by successfulbob | charity photography, photography, photography education, success education
Help spread the word.
October is pregnancy and infant loss awareness month. Now I Lay me Down to Sleep (NILMDTS) is way for photographers to give back to there community with the gift of professional portraiture to families who suffer an early infant loss. This is a precious gift that has amazing healing power for the families. I encourage you to learn more and to get other to learn more by spreading the word everywhere.
Logo you can share in spreading the message…
I believe this is an amazing organization. I have been a member and affiliate photographer since 2006 photographing families in need of these services. Been a trainer and area coordinator. Work on the photographer approval team. Served on the National NILMDTS Board of Directors for two years. I share this information not to brag but to hopefully inspire you to join in too. If you are like me when I first heard of NILMDTS I said, “There’s no way I could ever do this type of photography.” I eventually was convinced to give it a try and after seeing the help it gives families I now say, “How can I not do it??”
Banner logo you can share in getting the word out about Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month
Here are some more links….
Five reasons to become a NILMDTS photographer
Rhonda Gehman NILMDTS story
Vikki Zoller NILMDTS
Ashely Krapf NILMDTS
A call out story
I hope this inspires you to get on board. Is the work difficult? Yep. Is it rewarding? You bet! But you won’t know until you try… If you have any questions at all please don’t hesitate to get in touch. My contact info is at the top of the page or here.
Yours in Creative Photography, Bob
by successfulbob | charity photography, photography, photography education
The phone rang. I picked up and it was the hospital calling…
We have a stillborn child and a family that needs your special touch.
With that call my stomach falls and I realize I will be photographing a very emotional situation. So why do I also feel a bit of smile and good feeling? Because I’m going to be creating a family portrait with very special meaning that there will never be the possibility to photograph again. These images will help the family through their grieving process.
“How can you know that, Bob?” you might be asking. I know because I’ve done it before and the notes that come from my families letting me know how much comfort they receive from having beautiful photos of their child.
It’s not easy, by any stretch, but being able to give back through the photography medium that has been so good to me is incredible.
Why am I telling you about this? It’s not to brag. It’s to hopefully inspire you to consider performing this service in your hometown. Please click on this link to find out more about becoming an affiliate photographer with Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep. There is a tremendous need as there are approximately 25,000 cases of pregnancies ending early each year in the United States and currently NILMDTS is only able to serve a relatively small portion of those families. We need photographers. And, as many hands make for a light load, the more photographers available the better.
NILMDTS logo.
Won’t you at least take a few minutes and head to the web site for more information? If you are like me your first thought would be, “I could never do that! I’m too emotional…” Thank goodness I found out I was wrong. It’s a wonderful way to give back to your community.
Yours, In Photography, Bob
by successfulbob | charity photography, photography education
Let’s talk about raising your profile in the community. Many times you can do that by helping out various charities and/or fundraising using your photography skills. I don’t recommend doing this work for that reason only but a higher profile can be a by-product of supporting charities that you believe in.
Here’s an example of a recent shoot and blog post that I did for the Red Rock Rotary Club of Sedona. Make sure that you send an invoice for the work you do for the full amount. Then zero balance the total so that the value of the work you do is properly recognized. If you don’t let them know they will have their own thoughts on the value of your work.
