Category Archives: Community Service

beauty, charity, children, Community Service, family, Flashes of Hope, hair, makeup, studio photography, Volunteer

Photographing Strong Kids and Families

All my adult life I have been doing volunteer work with kids: literacy training in public schools, Big Brother volunteer, hosting foreign exchange students through AFS (ongoing). Five years ago I stumbled upon Flashes of Hope. The national organization photographs patients in pediatric cancer treatment centers and their families.  I am currently the New York Chapter Director.

I was initially attracted to the organization because it focused on two of my passions: children and photography. I had no idea how meaningful our work is to the families we serve. First, it is a fun diversion. We have hair and makeup and make a really big deal to make sure the subjects feel very special. We bring a lot of levity onto the “set” (a backdrop and lighting equipment squeezed into whatever spare space we can find). The families are so grateful for the photos. For the kids who get better, they document a monumental time in the life.  For the families who lose kids the photos are loving memories that are cherished.

I started off just as a photographer.  I was extremely moved by the work we were doing. I volunteered as Chapter Director so I can be more involved on a regular basis. Usually I am organizing the shoots, booking hair and makeup and a photographer.  I love sharing the experience with colleagues. It is incredible how emotional it is for all involved.

Tuesday I decided to take a turn as a photographer. It was a particularly difficult shoot emotionally since I was told that 4 of the 5 kids were under palliative care. The families are so generous with their appreciation and emotion. Lots of love.  I am still feeling the effect from the day.

A big  THANK YOU to Richard Piana and nuBest Salon for providing hair and makeup bringing all the more beauty into the shoot. Also a real appreciation for all Child Life specialists. Every one of you are angels.

Family-Photographer-New-YorkKids-and-Family-Photographer-NYC-New-York-Fashion-BeautyKids-Photographer-NYCMother-daughter-moment-family-photography-hair-and-makeup-beauty-by-nuBest-Salon

Standard
behind the scenes, commercial photography, Community Service, Flashes of Hope, location photography, Volunteer

Flashes of Hope Photo Shoot – Juvenile Cancer

I love my job.  It is so much fun creating images for my commercial fashion and beauty clients.  I really enjoy working with other creatives to craft images that sell client’s products and services… and I get paid for doing it!

Equally rewarding is the volunteer work I do as the New York Chapter Director for Flashes of Hope, a national charity which brings commercial photographers into pediatric cancer treatment centers to photograph the patients and their families.

Today we had a photo shoot at Cohen’s Children’s Hospital in New Hyde Park, NY.  The photographer was Greg Morris.  NuBest Salon provided a glam squad for the shoot (hair and makeup). We always have an amazing time!   The kids are amazing.  The families give us strength, venerability, hope, and love. It really hammers hope what is truly important in life and puts any of my problems into context and perspective.

For the photographers and glam team, this is what we do every day.  For the families it is really special to be pampered and photographed.  In this day and age of Instagram and disposable photography we are creating photographs that document a critical point in the families’ lives that are treasured.  It is an honor to be able to do this.

Lots of thanks to child life specialist Faye Brick and Richard Piana of nuBest Salon for their continued support.

Here are some behind the scenes from today’s shoot.  Visit the Flashes of Hope website to see samples of the very special images created around the country.

 

Standard
behind the scenes, charity, commercial photography, Community Service, Flashes of Hope, the good life

Behind the Scenes photos from a Flashes of Hope shoot

When not shooting fashion advertising, editorial, catalogs or lookbooks I love to produce photo shoots for Flashes of Hope acting as the New York Chapter Director.

Flashes of Hope is a volunteer driven organization that brings commercial photographers into pediatric cancer treatment centers in order to photograph the patients and their families. We also bring in hair and makeup artists to make the subjects look extra beautiful, the photos more polished, and make the subjects feel really good.

No, we are not curing cancer, but when a mom tells you “It is so nice to see my daughter smile, it does not happen that often.” you know we are doing something really important.  This shoot took place at Cohen Children’s Medical Center on Long Island.

