by Joey Phoenix
Images by Lindsay Parker
When Social Distancing Guidelines went into effect in March, photographers around the country took inspiration from Massachusetts’ photographer Cara Soulia and started photographing people on their porches.
The widespread movement has created thousands of images of diverse families standing or sitting on their stoops or front lawns, presumably having been captured by a photographer who is at least 6 feet away.
Many of these photographers haven’t been charging for these services, but instead have been using the proceeds to fund a charity of their choosing.
For New England photographer and dog-lover Lindsay Parker, those charities are the Northeast Animal Shelter and the Boston MSPCA.
For her, being the parent to a very photogenic pup named Finn (originally Kemai) who was a rescue from Georgia along with his brother Koda, it’s a very personal subject.*
“There’s a lot of need for humans right now, but I think in all of this it’s very easy to forget about the pets,” Lindsay explained.
Like most Boston-area photographers, when the pandemic caused events and plans to be postponed or rescheduled, Lindsay – primarily a Newborn and Maternity photographer – found herself without a whole lot to do.
“[Cara Soulia] started the project a week and a half ago where she takes family portraits around her town,” Lindsay said, “instead of having people pay for it, she has them make a donation to her city council. A lot of photographers have been doing the same.”
Lindsay Parker started the project at the very end of March and was amazed at how popular it became nearly overnight. In the first few days, she had seven photoshoots planned, and then it jumped to nearly two dozen for the weekend.
How it works is that Lindsay schedules a time block in a window where the light is right for the address. The family or couple or whoever is being photographed gets positioned on the front porch or steps of the house. From a safe distance, Lindsay takes a few photos (a 5-10 minute process) and then later on edits and delivers the photo.
Really simple.
“A lot of people are stuck in their home and it’s nice to be able to give them something that makes them smile,” Lindsay added.
To find out more about the local Front Porch Project read Lindsay’s blog or follow her on Instagram @lpphotostudio.
* One of the best things to come out of this process for Lindsay was that she was able to reconnect with Finn’s brother Koda when Northeast Animal Shelter shared the Front Porch post. The two brothers now have a pup playdate post quarantine.
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