Florence, SC Portrait Photographer: Fall Fundraiser and This is My Why Project

We are bringing back our Fall Fundraiser sessions at All Star Sports, and this year the net proceeds will be split equally between flood victims from Hurricane Florence and a fund to benefit our local law enforcement. Sessions will be held on October 27th from 9:00-12:00, and are first come, first served. Sessions are $50 and will include a FULL resolution digital image of your choice. We look forward to this event and hope to see you there!

This week certainly has been a different one for our little city, hasn’t it? Never ever did I think that little old Florence, South Carolina would be on the national news. But on the national news for a shooting in which our city’s law enforcement was gunned down, killing one and wounding six others? NO. WAY. Not my town. I’ve lived here my entire life and things like this just don’t happen here. It’s heartbreaking and I’m pretty sure it’s the heaviest burden that our community has ever faced. In the days that have passed since this horrific event I’ve witnessed shock, fear, disbelief, and anger in the people of Florence. But also? So much LOVE. So much community. The people of Florence have come together to support our law enforcement in a way that I have never seen before. I am certain that this tragic event will never be forgotten. But I hope we also hold on to this sense of unity that has come from unbelievable heartache.

Remember Hurricane Florence? It almost seems like ages ago in light of recent events. In the middle of all of our hurricane prep, in the days when we thought that a direct hit to Florence, SC was inevitable, Collin and I had a newborn session. During that newborn session the baby’s father’s cell phone kept sounding alerts. See, he’s a fireman. He would be leaving his family (three kids ages three and under) for the duration of the hurricane to provide help to the people who needed it. Yikes. I’m not sure I would have made it as a young mom if Collin told me he was going to have to leave me with our three very young children to weather the storm alone. But y’all, they did it! He and his wife, they did it, and I never heard a complaint from either of them. And not just firemen. TONS of people in various public service careers left their families and the comfort of their homes to ensure that the families of Florence and the surrounding areas were as safe as possible. Hospital employees, linemen, police, EMT, DNR…they worked days on end because it was a time of crisis and the people of their community needed them to. That weighed so heavy on my heart throughout the duration of the storm and in the days after when some of these same people traveled to communities who had been devastated by flooding.

Why do they do it? They have to have a “why”. We all do, right? We all have someone, or several someones, who are our reason for doing the hard stuff that life throws at you. While Collin and I discussed this during the hurricane, we decided to come up with a plan to help remind the people in these service industries who had worked so tirelessly of their WHY. And, obviously, we wanted to use photography to do it. We have a single session package that we offer at our studio that includes a session, a 16×20 wall portrait, a proof book of all images from the session, and a digital set of images from the session with our logo that are suitable for online sharing. For the remainder of 2018 we are removing the session fee from this package for the people in these public service industries, bringing the price of this package from $499 to $299. Now, unfortunately due to an already full schedule, we may not be able to fit your session in this year, but we will honor this as we move into 2019. You just need to contact us about the offer in 2018. So, what type of session is it? Basically anything that we offer in Florence. Family, your children, engagement, newborn, baby…in our studio or on location…we just want to see your reason for why you choose to serve our community, and deliver to you an art piece that you can hang on your wall that will remind you daily of your WHY. So, this offer is available to any first responder, any hospital employee, any lineman…please share with anyone you know who may benefit from this! For more information and to take part, please email at collin@cmsmithportraits.com.