'Revolutionary' porch portrait event captures Old East Village community on film

A London, Ont. photographer looking to build community connection found it when she invited all of her neighbours onto their porches for an old fashioned photo shoot. 

Natasha Roberts hosted a two-night "porch portrait" session at the end of May, biking through Old East Village and stopping at houses for five minutes each to take film and digital photos of families.

"This idea of bringing people out onto their porches feels slightly revolutionary," said Roberts. "It's like getting back to that idea of getting out on your front porches, saying 'hi' to your neighbours, waving to everybody, smiling and getting to know who is around you."

Peddling a white bicycle with a wicker basket holding two cameras, and a speaker playing Motown songs, Roberts took photos at over 40 houses.

Each family received a collection of digital pictures plus two printed film photos, which Roberts hand-delivered to mailboxes last week. 

"My main hope to do it in film was for that kind of nostalgic feeling of how I feel when I look at family photos," said Roberts. 

The film photos were developed and printed for free by All Things Film, a film lab in Old East Village. 

"We love the people here, we love the artists that are surrounding the area, so it just made sense to keep supporting and pouring back into the community that's given us so much more," said owner Avan Patel. 

Roberts promoted the event through a neighbourhood Facebook group and word of mouth. People interested in booking a photo time were encouraged to donate a minimum of $25, which would be split among local organizations, Safe Space and Growing Chefs. 

The porch portraits event raised more than $1,400.

Roberts said she picked these two organizations because she wanted the money to stay within the Old East Village community. It fit with her three goals of running the event: share resources, build connections and create "communal energy."

"I'm a big believer in communal energy of people coming together all at once, kind of with the same goal," said Roberts. "It reminds me of going to a live concert and that energy of everyone being there. You can't really explain it, but it's there."

Positive response to the event has come from Roberts' neighbours and beyond. She said people appreciated the five-minute photo format, found the donation price reasonable and liked the human way she highlighted Old East Village.

"I have had quite a few people reach out to me from other parts of the city begging me to come and do it in their neighborhood," said Roberts. "It would be really wonderful if I could somehow find the time to do every neighborhood."

Roberts has no formal photography training but has been taking pictures her entire life. Over the past three years, she has started offering her photography services, but is still hesitant to call herself a professional photographer. 

That's why she is encouraging photographers of all levels to hold their own porch portrait sessions.

"I also really want this to be sort of like an invitation to photographers…to reach out and do it within their own communities and sort of start a movement."

Roberts hopes to run the porch portraits event in Old East Village annually, but would consider doing it seasonally if she can find the time and there is enough interest. 

She said that it is important to continue contributing back to her community through art, donations and connection.