The Lockdown Doorstep Portrait Project
It has been, and continues to be, an unprecedentedly strange time!
Lockdown has challenged us all in many different ways: we will never be quite so complacent about buying toilet rolls; the happy birthday song will forever be associated with hand washing; we’ll appreciate teachers, postal workers, rubbish collectors, shop workers and, of course, NHS workers so much more; and we will never again take a hug for granted.
All being well, we will never experience anything quite like this again. It will be something that we reminisce about when we’re older and that our grandchildren will struggle to believe… “You mean you didn’t have to go to school for months?!”
To mark this unique moment in time (and as possible proof to those future disbelieving grandchildren!), I’m offering families the opportunity to enjoy a Doorstep Portrait Photoshoot: quite literally, a photoshoot on your doorstep! From the compulsory 2 metres away, I’ll capture photographs of you and your family.
You can use it as a (currently very rare!) opportunity to dress up or you can fully embrace lockdown with photos in your pyjamas; the furry members of your household can be included, those items which have kept you going through this time (kilogram slab of chocolate anyone?!) or your beautifully drawn rainbow pictures… it’s entirely up to you!
There is no fee for the session or for the images, which will - in line with the current climate - be delivered electronically. Instead, I am asking for a donation to the nationwide bereavement charity, Widowed and Young (WAY).
As we are all well aware, Covid-19 is indiscriminate, and there will be many people who have suddenly and unexpectedly lost their partners, and in a time when we cannot put our arms around each other. WAY is supporting those who need them with information online, local support groups and a 24 hour helpline.
This charity has personal significance for me, as I turned to WAY after my husband died in a motorcycle racing accident, when I was just 32. Our baby daughter was only 6 months old at the time and my whole world felt as though it had imploded.
Bereavement is still such a hard topic for all of us to talk about; we just don’t know how to approach it, what to say, what not to say, how to help and, our fear of doing the wrong thing often renders us too fearful to do anything at all. WAY is a peer-to-peer support group operating within a network of volunteers who have been bereaved at a young age themselves, so they understand exactly what other members are going through.
When I first met another local WAY member, sharing the emotions, the experiences and the grief together was very powerful – we didn’t have to explain anything to one another as we had a common ground. We shared tears and concerns about being both mum and dad to our young children, but also ideas and ambitions, encouraging each other to explore what was possible within the new perimeters of our lives. The result of my exploration became my dream business: Lucy McKenzie Photography.
Please help me to raise money for WAY and show our appreciation for what their volunteers are doing to support young widows, widowers and their children across the country….
Plus, let’s have fun and make memories in the process!
To register your interest to join the Doorstep Portrait Project please call 07863 550676 or message me via my Facebook page.
Donations to WAY can be made via my Just Giving page: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/lucy-mckenzie-photography
If you have lost a partner and are under the age of 51, please visit https://www.widowedandyoung.org.uk/ for further information about how WAY could help support you. I am so glad that I met fellow local WAY members.