Thanks to photographer Chris Casaburi and hair and makeup by nuBest Salon for generously donating their time and mad talent!

_MG_3676 _MG_3674 _MG_3760 _MG_3757 _MG_3744 _MG_3741 _MG_3729 _MG_3726 _MG_3720 _MG_3714 _MG_3705 _MG_3698 _MG_3692 _MG_3689 _MG_3680 _MG_3677

www.erichason.com

Standard
charity, commercial photography, Community Service, kids, portrait, studio, Volunteer

Montefiore Hospital Pediatric Prom photography

Saturday night I had the honor to photograph “formal” portraits at the Montefiore Hospital Pediatric Prom.  What an amazing event!  The staff and volunteers went all out to make sure the prom was a smashing success, and it was!  The kids looked amazing, the music was pumping, lots of smiles and laughter, and Bronx girls can dance!

It was such a joy to photograph the kids (and staff).

prom-149932

prom-149963

prom-149992

prom-150110

prom-150197

 

My assistant Aedn was pulled into the photo!

prom-150257

prom-150285

prom-150308

 

Yours truly showing the Bronx how it is done!

prom-150338

Got to love a man with a hot date (and a sense of humor)!

prom-150380

 

Every Prom has a King and Queen!

prom-150437

 

www.erichason.com

 

Standard
behind the scenes, charity, commercial photography, Community Service, family, Flashes of Hope, photographer, photography, Volunteer

Flashes of Hope – photo shoot

I am very proud to be the New York Chapter Director for Flashes of Hope, a national organization that brings commercial photographers into treatment centers for juvenile cancer to photograph the patients and their families.

Yesterday I coordinated a shoot at Cohen’s Children’s Hospital, New Hyde Park, NY.  I brought in my photographer friend and neighbor Greg Morris to shoot.  This is Greg’s second time working with Flashes of Hope.  I have also partnered with nuBest  Salon and Spa to provide hair and makeup.  The nuBest team has been amazing.

We come into the hospital, create a studio set up, groom our subjects with hair and makeup, and take pictures.

What none of us are prepared for or expect is how appreciative the families are.  I am still blown away by the thanks I get for providing photos and how meaningful the photos are to the families.  Actually, it is us that should be thanking the families for the opportunity to work with them.  How often do photographers have a subject step onto a set and give them genuine emotion… joy, sadness, fear, optimism, strength, and love… mostly love?

It is an emotional day for us, which keeps us coming back for more!

Here are some behind the scenes photos from yesterday’s photo shoot:

_MG_1733   _MG_1749  _MG_1764 _MG_1773  _MG_1780 _MG_1786   _MG_1792  _MG_1801   _MG_1834  _MG_1840 _MG_1841    _MG_1851

 

www.erichason.com

 

 

Standard
beauty, behind the scenes, charity, commercial photography, Community Service, Flashes of Hope, makeup, model, photographer, Volunteer

Photography For a Great Cause

I spend most of my days shooting, producing, and marketing myself for fashion and beauty work. I have always allocated part of my time to community service, mostly working with kids. Besides my commitment to hosting foreign exchange students (currently Caterina from Italy) I am the New York Chapter Director for Flashes of Hope. We bring commercial photographers and makeup artists into centers that treat juvenile cancer and photograph the patients and their families.

Last week I brought photographer Dennis Kleiman into Cohen’s Children’s Hospital. Dennis is an extremely talented, very experienced editorial photographer. Dennis and I shared a Dumbo studio ten years ago. Recently Dennis and his wife Kelsy founded Stomping Ground, a successful company that has reinvented school photography. No more stiff, bland, uniform portraits. Stomping Ground brings out the personality of each individual kid.

Again, thank you to Richard, Anna and Dawn from NuBest Salon, Manhasset, NY for providing the hair and makeup to make our models feel and look so beautiful!

