It's best to read this section after you've read the "about" page and the "info for hospice families" page.
Emily's Big Picture Project wants to help as many families as possible. We have established formal and informal referral programs with hospice programs across the state.
We understand and adhear to all HIPAA guidlines and regulations. Our first priority is to the families we work with.
If you would like more information about what we do and how we do it, please contact us!
all families but we need to focus our resources on pediatric hospice patients and their families and adult hospice patients who have young children. We are currently working with families within the state of Michigan. We would like to be able to help families in other states but for now are focusing on one state at a time. If you live in another state and are willing to travel to our studio in Grand Rapids please call us.
We try to make it as easy for families as possible. There are no forms to fill out, no paperwork of any kind really. We understand that you are very busy caring for your loved one and don't have any time or energy that you can afford to waste. All you have to do is give us a phone call or send an email. We'll ask a few simple questions and schedule a session.
We prefer families to visit us at our studio in Grand Rapids. We can capture the best possible images that way. However, we realize that some families aren't able to make the trip and in those cases we can come to you. We have a portable studio and can be set up in your home or wherever the sick person happens to be at the time. Sometimes it's a hospital room, an assisted living center, etc.
Our studio and our portable studio includes several strobe lights with softboxes and light stands along with backdrops and support systems. We do need a larger room to set up in and tall ceilings, while not essential, do give us greater control with lighting options. We provide family members with black long-sleeve tee shirts and ask that anyone in the picture wear blue jeans or other darker colored pants. By doing this we are taking away elements that can be distracting. We want to focus on the people in the images not the clothes they are wearing. Jewelery should also be kept to a minimum. We try to accommodate any situation that arises, bed and
wheelchair bound isn't a problem... we just have to be a little more creative.
Photo sessions usually only last 10 - 20 minutes. We have had some sessions only last a minute - because the patient was to weak to continue - other sessions have lasted hours. Actually, the time spend in front of the camera was only a few minutes but because of the child's illness we needed to wait until they felt well enough to continue. We understand each family has unique needs and we do our best to work with them in any way possible to ensure the experience is enjoyable and non-disruptive.
After the session, you are given contact sheets (8x10 sheets of photographic paper that contain up to 16 small images) to view and to make your selection from. We ask that you choose one image. This image will then be printed, mounted, matted, and framed. It will then be given to you as a gift. No strings attached - you pay for nothing!