NILMDTS - Photographer Recruitment Month

9/19/2016

Click on this banner to find out how you can become a NILMDTS volunteer!

Melissa Bloom is a NILMDTS volunteer and while I love the part of her quote they pulled for the graphic above, her full quote really says it all:

“I volunteer for NILMDTS because I believe in giving others of our talents and gifts. I know how precious the photographs of my own children are and how many times I’ve wanted to freeze time, just remembering every little moment, maybe even seconds.

I’ve never lost a child, so I can only imagine the magnitude of having only moments to form a lifetime of memories. That’s what I strive to give all of our NILMDTS clients. Knowing that I can provide them with joy during such a heartbreaking time is fulfilling to me and gives so much purpose to my photography that reaches beyond NILMDTS, infusing the importance of my art into all the photos I take, for all my clients.”

For the last few years I've been a NILMDTS Ambassador, and while I'm proud to be a part of the organization, my little contribution pales in comparison to what each volunteer photographer brings to the families they help. I've shared a number of great guest posts over the years. Here's the link to one of my favorites from the SCU archives by Christine Tripp, a NILMDTS photographer from Ottawa, Canada.

Click on either image to read her post as she shares her experiences and fears at going into her first NILMDTS session.

1 Comment

"Why?"

Check out "Why?" one of the most popular features on the SCU Blog. It's a very simple concept - one image, one artist and one short sound bite. Each artist shares what makes the image one of their most favorite. We're coming up on 100 artists featured since the project started. Click on the link above and you can scroll through all of the episodes to date.

Authors

Skip Cohen is President of SCU, founder of Marketing Essentials International and past president of Rangefinder Publishing and WPPI. He's been an active participant in the photographic industry since joining Hasselblad USA in 1987 as president. He has co-authored six books on photography and actively supports dozens of projects each year involving photographic education.

Steve Rubin link

9/20/2016 06:37:53 pm

Skip, I'm so glad that you published this article. I too am a Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep photographer and have been for a number of years doing many sessions. However, I too have lived in a neonatal unit for months at a time praying that my extremely premature son would survive (after loosing his twin).

I know that when I'm done processing the images (all in Black & White as per the policy) these parents will be happy or at least will have something to help them through the process.

Nothing makes my day then the occasional "thank you" email or card from a parent of one of my sessions. In fact, one couple called me to do pregnancy photos of their 2nd child some years late. To my amazement, when I went into the home I saw many of my images of their first child hanging on the walls.

For me after loosing one son and the years of challenge with my other I asked "why me"... When I heard about NILMDTS I got the answer. It only took about 20 years to get that answer, but got it I did and never have looked back.

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