This Photographer Is Taking Photos of Families in Exchange for Food Bank Donations
After a week of social distancing with her family at their New Jersey home photographer Audrey Blake, like many of us, was starting to feel a little restless. At the same time, she tells House Beautiful, she couldn't shake the feeling that the current coronavirus pandemic was an historic event that should be documented. So, she came up with a new project: The "6 Foot Shoot," where she visits families in her community and shoots portraits from a safe distance.
A post shared by Audrey Blake (@audreyblake_) on Mar 23, 2020 at 11:05am PDT
"As all this stuff was coming out in the news, I just thought it would be great to get everyone to smile," says Blake. She began by texting families on her street, but word quickly spread, and in the past few days the photographer has driven as far as 30 minutes away to shoot families on their stoops. In lieu of payment, she is requesting subjects donate to a local food bank. "I did some research into what would be the most impactful, and everyone seemed to say to donate to food banks," explains the photographer. Her suggestion is the local Human Needs Food Pantry, though she says families should donate to any food bank they want to.
To Blake, the project has two benefits: Raising money for food banks and creatign a fun activity for cooped up families. "My mom always said, 'everyone needs a reason to put on lipstick,'" laughs the photographer. "And I think this is a way to get people to get a little dressed up and have some fun."
Plus, the impact makes a good lesson for the kids involved. "I said to my kids, 'this is an example of how we can turn a terrible thing into a positive," Blake says.
In the past few days, the #6footshoot has become a hit on Blake's Instagram, where she has 17,000 followers. She had 65 replies in the first 24 hours alone, and now has a wait list of people to photograph. Her hope is that the challenge spreads across the country (observing safe distancing, of course). "I would love if photographers in other areas took this and ran with it," says Blake. "Because spreading kindness is contagious and now seems a good time to spread something positive that's contagious." We couldn't agree more.
Follow House Beautiful on Instagram.
You Might Also Like
