The Front Steps Project

Fellow Photographer, Cara Soulia, came up with the fantastic idea during this strange and new period of healthy separation.

You can watch the NBC news story on it here.

I’m honored to be able to join her on this project and cover the towns of Weymouth, Hingham, and Cohasset here in Massachusetts.

Here are the details, some copied from Cara herself (with appropriate additions from me, Kerry, in italics):

It feels like the world has stopped, doesn’t it?

Yet, I am very, very aware that I am here with my family and neighbors, friends and others ( though virtually or through significant social distancing! ) during this unprecedented time.

As a photographer, I typically spend hours every week capturing images of families in times of joy: babies on the way, newborns, siblings, grandparents and more. Those moments of joy are still happening in homes right now. I know it. But I can’t be there to capture them.

Still, this seems like a time to document, doesn’t it? A time which our kids will look back on (hopefully) fondly - a time of togetherness, of slowing down - of SO. MUCH. BAKING (maybe that’s just at my house). While I always say any time is worth documenting, surely this time - this world-stopping time - should have a family portrait to show off to accompany the stories our kids will tell their grandkids. And that’s what this is all about.

You will know when I am coming. You can step outside, where I’ll be standing near your driveway or street, at least 10 feet away. I’ll take a couple quick shots and leave. I physically interact with no one, and touch nothing, during these sessions. I *do* smile and laugh with you, however, and don’t we all need a little bit of that right now?

After your quick session, I will upload the image to Facebook and Instagram for you to download and share directly from there. Please let people know it was Irish Eyes Photography who took the image so I can hopefully get even more families to partake! Each photo will also be shared with the hashtag:, thefrontstepsproject.

The purpose of this project is to bring us together when we might feel isolated. I aim to highlight the faces of our community during a time when we might not see them in passing at the grocery store, coffee shop, on the train or at the gym. Part of the fun of slowly revealing the images on social media is getting to see our friends and neighbors that we miss so dearly! Participating in this project is also an opportunity to step up to help those who need it most right now in our area.

To be clear: I will be taking images outside ONLY and from at least 10 feet away. Our session will be brief, no more than 5 minutes. This is not a typical get-dressed-up-and-pose-for-the-photographer session. Want to stand outside in your pajamas and slippers? Sounds good to me. Kids in mismatched clothes but you’re thrilled they got dressed? Fantastic. Wearing your bike gear because you’re headed off to ride a trail in the nice weather? Love it! Be you.

Fee/Donation:

The fee is donation based; we are all struggling right now so I have no minimum amount to require. Do what you can. The more you can give, the more these charities have a hope of helping our neighbors. Many have asked, so I can tell you that the average donation from the first time around was $100. Again, there is no minimum or judgement. Do what you can. If you can only give a little? That’s how most of the world is right now and that’s OK. If you can give more? Why not?! Good karma is awesome.

What you pay will be split in half; 50% will go to the Weymouth Food Pantry (Weymouth is where I live), and the other half will go to the Hingham Food Pantry (Hingham is where my studio is). You may have heard that in the first iteration of this project, it was split into thirds with the final third helping to keep my studio open. This time I’d like the full focus to be on the food pantries. Since announcing that, I have had a number of people say they still want to donate to keep my business afloat. That’s absolutely lovely but not required. Should you wish to do so, please note on your donation how much you’d like to go to the studio so I may separate it correctly. Again, this is not required or expected. If you have any issues with donating, feel free to contact me at kerry@irisheyesphotography.com. CLICK HERE TO MAKE YOUR DONATION.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with me, know that you can trust I will make sure the appropriate funds go to their respective charities. Giving back to the community is a huge part of what has made Irish Eyes Photography grow and flourish for the past thirteen years. I am so grateful to be able to use my skills to help others in this crazy time. I am SO happy Cara came up with this incredible idea and is generously allowing other photographers to partake. In the first round, we raised over $8,000 for our local food pantries just through Irish Eyes alone. I’d love it so much if we could get that number over $10K! For the ENTIRE project worldwide, we’re over $1.35 MILLION for various charities! Can you believe it!? Amazing!

Dates

I am currently booking clients for Saturday, May 30th and ONLY Saturday, May 30th. I am hoping to get back to business as usual after that. This is the final opportunity.

Sign Up Here.

Please be sure you read ALL of the above before filling out this form. This will answer many of your questions. You will also get more information once you hit send. Should you have any questions after reading everything, feel free to email me at kerry@irisheyesphotography.com.

