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ASSIGNMENT DETAILS:
• Publisher: Amaris, with Lifeline Gifts, has an amazing testimony. As a young person with a love for Christian missions, it’s hard to understand why God has allowed a chronic illness to leave her confined to a bed or recliner, unable to perform normal daily tasks. But her physical condition has not stopped her from looking for something she could do for others and for God! She runs Lifeline Gifts to pack boxes or backpacks filled with toys, hygiene supplies, school supplies, crafts, clothes and a New Testament to be sent around the world by Samaritan’s Purse or similar organizations to children who are in very needy situations, such as war, famine, natural disasters, or those who have physical needs. As a long-time friend of Lenspiration, I think it would be really fun to help her with some photography needs she has for her website!
• Purpose: We recently created a website and are looking for high quality photos to use on the front page which show the joy in a child’s face when they receive a gift.
• Request: A photo of a child/children eagerly opening gifts (preferably a gift box).
• Special Instructions: Use your imagination! Simple, uncluttered backgrounds are preferred, unless the background gives some context to the photo. Keep in mind that these boxes are intended for children who don’t have many opportunities or belongings, so if the photo reflects that fact, it is more likely to be chosen. We would also prefer that the photos not be overly “Christmassy” since we’re not necessarily about just Christmas gifts (i.e. colorful wrapping paper is fine, but no “Santa” wrapping paper or Christmas trees in the background). The gifts would need to be suitable to the mission of Lifeline Gifts, so no expensive electronics (like PlayStation or such) visible in the photo. Lifeline Gifts is mostly about simple gifts so stuffed animals, toy trucks, dolls, Slinkys, balls, etc. would be perfect (you can see what we put in the boxes here on the Lifeline Gifts Boxes page). You can also feel free to compose the shot in such a way that you can’t see the contents of the box. The attached sample image gives an idea of a pose/angle that we really like which could be replicated.
• Orientation: Preferably horizontal or square.
• Photo Specs: Highest quality possible, but any size will be considered. Edit however you like!
• How to Submit: Members can follow the A, B, C process outlined here. (Instructions for non-members can be viewed here.) You can submit up to 10 photos.
• Remuneration: Because Lifeline Gifts is a non-profit ministry, submissions will be delivered to them at no cost to them. However, thanks to the generosity of an anonymous donor, one Lenspiration member will be paid $27 if their photo is chosen!
• Terms: By submitting your photo(s) on this forum, you agree to the terms outlined in the STS Photo Assignment Agreement. Please note that Lifeline Gifts would possibly use the photos received for other ministry-related projects in the future (e.g. a small brochure).
• Deadline: Midnight Saturday, February 27, 2021 (or until this topic is no longer highlighted yellow).
• Important note: The person you photograph (or the parents/guardian of the person) will need to sign a model release (like this one); you do not need to submit the signed model releases to Lenspiration unless specifically requested.LEARN HOW:
Watch how I shot this assignment and get related training on how to shoot it yourself at, On Assignment: “Eagerly Opening A Gift”!WATCH CRITIQUE:
Watch the photos submitted for this assignment get critiqued live by registering for the March 2 Photo Critique Webinar!
Interestingly, due to the continuous snow and ice over the past couple of weeks, church has been canceled every Sunday since I made the video! So the packages are still in the back of my car waiting to the opened, and we’ll see if there’s a break in the weather this weekend. 🙂
Yikes, one week left to this assignment! Has anyone else besides me procrasinated on this? :[
Just wanted to put out a quick word of encouragement to everyone to shoot this assignment (if you haven’t already)!! ….yep, even with only a week left!
Thought I’d take a moment to share a bit of what’s going on here on my end of things…
Because I’m so last-minute on this, it limited the options I could work with for available times in my schedule and for asking families if I could photograph their kids. Good reminder not to procrastinate, but also not to just give in and ditch the assignment because I did procrastinate.
I give some music lessons, so I decided to ask a couple of those families if I can take pics before or after the lessons. I felt kinda nervous when texting the first two moms I had thought of. “What if they don’t want to do it?” “What if they feel pressured by me asking?” “What if they feel awkward about it?”
