While scrolling through Instagram late one night in March, I stumbled upon photos of families photographed on their front porches. It was just days in to settling into our new normal. These front step photos weren’t like the typical family portraits you might see on the gram and in the best way possible. That’s when I discovered Cara Soulia and The Front Steps Project™. Cara is a family and newborn photographer based in Boston, Massachusetts and is the creator of the The Front Steps Project™.

The Front Steps Project™ is created to bring people together at a time when we’re so isolated. Cara posted her first family porch picture on March 17, 2020. A week later, with very little planning, I shared the idea on social media and the response was overwhelming. In less than 24 hours, I had over 50 Daniel Island families interested in front step photos.

Over the span of 10 days, I photographed 70 families and a cul-de-sac of kids sidewalk- chalk artists in 7 days. The sessions were unlike my typical family sessions. They were super quick 5-minute sessions, from a distance of at least 10 feet away and there was no physical contact at all. Most of these sessions you could find me in the middle of the street, standing on my step ladder, snapping away.

These are the faces of Daniel Island, South Carolina.

These beautiful families include ER doctors and VA anesthesiologists, first responders and EMTs, dentists and physicians, teachers and stay-at-home moms, college students and seniors, small business owners and bloggers, the Tiger King and Carole Baskin, expecting mothers and a young cancer patient.

These are neighbors, friends, past clients and many of them were strangers. These are the smiling faces we might normally see while going to the grocery store, church, at school drop off or the playground.

This project has been pretty special for me and my community, unlike anything I have ever done since starting my photography business. What makes it so amazing for family photographers, like myself, it has given us the opportunity to promote the importance of social distancing and staying-at-home through social media while also giving back.

Most importantly it has allowed communities to raise needed funds for local nonprofits who are in need during this pandemic.

My porch sessions are free and in exchange families are asked to make a good faith monetary donation of any amount to our local food pantry, the Lowcountry Food Bank or an agency of their choice.

To date, we’ve raised almost $4,500 and counting!

According to The Front Steps Project website, as of April 16, more than 200 photographers replicating #TheFrontStepsProject in their own communities (like myself), have raised over $500,000 for local food pantries, hospitals, animal shelters and more!

I’ve learned so much as a photographer during this project. Before starting, I completely underestimated the amount of time it would take to respond, organize and map out each day. Carving out the time to cull, edit and deliver all the photographs has been the most challenging part thus far. But these amazing families and their kind words, inspiring stories and donations have been my biggest motivation. As a mom of two energetic boys, one of which is three and doesn’t like to be away from his mommy (and who could care less about watching tv), it has been difficult to find a balance.

As challenging as it has been to find a rhythm during a time of such uncertainty, this project has given these families (and myself) a moment to look forward to, to smile and be silly, to document this historic time, to give us an excuse to put on clothes without an elastic waste, to get some fresh air and to give back.

My original plan was to provide a single edited photo to each family. I’m proud to say, after many late nights, I’ve delivered over 700 photographs!

Trewin Court Sidewalk Chalk

(click on the photos below to enlarge them)

Thank you so much to all the smiling faces of Daniel Island and Beresford Creek Landing neighborhoods.

Charleston you are AMAZING!

Thank you for your kind words, support, and incredibly generous donations.

To anyone who is interested in a session, the project is currently paused for the health and safety of everyone. I hope to continue a limited amount of sessions once it’s safe to do so. Thank you :)