He walked in uncertain, took his spot on our background and watched nervously as we adjusted the lights to remove any glare from his glasses. He was serious, hiding any emotion but within a few minutes his face changed. We all joked and laughed and before I knew it, he smiled! Not just a small smile, but a HUGE ear to ear grin. He dropped his head and just laughed!! Any worries or insecurities dispersed and in that moment nothing else mattered… to any of us!

This is Help-Portrait. An amazing world-wide movement of photographers who are gathering their equipment, finding people in need and taking their picture, simple as that! I was fortunate enough to be part of the Orange County team of 42 Photographers, 6 make-up artists and 6 greeters who spent last Saturday creating professional portraits for over 400 people in need! It’s easy to forget that not everyone has the means for professional photography, even at the most basic level, making Help-Portrait not only unique but essential. Seeing the faces, and hearing the responses when people saw their portraits was priceless, and I am truly grateful I could be a small part in making that happen!

Our team photographed 75 people, and we had such a great time! Being a group full of personality, we had everyone laughing (mostly at us) and getting comfortable in front of the camera. Check out some behind the scene’s action with Brandi Welles and Jenny Morphy working their magic while photographing a family. There was nothing our team wouldn’t do to get those little ones smiling!

In between portraits, we took the opportunity to turn our background into a fun photo booth and capture the spirit of Team #1 (aka Team Crazy)! Ironically we all met this time last year during a Gray Photography workshop in Laguna Beach and we clearly hit it off! Meet Mike Johnson, Jenny Morphy, Brandi Welles, Melissa Brandman and yours truly!

We were REALLY excited! :)

This was an AMAZING day and a big THANK YOU goes out to everyone who made Help-Portrait OC a HUGE success! Mark your calenders for next year: December 3rd, for Help-Portrait 2011!!