Alphabet Streets Photographer Raises Money for Westside Food Bank Through Porch Photo Project

By SARAH SHMERLING | Editor-in-Chief

Robin Aronson—a professional photographer and resident of the Alphabet Streets—is using her skills and extra free time during Safer at Home orders to capture Palisadians in a series of front porch photos, and in lieu of payment, Aronson asks those she photographs to consider making a donation to the Westside Food Bank.

Her inspiration came from Facebook, where she saw a cousin post a front porch photo that was captured on the East Coast. Aronson shared that she thought to herself, “Geez, I should do something like that to help and to give back.”

A professional photographer who typically covers events, family photography, product shots and real estate, Aronson explained that she typically does a bit of everything and that due to COVID-19, she can’t work right now anyway. She wanted to do something she was good at and give back.

She started by calling her neighbors and asking if she could take a picture of them—and has since received emails from all over the place.

Each photo takes about five minutes. They are later posted across social media with #PacificPalisadesFrontPorch.

“It’s nice because it gets me to see people I know and to see my friends from a distance,” Aronson shared.

Aronson takes into account all social distancing rules when snapping her shots—she only takes photos outside and from at least 10 feet away. She also encourages the families she is shooting to bring something into the picture to make it their own, which has ranged from toilet paper to masks, dogs, cats and guinea pigs.

After 20 days in a row of capturing porch photos, Aronson took a day off and got her family members to agree to their own front porch photo on Mother’s Day. Her photo featured her daughter, Riley, who is home and “making the best of college online;” Ross, finishing his second year of nursing school online while preparing to leave for a summer job in New York where he will work as a nurse in the ER at Southampton Hospital; and Daniel, a landlord who is “working to keep us afloat during this trying time.”

And Cooper the dog is living his best life, enjoying a full house and four times the number of treats.

Aronson shared that though the $50 donation is just suggested, each person she has shot has contributed, ranging from $50 to $500 and averaging about $100 to $150. She added that a representative from Westside Food Bank explained that every dollar raised provides four meals.

With six to seven shoots scheduled each day this week, Aronson will have shot more than 100 families and raised $10,000. Aronson shared that she does not have a timeline for when the project will wrap, so she encourages anyone interested in their own porch photo to fill out a form, available at her website.

For more of Aronson’s work, visit instagram.com/robinaronsonphotography or robinaronsonphotography.com/FRONT-PORCH.