The Front Porch Project | Ashburn, Virginia | graciewithersphotography.com

When the COVID-19 Pandemic began here, I had thought about doing these Front Porch Sessions. But to be honest, there was a lot of negativity about them in my industry, so I held back. Weeks went by, and I just couldn’t stop thinking about them. The negativity around it was far too prominent in my mind, but I saw so many positive things come out of them! And I knew that they would be 100% safe for everyone who wanted to participate. I saw so many people in this world doing amazing things to help communities, small businesses, and simply to shed light as everyone adjusted to a new normal that was devastating our economy.

One morning I woke up and I thought I wanted to at least offer these to members at my gym Burn Boot Camp in Ashburn. I posted about these in the group to see what kind of interest there was, and the response was way more than I ever anticipated! My goal was to raise money for Loudoun Hunger Relief and Mobile Hope Loudoun since for many people in the community, the basic need of providing food was suddenly a challenge. I knew these organizations were working in overdrive now more than ever and I simply wanted to help in some way.

After three weeks of driving around the area to 30 different homes, we raised $1,460 for these organizations. My plan is to keep up with these as long as people want to participate and one of my favorite things about these, besides just seeing people from a far, is witnessing what people have wanted to celebrate. Some families wanted to document what quarantine life has been like, celebrate a child’s birthday, share what they miss most, include signs, wear their masks, or use it as a chance to get some nice family photos.

For these Front Porch Photos, what I would do is drive up to one’s house, and I would usually stand in the driveway or on the street. I used my longer lens to be able to get these close up shots, and I would typically hang around for a few minutes to get a couple different combinations for families. There was no contact and I always kept a distance of at least 10 feet from

I have had so much fun doing this for families in the area! I want to say THANK YOU to everyone who has participated and supported me through this and I can’t wait to see some more friends and families from afar next week!