But I texted both of them something like this:
“Hey [so-and-so], I have a question for you! As you may know, I’m a photographer as well as a musician. 🙂 I have a photo assignment through Lenspiration.com that I need to do this week and was wondering if you’d be comfortable with me taking pics of [your kids] for it! Thinking before or after lessons on Wednesday? The request is for photos that show the joy in children’s faces when receiving/opening gifts. It’s for the homepage of a ministry’s website, lifelinegifts.com. If that’s not something you’re comfortable with, or if the kids would rather not, no problem! Just thought I’d put it out there and see! :)”
I felt like it answered questions they might have: “What is it for? Who is going to be using the pictures? What’s involved? What is it a picture of? When might we do it?”
I felt like it kept casual and not pushy: “if you’d rather not, no problem!”
And then the ball was in their court!
Within a half hour, I had gotten two texts back. One mom said, “We would rather not. Hope you can find someone else.” The other said, “We are happy to help. They both happily agreed!”
I thought, “see, Lydia?! That wasn’t that bad!”
And, since I did get one positive response…now to plan the details of the shoot itself. Buy some candy, treats and wrapping paper for the kids’ gifts. Make sure I have working batteries in my speedlite. Get to the location early so I know where I will set up and what angles to choose. Set aside a time slot on my calendar to edit the photos afterwards.
It may not be an easy assignment, but it’s a growing assignment. And growth is good!
Guys, let’s be a blessing to Amaris and give her a nice variety of quality photos to choose from! 🙂 Can’t wait to see what kind of submissions everyone else comes in with!
The parents didn’t feel comfortable with having their children’s faces on the internet, but they were fine with their profile.
I was having difficulty getting the lighting right. I’ll try to explain what I did. For the little boy shots it was a small room and bouncing the speedlite off the celling was making harsh shadows under the boy’s chin.(I didn’t submit any of those pictures) There wasn’t any white walls to bounce off of, so next I tried the speedlite with an umbrella. It was better but I’m not satisfied with the results.
The pictures with the girl worked out better. The room was just as small but it had better light to begin with. (It had two windows, one in front of and one to the right of the girl). I hung a white sheet about 3 ft. to the girl’s left and bounced the speedlite off of that.
Any tips on how I could have lit these better?
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Wow, nice job, @blessingscaptured! Looking forward to hearing answers to your question on lighting, as I’m still learning alot with bounce flash myself!
Personally, I think the better photos are where the light is on the little boy’s face rather than the back of his head. Feels more natural with the shadows on his back.
And, in the photos of the little girl, that was a great idea to bounce the light off a sheet! Something I don’t know I would’ve instinctively thought of.
I also think the teddy bears are super cute! 🙂
Here are my submissions! The kids did great, so there were no difficulties there. They both were very comfortable in front of the camera and did quite well.
My main struggle was with the setting we were in; composing the shots in a way to make the most of the location.
I took the photos after giving the kids their music lessons at the church they attend, so we used the lobby, a hallway and a little fireside room to take the pictures. I tried my best to give the feeling like we were in a home rather than a church. 🙂 I also didn’t want the “home” to appear too nice and fancy, considering the context that these photos are for, but I’m not sure how successful I was.
Fun story: I had asked their mom what I could get them as treats, to put in the boxes as a thank you. She told me their favorite candies, so I got those. When the girl was opening her box, she was acting “fake surprised” about the gift, but then when she saw the contents she got super excited and was like, “I really AM surprised!!!” 😀 She was very happy 🙂
I also did some photos with the boy outside since we had some extra time. I know he’s not actively “eagerly opening a gift” in them, but since it was such a nice day (it was super warm…like 50 degrees outside!), I thought we could take some photos out there too.
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Glad to see some of you were able to get some photos! Things finally lined up yesterday and I was able to get some photos at church! I was surprised at how tough it was. So many things didn’t go as expected And it’s true; it’s difficult to find people willing to let photos of them or their children be used publicly, plus, take pictures that actually turn out! Will look forward to discussing these things (and a couple blunders I learned from my photo shoot) on the webinar tomorrow night! You can sign up for the March 2 webinar here: https://www.lenspiration.com/product-category/webinars/
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