Help Portrait Medellín

This weekend I was apart of a special charity photography project here in the city, called Help Portrait Medellín.

Here's a description of what it's about:
"The concept is simple: it's comprised of photographers and volunteers who want to come together and give free professional photographs back to the wonderful Paisa people of Medellín. We hit the streets armed with our camera gear to the barrios around Medellin. We photograph individuals willing to pose, then print them a copy of the photo that day. We return to the same location to handed them their very own portrait! A lot of people here have never had a professional photograph taken of themselves and this is a way for photographers, travelers and locals to give back to the community and share the love. The smiles given back in return will be your reward... that is PRICELESS!"

The project was spearheaded by an American, Troy, who I met in the city. He asked me to be a part of the project, as well to film our day as Im going to make a video of our experience. So myself, Troy, 2 other professional photographers, and about 20 other volunteers/amateur photographers, met up in Santo Domingo, one of the many poor barrios in Medellín to do Help Portrait.



We found this old porch that was apparently once a restaurant, to set up our gear. It was perfect as it had a roof to cover our space incase it rained (which like in true Medellín fashion it did, but later in the day). Basically we had 3 professional photographers, and therefore 3 different "photography stations" - Carlos with the brown background and would do head shots, Troy with the white screen and would do waist up, and Luis who would do full body in the street.



Once we had our stations set up, and the gear set in place, we had a team chat to make sure everyone knew what was going to happen, and how people could help. Then the day began, and it was a lot of fun! We started to ask people in the streets if they wanted their photograph taken (everyone from little kids, to teens, adults and seniors), obviously the people were a little apprehensive about it at first, and thinking what we were doing was some kind of scam, but after explaining the project, and assuring them we'd give them the picture for FREE, people starting to agree. Once we had a bunch of people getting their photograph taken, we started to attract a lot of attention, and more and more people wanted their photograph.



The day flew by, I was busy helping people out, translating for the volunteers that didnt speak Spanish (so giving directions to the people getting photographed, telling them how they can receive the photographs, and just interacting with the people of the barrio), and taking video of the day.

I met some really great people who were taking a part of the project. Everyone was really nice, and super enthusiastic about the project, and course everyone had a passion for photography. Now im not a professional photographer, though I love to take photos! I do however want to get into photography when Im back in Canada, buy a DSLR and take some lessons. Especially after seeing the kinds of photographs that were taken during the day, definitely motivated me more to get into photography. Here are some of the photographs that were taken:






Once we had a decent amount of photos, Carlos and a couple volunteers headed back down the mountain to get the pics developed. While waiting, everyone headed to a restaurant near by to grab some lunches, drink beer, and just chat. I ended up meeting another Canadian who was from Toronto, his name was Joel.




So we had originally told all the photography subjects to come back at 5pm to reclaim their photos. Unfortunately the pictures took longer to develop so they werent going to be ready until at least 6pm. The most hilarious part of the day is that the majority of the Colombians were there EXACTLY at 5pm to get their pics. I have NEVER seen Colombians be SO ON TIME! I was shocked, as normally Colombians, or Latinos in general, are ALWAYS late. But tell them they'll get their photo taken for free, they'll be there on time to pick it up! Hilarious.

While we were waiting for the pics to be developed, myself, and 2 american guys were interacting a lot with a few kids that were hanging around with us, curious as to what we were doing. They were asking us a ton of questions as to what we were doing, where we were from, why we were here, etc. Interacting with them was a lot of fun, and they loved our sunglasses, so myself and Michael (one of the Americans) gave 2 of the boys our sunglasses to try on, and the result was amazing. They put on the sunglasses and instantly starting to pose, with gangster finger signs, arms crossed, the whole 9 yards. It was hilarious. So obviously I had to join them and get a pic.




Once the photos were ready, giving them back to the people of the barrio was probably the best part of the day. To see their reaction was priceless. Santo Domingo is known for being a poor district, like so many communities located on the mountain sides of Medellín. These people don't have much, but they are so kind, happy and thankful for what they do have. It makes you definitely appreciate all the things you have in life so much more. So to be apart of this project was something so special, because I felt like I was doing something I am so passionate about, but at the same time able to help a community and give back in a positive way. Many people in this barrio have never had their portrait taken professionally, let alone have money to do that, so to give them one for free, and see their reaction when looking at the photos was awesome. It's definitely something I want to do and be apart of again!

Here are some photos of the people with their photos! A great end, to a fantastic day:






Then at the end of the day, Carlos, one of the professional photographers, offered to take a professional headshot of all of the volunteers. So here are mine!