Charity Blog

Did you know... Firefly Photography has donated over £4000, in photographic experiences, to charities and good causes in and around Derbyshire in the last year? There are the obvious cancer charities, school fetes and silent auctions but have you ever thought of what happens with those who win?

Obviously they ring up and book in.... And then a week before their shoot they will receive an email - just like any other client - confirming the date and time of their appointment along with FAQs, directions, nearest restaurants and outfit advice if needed (normally for makeovers). Then, the day of the shoot arrives. And just like any other client they are welcomed in to the studio, sat down, talked through their shoot, taken into the studio, made to feel like the only people in the world and leave with a feel good factor - just like any other client. However, have you ever thought about the type of person/people that come into the studio?

One grandma had won her granddaughters nursery raffle and booked her entire family in for the shoot. Their were the grandparents, their children and their children's children... Ten adults and children in total. From talking to the grandma we knew it was going to be a big group so we booked out a double slot for them. We also found out that one of the children had ADHD so we made sure that the studio was inviting, we had calm music on and we went at his pace. The family units had never had photo shoots before... So we did a series of mini shoots within this one shoot. We made sure that the family didn't feel rushed. To top their day off, they'd booked into a restaurant, on Friargate in Derby, that we had recommended in their confirmation email a week earlier. A fantastic family day was had by all... And they even gave us cuddles at the end to say thank you!

We had another family come in... A dad and three teenagers. One of the teenagers had won a Family Portrait Experience through Derby's only eating disorder charity - First Steps. The mum had left and the winner of the voucher had suffered with bulimia and anorexia as a result of his mum leaving. This was the first ever photograph he'd had taken since taking his first steps to recovery. We weren't aware of his struggles of image and weight until the end of the shoot... When he asked his dad if he could have a kebab on his way home! His family were both thrilled and surprised however he had asked to see the photos in the middle of the shoot... And he felt that he looked good. Not only good - happy. His family were proud of him, he was proud of himself and we were proud of all of them just for having the courage and team spirit to come through the studio doors. They now have a 30" family photo of them all, hanging up for all to see, in their home.

Then there was a Makeover winner... Her mum had won it, through a raffle, and had passed it onto her daughter. Both mum and daughter turned up on the day. The daughter was petrified. She struggled to look in the mirror and her mum had forced her to come as a confidence boosting exercise. We took our time. She went through and chose the makeup she wanted and how she wanted it to be applied. Her photographer talked through her outfits, her insecurities as well as what she thought her best features were. She asked if, after the shoot, we would edit out all of the scars up her arms from her self harming days. We said we could - but we didn't want to. We weren't there to photograph 'her'... We were there to photograph her spirit and her personality which, once she'd chilled, was big, bold and beautiful. When it came to viewing she loved her images - with the scars. We went through an entire box of tissues but both mother and daughter left happy... Arm in arm.

We're always up for supporting a good cause... Charity or otherwise.