Name

First Name

Last Name

Email

Address

Address 1

Address 2

City

State/Province

Zip/Postal Code

Country

Phone

(###)

###

####

Do you understand that your portrait will be shared on social media for this project? Your names will not be revealed.

Do you understand that the only day available is Saturday, May 30th?

I am only servicing Weymouth, Hingham and Cohasset. Do you agree that you live in one of these towns?

Have you completed your donation via the PayPal link?

Please write the amount of your donation below. If your donation is under a different name than you've signed up with (a maiden name/spouse's name), please indicate that to Kerry below so she may cross reference it appropriately.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUBMISSION!

PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING IN ITS ENTIRETY. FEEL FREE TO COPY/PASTE IT SO YOU CAN REFER BACK TO IT.

1: For those of you who have yet to make your donation, Click here if you haven't had a chance to donate. Note: I will not be able to add you to the list of homes to visit until your donation has gone through, so let me know if you have any issues. I do need it to be through Paypal so I can best keep track of everything and keep it all in one place.

2: Let's chat for a second about what to expect. You'll later receive a breakdown email with a general plan of attack and what time to expect me. Because of this, each session will last just as long as advertised: 5 minutes. Please be ready to go from 20 minutes before your allotted time until 20 minutes after (just to have wiggle room -- so that's essentially a 45 minute window total). Everyone so far has been incredibly efficient and helped me maintain a perfect schedule. If we can keep that going I'm sure we can stay true to the timeline I'll send. That timeline should be expected no later than Friday, May 29th.

I'll drive up in my silver Nissan Leaf, beep the horn, and be ready to go! Since we truly need to be 10 feet apart, I'll say hello from a distance and set you guys up. Let's talk about that next.

3: Posing. This is a simple family portrait on your front steps/doorway/porch/driveway - whatever you think is best. You don't need to go crazy posing and you definitely don't need to get dolled up. Just like it said on my website: BE YOU. If you want to get dressy because you haven't in over a week? GO FOR IT. If you want to show off how matted your hair is because you've given up showering? THAT'S OK TOO! Whatever you want. So, come out in whatever you want to wear (family pajamas? Dressed like pandas? All wearing Unicorn heads? Evening wear? All of the above? Sure!) and get together on your front stoop. You want to stand? OK! You want to sit on different levels? OK! If something looks awkward I'll let you know but otherwise, just relax and pile together and love each other. And yes, pets may be a part of it.

4: After I've got the shot, I'll say goodbye and move onto the next home. You can expect your file to be uploaded to social media within a week or two. It may be sooner than that but please give me up to two weeks because like many of you, I still have kids at home to entertain and home school and pay attention to. If you know me, you know I'm a stickler for deadlines. So give me the two weeks but know it'll probably be sooner than that. I want you to have these ASAP too! I'm so excited for these!

5: Where to see your images: On my instagram account (@irisheyesphotography) and my Facebook page (facebook.com/irisheyesphotographysocial). If you've yet to like my social media pages, now is the time to do so, so you may see your images as soon as they're up! Woot! These will NOT get emailed to you as well, so definitely be following my pages if you're not already. You can share and download from there.

6: A frequently asked question: What if you love your image so much you want a print of your portrait? That's totally something I can take care of for you. Email me once you've seen your portrait and let me know if you want a print and we'll go from there. I have all sorts of formats to offer (prints/canvas/framed prints/etc) so we'll work out what's best for you. These would be offered at my regular prices as they're a product and not a service that I can discount. For what it’s worth, Framed prints were hugely popular with the first wave of this project. And, when purchasing a frame, you’re also supporting another local business as I have them framed locally! So, extra good karma coming your way!

7: MAKE IT FUN! As I tell all of my clients: relax and have fun. Don't make it a chore for your kids because then they'll be miserable in the photos. Maybe they want to bring their Nintendo Switch's out for the image - hey - that's sort of being true to what we're all dealing with these days, so maybe it's totally OK to include the screen in their face! hahaha. Do what works for everyone and try not to make it something to stress over. We've certainly got enough of that right now.

If you have neighbors that might be interested, have them sign up so I can hit the same neighborhood on the same day. Lots of neighborhoods did this and it made it feel like a block party!

I hopefully have answered all of your questions! If not, feel free to email me. I can't wait to see some familiar faces and meet many new ones! And all from ten feet away. hahaha.

Hoping you're happy and healthy!

-Kerry

#thefrontstepsproject photographed by Irish Eyes Photography, Hingham MA