Dennis Kleiman photographs a patient and his mom for Flashes of Hope, NYC

Photographer Dennis Kleiman shoots patient for Flashes of Hope, NYC Chapter

photography, flashes of hope, nyc, New York, Manhattan, Dennis Kleiman, Stomping Ground, charity, makeup, hair, NuBest Salon, Manhasset, Glam

Anna Naso of NuBest Salon, Manhasset, NY puts the finishing touches on a patient’s mom’s makeup.

photography, flashes of hope, nyc, New York, Manhattan, Dennis Kleiman, Stomping Ground, charity

Photographer Dennis Kleiman shoots patient and his mom for Flashes of Hope, NYC Chapter

www.erichason.com

Standard
behind the scenes, commercial photography, Community Service, Flashes of Hope, photographer, photography, the good life, Volunteer

Flashes of Hope – Chapter Director and behind the scenes at NYU Langone Medical Center

When I am not doing this or this I spend time as the

NYC Chapter Director of Flashes of Hope,

a nationwide charity that brings photographers into hospitals to photograph children being treated for cancer.

I have been volunteering with kids for most of my adult life through the NYC Board of Ed as a literacy coach, Catholic Big Brothers Big Sisters as a “big”, and AFS hosting and working with foreign exchange students.

I think I saw Flashes of Hope mentioned on Facebook. I had been looking for a way to merge two of my passions, community service with kids and photography. Flashes of Hope provided the perfect opportunity. I submitted myself as an available photographer and when presented with available dates, jumped at the opportunity.

I have shot for Flashes of Hope four times, each experience being different (hospital treatment center, summer camp for kids with cancer, hospital family fun day at a church rec center, and photographing family, friends and clinicians saying goodbye to a child who had just passed away. My passion for the organization grew after each shoot. I was aware that New York did not have an active chapter director so I recently offered my services.

We are constantly inundated with images , most of them trivial and self-indulgent. Flashes of Hope has commercial photographers take truly meaningful photos of children and families in the middle of dealing with a medical crisis. At a Flashes of Hope shoot the patients and their families offer the photographer a wide range of real emotion that normally can’t be captured in a 15 minute session (joy, vulnerability, silliness, sadness… but mostly love). The families are so grateful for the photos that they receive. They don’t realize that they are the ones who are actually doing the giving.

My role as Chapter Director is coordinating photo shoots (dates, photographers, makeup artists, paperwork, etc) and fundraising. At each shoot I am a bit jealous of the working photographer. I wish I could be the one setting up the lights, interacting with the kids and families on set, and creating the beautiful images that will be cherished for a lifetime. The reality is it is a pleasure watching others go through and share that experience.

Throughout my life of volunteering with kids I have found that the more I “give”, the more I get back. I am not good enough with words to describe what it feels like when a child you are working with can finally read a book cover to cover, when your little brother hikes up to a top of a rise and exclaims “I have never climbed a mountain before!” or the teen you have hosted from a foreign country thanks you for the best year of his/her life. Photographers can’t cure a child’s cancer but we can bring joy into lives of people who are having a difficult time. Flashes of Hope helps me realize what a real problem is and appreciate how fortunate and blessed we all are.

Here are some behind the scenes photos I took of volunteer photographer Jayne Wexler shooting at NYU Langone Medical Center.

Photographer speaks to model

Jayne chats up her model.

Photographer Eric Hason photographs Jayne shooting a patient for Flashes of Hope.

Our supermodel is a natural poser.

Behind the scenes photo of patient posing for photograph.

Our supermodel vogues for the camera.

Eric Hason photographs behind the scenes at a Flashes of Hope shoot

Jayne’s assistant demonstrates a jump technique.

Eric Hason photographs behind the scenes at Flashes of Hope photo shoot

Our supermodel implements her own version of the jumping technique she was just taught.

www.erichason.com

Best Photography Sites

 

Standard