Faces for Charity
Some people run marathons or jump out of aeroplanes to raise money for good causes (good luck to them!), but I thought there might be a more sedate, but potentially equally daunting way (for some) people to contribute - by having their portrait taken.
I've decided It's about time my photography contributed more to good causes, so I'll be offering portrait slots, gratis, to benefit charities, but not any old standard passport or corporate type head-shot. No, I'm thinking something more dramatic, more classic. The portraits will be themed, for instance my last project had a Hollywood" vibe as willing participants from Bexhill-on Sea channelled their inner film star.
The first organisation that has benefited is a cause that is close to me. The Alzheimers Society.
My Dad suffered from vascular dementia, a progressive condition that erodes the memory in steps, in his case triggered by a series of transient ischemic attacks (mini-strokes). Thankfully, he lived in a supportive sheltered community in Bexhill, close to us. He managed to stay active for the rest of his days, which to an extent mitigated the decline. For me, the information provided by the Alzheimers Society was invaluable in helping me, help him.
I had a target to raise £500 for the Alzheimers Society. With the generosity of the people who sat for portraits, this target has been beaten.
How does it work?
On rotation I have a fund-raising target for a charity, and as that is achieved, I add another, and so on. These will include local charities and organisations supporting good causes in, and near to, Bexhill-on-Sea, the first of which is the Bexhill Dementia Action Alliance. I would like to raise at least £500 to help fund their "Singing Down Memory Lane" activities.
The portraits are gratis, the only condition is that you approach the experience in a collaborative frame of mind.
Support
A thank you to Carol at YouNique Wellbeing for providing the studio space at discounted rates, without which this wouldn't be feasible.
What next?
'Faces of Bexhill' the book is on sale now, with profits going to support Singing Down Memory Lane. I have plans to extend Faces for Charity to other genre's of portrait photography to encourage the more active among us. It's early days but the ideas are coming together. However it turns out, it will be fun and it will all be in support of organisations that support Alzheimers and its related conditions.
Get involved
Interested? Then drop me a message here and I'll be in touch. ( Just be aware that 'Faces for Charity' isn't geared for urgent requests, and these portrait sessions take place on Saturday's only.)
It would be great if you could join me in using photography to raise funds for good causes, (and maybe have some fun while you're at it).
Thank you
David
FAQ'S
Some further general questions and answers about Faces for Charity.
There will be specific details about each project - there should be enough here to give you an idea...
There's no catch...I thought it would be an interesting non-commercial project to use portrait photography to raise awareness of Alzheimers and its associated conditions.
Rather than having a production line for portraits, each sitting is a collaboration between myself and the sitter. My style references classic lighting arrangements and poses from the Golden Age of Hollywood. When discussing poses and lighting the preferences of the sitter in part reflect an element of their personality, and so each portrait becomes personal.
All costs of the project are met by me - funded in the most part by my photographic teaching.
The project is linked into supporting charitable causes. The Alzheimers Society is my first choice - it's personal, I have family history. As the project goes on, I'll support other charities in and around Bexhill-on-Sea.
Don't get too excited...
If I use the word "free" that's a very good way to keep busy, so I am specifically working within project themes. Think of it as a "casting call."
The portraits are provided on a "Time for Portraits" (TFP) basis, so it will cost you some time and your collaboration (and no - you won't be paid a modelling fee - ever). It's not meant to be a backdoor to get a cheap corporate head-shot.
For each portrait I will make a donation to a nominated charity for the project. If you enjoy the session and would like to do the same, fantastic! If, when, and how much is up to you.
Whatever happens, the portrait will be delivered after the session and it's yours.
You can donate direct to the nominated charity - I'll provide the details or there will be the option of a funding page - again the donation is direct.
These are based on industry standard practices that set out what each party can and can not do with the images. It formalises what we'll talk about during a pre-portrait chat. As this is a non-commercial project, I've slimmed these down.
The key thing is, even though the portraits are yours, I still retain ownership as the Photographer. It all sounds a bit counter-intuitive so the Conditions grant a Licence that provides you the Rights to use the portraits for whatever non-commercial activity you want, for as long as you want, without any need for payment while acknowledging that as the Photographer I retain the Copyright.
The conditions also limit me as to what I can use the portraits for, namely just for the purpose of the project to raise awareness, and hopefully some money, for good causes. The portraits won't be used commercially e.g. picture libraries, stock photos
Classic portraiture aims to show the subject as they are through using simple backgrounds and a minimum of props.
Light and shadow is used to emphasise and compliment the sitter with particular emphasis on the eyes.
Classic portraits can be distinguished by being in black and white (although not exclusively).
My portraits are inspired by Hollywood studio portraits from the 1930's to the 1950's. I use these as a starting point from which a unique portrait is created.
I have a pop-up studio at the YouNique Wellbeing Studios in Bexhill-on-Sea, a friendly and welcoming environment.
I am only do a maximum of two a month - Saturday afternoons only.
It varies, but on average about an hour.
Some sessions take longer, some shorter.
I'll arrange an initial meeting where I'll outline the project and the brief in detail. We'll discuss some ideas from a mood board as a starting point. This preamble is important as going in "cold" on the day makes a big difference to the portrait. I'll describe the lighting variations with some examples so that on the day I'll have the lights setup and ready. There is no obligation at this point to commit to the portrait, but if you're in agreement, we'll agree a date and off we go!
The lighting used consists of a LED modelling lights, (no hot lights), and flash. There will be a short delay between each flash exposure, so there won't be any strobe disco type effect. The session will start with some "warm up" photos while I fine tune the lighting and suggest some comfortable poses.
The whole experience will be relaxed, you can stop anytime. There will be breaks built in as we'll review the photographs on a tablet/laptop - one of the great things about shooting digitally.
No problem at all. I welcome anything that makes you comfortable.
Just let me know in advance of the session.
For information I am assisted by my wife (she charges me a very reasonable rate)
When the photographs are ready you will have access to a private online viewing gallery where you can view and download the photographs at your leisure.
Photographs will be "photo-shopped" as part of the standard process to get the best rendering from the digital file.
This work will be kept to a minimum as my preference is to create the image using a combination of camera lens and lighting. That said I don't know any make-up artists willing to work pro-bono, so if you arrive at the session after having had a bad nights sleep, or have a temporary spot(s), then with your permission I'll apply some digital concealer when retouching.
For black and white images, I will use the digital equivalent of classic darkroom techniques to get the best "look."
Overall the effect will be naturalistic and hopefully you'll agree it will show you at your best.
I am aware that there are organisations that support and undertake good work to support good causes, so if their aims align with mine, I'm not going to dismiss them out of hand.
I use the term "charity" loosely to cover both, charities (as registered with the Charities Commission), and not for profit social enterprises (registered as Community Interest Companies).
I will publish the donations that I make directly and any that I am made aware of here...
People may make donations direct to the suggested charities (my work is also done if I can encourage some giving), but of course, if they choose to keep this private - I can't report back.
So think of the running total as a guideline.
By default I don't post the images to social media e.g Facebook/Instagram/X etc so if I wanted to use your portrait, it would only be with your express permission.
You can of course post the photographs to your own social media feed(s). Be my guest! There's no copyright restriction for personal non-commercial use, although I wouldn't mind an acknowledgement as the photographer.
Afraid not.
The delivery is a print ready file suitable for printing up to 10 x 8 inches.
I will retain ownership of the original RAW file (digital negative) as this is not the finished product. As far as I am concerned it's a work in progress.
iPad's - bless 'em.
Depending on your operating system version and age of your iPad, some may not be able to download files directly from the site, or at least it won't seem very intuitive.
I have some hints here: