A Family Portrait for a Cause
Every year I donate sessions to help charities and non-profits raise money. Last year I donated a family session to The Pittie Stop Rescue, a volunteer-run group dedicated to finding homes and raising awareness for a breed of dogs that often gets a bad rap. Check out this fall family session and learn more about an awesome group!
Family portraits are always a lot of fun. Because I try to keep things pretty relaxed and focus on genuine moments, my sessions are light and there are plenty of opportunities for people to, gasp, actually enjoy themselves while getting their photos taken. It is really rewarding for me when I get to show a mom or dad the photos from their session and then to see how pumped they are that we captured those memories. It is extra rewarding when those photos are for a good cause.
At some point last year I came into contact with The Pittie Stop Rescue. The Pittie Stop is a non-profit volunteer run, foster-based organization dedicated to correcting misconceptions and finding homes for the Pitt Bulls. As a general dog lover, I was happy to donate a family session towards a raffle to benefit the organization. Pitt Bulls get a bad rap and that’s not fair. Because of this, Pitt Bulls often struggle to be adopted. Organizations like The Pittie Stop are vital because without them championing the cause- a lot of Pitt Bulls would not have happy endings. Important links can be found below.
I was pumped when the session went to Liz, who is heavily involved in the group. Liz’ family and I spent a GORGEOUS fall afternoon at Moore State Park in Paxton. We had some fun, threw some leaves, and came away with some awesome photos that raised some money for a good cause.
You can learn more about The Pittie Stop Rescue by heading towards their main page or liking them on Facebook.
Non-profits and charities are important to the causes they support and the community in general. Each year I donate a number of sessions to non-profits. I also provide event photography with reduced or no fees to a variety of organizations and causes. If you think photography would benefit your cause, feel free to reach out!
Catherine and Tim: Sunrise at Moore State Park
Sunrise engagement sessions in Massachusetts are gorgeous and absolutely worth the early call time. On this particular day the clouds might not have parted but the rain stayed away just long enough to get some gorgeous photos.
When it comes to where and when to shoot an engagement session here in Massachusetts I am pretty open. Over the years as a photojournalist for various newspapers I have shot in pretty much every condition: pouring rain, direct sun, snow, anti-government protests, etc.. The one thing I always tell my couples, though, is that sunrise and sunset are the times to aim for if you want that awesome soft-light that makes everything look a little bit like a dream. Very rarely do people take me up on a sunrise session. Catherine and Tim took me up on a sunrise engagement session at Moore State Park.
Here’s the thing about this engagement session: what you see in these photos was the only nice part of the day. The weather was forecasted to be terrible and it pretty much was until we arrived at Moore State Park… in the dark. The three of us all knew that we probably didn’t have too much time so we set out to get as many great photos as we could. We ended up getting a whole session in with the rain coming back as we got back into our cars. Whenever I see these photos I always think about them as extra lucky.
Engagement sessions come with all of my wedding packages. If you want to have a sunrise engagement session, sunset engagement session, or a special blizzard engagement session then I want to hear from you!
The Armstrongs: A Winter Family Portrait
Last weekend was freezing. I woke up on Sunday morning thinking that it was supposed to be unseasonably warm and it wasn’t. It felt exactly like December in New England should feel. Add in the insane wind and it felt downright miserable. Conveniently enough, Sunday was the only day that was possible to photograph my sister, brother-in-law, and their two kids.
Last weekend was freezing. I woke up on Sunday morning thinking that it was supposed to be unseasonably warm and it wasn’t. It felt exactly like December in New England should feel. Add in the insane wind and it felt downright miserable. Conveniently enough, Sunday was the only day that was possible to photograph my sister, brother-in-law, and their two kids.
Together, we hit all of my favorite photo spots at Moore State Park in Paxton right as the sun started to dip. You wouldn’t have even known that there were kids under those piles of blankets if you didn’t look carefully. By the end my hands were numb and everyone was ready to jump into heated cars and trucks but I am stoked with how the photos came out. Winter is an underrated time for family photos!
All in all it was fun and definitely worth borderline frostbite. If you are looking to brave the cold for some awesome winter photos with your family I would love to hear from you! From now until Christmas I am selling family session gift certificates! Each purchase comes with a printable PDF that makes a great stocking stuffer. Just click here! See? You don’t even have to get off the couch!
Tom’s Blog:
Pictures are worth a thousand words but check out what goes on behind the scenes during my sessions.