, 2013

pixmedic said:
so...found out from the wife this morning that our neighbors have not had a family picture done in many many years.
I would say she was trying to give me a hint, but, "we are going to do a family portrait for them" is not really a hint. :mrgreen:

Sounds like a hint from your wife to you, lol. Sometimes the best payment isn't in money. Great thing you are doing Jason.

DougGrigg · Nov 10, 2013

A whole lot better than my school photo! Ahh, those were the days.

pixmedic · Nov 10, 2013

Robin_Usagani said:
You made me sound like a bad guy. I used to do this a lot 3 years ago, but at some point I had to stop. My time with my family is valuable. But I did do this recently to my wife's best friend. She was diagnosed with breast cancer so I offered a shoot with her husband. I figured she will lose all of her beautiful long hair because of the chemo.

we would certainly NEVER think of you as a bad guy Robin!
we do NOT want to turn into the "go to" people for free portraits (so the neighbors are mum on that part) but...these are people we see on an almost daily basis.
Plus, the girls have volunteered to babysit for us if we want to go out for the evening, and dogsit for us if we need to go out of town.