Tampa Photography Blog

One of my favorite charities to shoot for is Flashes of Hope.

The goal of this organization is to photograph kids with life-threatening illnesses like cancer and give those photos to their families as a gift.

The best part is seeing how the kids light up once they realize this is about pampering them, making them feel special and helping them to forget about their illness, if only for an hour. Being in a hospital for days on end and having to receive treatment that makes you feel worse can be exhausting.

Because the shoots are done monthly and I've only been volunteering for two years, I've done two shoots, both of which were extremely fulfilling. During the first one, we set up the studio in a break room at the hospital. A father came in to escape and get a little distraction. He told me had a 16-year-old daughter at the hospital that had cancer and was not doing well. I stopped what I was doing and sat next to him, just to listen. He went on about how he couldn't believe he had to watch his "baby girl" go through this. And he started sobbing. I couldn't help but hug him and after about ten minutes of talking and crying, he said he felt so much better. All he needed was someone to listen who wasn't a doctor or family member. He needed a shoulder to cry on and I was so touched he chose mine.

All of the people involved are volunteers and the families don't pay a dime for any of it. They receive a print package and a CD with the high-resolution photos after the photographer edits the images.

The entire shoot is coordinated by All Children's Hospital in St. Petersburg and Tampa Bay Chapter Directors Dana Hudepohl and Marc Silbiger. Aveda provides make up and styling services and local photographers rotate monthly.

So far, 185 children have been photographed in Tampa Bay.

If this charity interests you, I urge you to donate your services or money to keep it going. It means a great deal to me and I hope after seeing some of the photos, you’ll feel touched too.

Watch the FOX 13 story here.