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.

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: