Front Porch Sessions: Snapshots During Our Stay-at-Home Order

When COVID-19 hit and the Illinois stay-at-home order was put in place, life was put on hold. Among the many industries that took a big hit, the wedding, event and photography industry saw their work for the foreseeable future essentially disappear overnight. But, as many of us have seen, a lot of good has come out of this time, including photographers pivoting to porch photo sessions, aka #TheFrontStepsProject. Not only do these photos provide families with a way to commemorate this strange time in our lives—when we were unsure about the world, stressed and struggling, but also brought together—these photo sessions have also helped support photographers and the community, with many giving back to charity.

Here are just a few families that shared their portraits with us, and the stories behind them.

Melissa Salvatore, Rogers Park

Photographed by Jaclyn Simpson, who asked every client to pay it forward to a small business

Salvatore Family
Melissa and Michael Salvatore with their kids Bennett and Owen (and Koozie the dog!)

What do you do for a living?

I’m a Photographer and Owner of A Little Photo Studio, and Mike is the Owner and Operator of Heritage Bicycles, Larry’s Chicago and Heritage Outpost.

Please tell us a bit about yourself and the people in the photo with you.

We are a family made up of entrepreneurs. My husband and I both ventured out of the typical work world in 2011 when our first son was born. Together we opened Heritage Bicycles in Lakeview. Since then, we have opened my photography studio/event space, A Little Photo Studio, along with eight other locations including a bar, Larry’s.

Why did you decide to have a photo session?

A few reasons actually—we were supposed to be in Peru celebrating my husband’s grandmother’s 100th birthday in which I had decided for the FIRST time to book a photo session for our family with a photographer in Peru (and that did not get to happen). Then it was actually my husband’s birthday, so I thought it would be a fun activity to do in the day. Lastly, I had been documenting my kids throughout this time, but not us as a family and thought it would be special to do so (and we loved Jaclyn’s style!).

How has COVID-19 and the lockdown impacted you?

We are a double-income small business family, so this has impacted every aspect of our life. We are grateful for our health and the health of those around us first but pivoting and speed of work became the name of the game for the last 2 months. Let’s just say there is no down time in this household.

How have you found moments of joy?

There is no other time in the world that you get to have no outside plans. The time not spent running from activity to sport to dinner with friends has opened up some space for other projects and thoughts. We have had time to see all aspects of the kids’ days and realize more than ever that they won’t be this young for long. This unlimited brother time will be pretty monumental in their lives.

Anything else?

We are so grateful to have such an amazing circle of creative entrepreneurs in Chicago and when it came down to it, we all had each other’s backs and were supporting each other through this crazy moment in life.

Omar Brown, Evanston

Photographed by Yancey Hughes

Omar Brown family
Omar and Tanya Brown, with their kids Faith & Omar Jr

What do you do for a living?

I’m a Management Consultant.

Why did you decide to have a photo session?

We wanted to make sure there were some black families represented.

How has COVID-19 and the lockdown impacted you?

I typically travel every week for work, instead of traveling I’m conducting virtual meetings.

How have you found moments of joy?

Yes, we have family dinners together every night, and movie night every Friday and Saturday

Emily Berman, North Park

Photographed by Erielle Bakkum who has donated $11,675 to The Greater Chicago Food Depository

The Berman Family
Emily & Craighton Berman with their boys Gus and Henry, and their dog Norman

What do you do for a living?

I’m a Studio Manager/Personal Chef and Craighton is a designer and illustrator.

Please tell us a bit about yourself and the people in the photo with you.

Our family has lived in North Park for about 5 years. Henry is 9 and in 3rd grade and Gus is 5 and in kindergarten. I am currently on leave from my job to care for and home school the kids (I’m a full time personal chef at a design firm so I can’t really do my job remotely while the studio is all working remote) and Craighton is working from home at his illustration/design work and the small housewares company he started – www.manual.is.

Why did you decide to have a photo session?

My good friend, Erielle Bakkum was doing front porch shoots and donating a portion of her proceeds to the Chicago Food Depository so I thought it was a good way to document this weird time we are in, support a friend and also a good cause.

How has COVID-19 and the lockdown impacted you?

Like everyone else, we are home together trying to balance work, school and keep life as normal as possible for our kids. I have been struggling with anxiety and depression, but luckily I have access to the care and support that I need to help me through it. I worry about the possibility of losing my job as things continue. On a positive note, our family has grown closer and the boys have strengthened their bond as each other’s playmate these past two months. Norman the dog has been in heaven!

How have you found moments of joy?

We miss our old routines but luckily our best friends live across the street and we’ve been spending some social distance time with them as the weather has improved. We have also been baking a lot (like everyone else) and doing puzzles (like everyone else) and starting some new traditions like movies and homemade pizza every Friday night.

Anything else?

We are all in this together! Stay safe, stay healthy and stay positive!

Cicely Fleming, Evanston

Photographed by Yancey Hughes

Fleming Family
Cicely and Andrew Fleming, with their children Cole, Genevieve and Natalia

What do you do for a living?

I’m on the Evanston City Council and Andrew is a COO.

Please tell us a bit about yourself and the people in the photo with you.

I sit on Evanston City Council and founded a political non profit focused on racial inequities in our local schools. Andrew is COO of a sport tech company. Our twins (Cole & Genevieve) are finishing their Jr year at ETHS and Natalia is finishing 8th grade. We have celebrated our 18th wedding anniversary, Andrew’s 44th birthday, Andrew started a new job, Natalia’s 8th grade graduation all in quarantine.

Why did you decide to have a photo session?

Yancey Hughes, the photographer, asked us to participate as he is capturing Shelter-In-Place images around town.

How has COVID-19 and the lockdown impacted you?

My work is quite busy so my family keeps a normal 9-3 p.m. work schedule. It’s so emotionally painful to see the needs increase, the inequities heightened, and the judgements (and lack of empathy) on display on social media.

How have you found moments of joy?

Eating dinner daily as a complete family (pre-pandemic at least one person was missing each night). Finding new places to explore from the car and exploring some of the counties Forest Preserves. We take a walk each night as a family.

 

Meaghan Jacobsen, Roscoe Village

Photographed by Classic Kids

Michael & Meaghan Jacobsen, with their children Thomas and Maria (and Clare the dog)

What do you do for a living?

I’m a banker and Michael is an attorney.

Please tell us a bit about yourself and the people in the photo with you.

Michael and I have been married almost 5 years. Since then we have been having a great time with our dog, Clare (almost 4), our son, Thomas (almost 2.5) and, the newest addition to the family, Maria (5 weeks old).

Why did you decide to have a photo session?

We wanted to capture this special (and crazy) time during Maria’s newborn phase as well as our new house.

How has COVID-19 and the lockdown impacted you?

Given we have a newborn our social life has not changed much. However, it has been difficult that family and friends cannot stop by and help/visit as they did with our first born.

How have you found moments of joy?

Our children, including our dog, continue to make us smile and laugh every day.

Anything else?

Thanks to Classic Kids for wrangling our crazy crew and capturing this time in our life!

 

Tim Hogan, Evanston

Photographed by Yancey Hughes

Tim Hogan family
Tim and Amy Hogan with their kids Leo, Ivy, and Henry

What do you do for a living?

I’m a Creative Director, Amy is a clinical therapist.

Please tell us a bit about yourself and the people in the photo with you.

We are a family of five who lived in Chicago until 2016, when we relocated to our mid century home in the woods. Leo (13) is a musician and plays in a rock band named Gemini, Ivy (11) is a dancer with Dance Center Evanston and bakes her own pastries, Henry (7) likes sports and solving Rubick’s cubes, Amy likes gardening and roller skating, Tim is an avid cyclist and is working with the city of Evanston designing posters to help encourage the community to wear masks when visiting local businesses (recoverevanston.com).

Why did you decide to have a photo session?

We’re fans of the photographer Yancey Hughes, and thought his idea for the series documenting local families on lock down seemed like a good idea.

How has COVID-19 and the lockdown impacted you?

We’ve had to learn to be self-directed when e-learning and working from home, creating space and time for what needs to get done and what we want to do for fun and exercise.

How have you found moments of joy?

Many. We installed a basketball hoop in the driveway, and recently added a chicken coop and three chicks to the family. We play instruments, make meals and play games together. It’s a rare concentrated period that we know won’t last and are trying to make the most of it.

Kiana Philip, Chicago

Photographed by Christine Pejoski

The Philip Family

What do you do for a living?

I am a special education teacher.

Please tell us a bit about yourself and the people in the photo with you.

My husband, son and I live on the North side of the city.

Why did you decide to have a photo session?

I knew that my friend, Christine, was a photographer and I wanted to capture the moments that somewhat define our life staying home these days.

How has COVID-19 and the lockdown impacted you?

We have adjusted to working from home while parenting and trying to be creative in way to keep our toddler busy while everything was shut down.

How have you found moments of joy?

Spending extra time with my family and my two year old. His smile and laughter is contagious!

Karen Girolami Callam, Evanston

Photographed by Yancey Hughes

Karen Girolami Callam
Kirby Callam, Santiago Callam, Karen Girolami Callam, Triana Callam, Gemma Callam

What do you do for a living?

Kirby is Director of EvanSTEM at Evanston Skokie District 65; Karen is a writer, communications consultant, singer, and teaching artist.

Please tell us a bit about yourself and the people in the photo with you.

We have been married and living in this 1879 farmhouse since 2000. Triana just finished her first year at McGill University in Montreal and has been home since mid March, finishing the year online. She’s studying anthropology and Spanish, and plans to return in August, even though most learning will be online. Santiago is a ETHS junior, missing the tennis season and stage performances of ETHS Writer’s Showcase (canceled in March) and Mudlark Theater’s Shakespeare on the Ridge (canceled for June). He is doing online college tours and trying to imagine how to choose a school without seeing one! Gemma is a 6th grader at Nichols, missing school so much that she starts her online day by walking from home to school and back.

Why did you decide to have a photo session?

Yancey Hughes, photographer, is a friend, and he suggested the idea early on. We were intrigued, knowing that this would capture a moment in time that we’ll remember forever. Little did we know in March when he took the photo how much longer the quarantine would last.

How has COVID-19 and the lockdown impacted you?

We’re so fortunate to have work and passions we can continue to pursue from home. I’m writing articles for foundations and nonprofits about their work and the impact on communities they serve, and teaching Hola Wiggleworms online for Old Town School. Kirby is teaching 8th grade Honors Geometry to Chute School students online while creating virtual STEM programming. The kids are each in their very different online education worlds, and our middle schooler, high schooler, and college student each have unique needs for focus, for stimulation, for motivation, and for social connections, and all of those are hard to come by right now.

How have you found moments of joy?

Our 6th grader Gemma organized our Callam Family Olympics during Spring Break week. Each day for a week, we competed in one or two activities, from Trampoline Dance to Laundry Basket Ball Toss to Rube Goldberg Challenge to Smoothie Making to Speed Reading. It stretched us all to try something new and laugh at ourselves and play together.

Anything else?

We are anxiously awaiting news if we will be able to host, as planned, our third Spanish “daughter” exchange high school student. We lived as a family in Sevilla, Spain during 2013-14, and became close friends with a family who has sent their daughters, one by one, as exchange students to live with us. We hosted Carmen in 2015-16, Laura in 2017-18 and hope to host Margoti in 2020-21. We want to be hopeful, but with so many cancellations everywhere, we’re really concerned. It has one of the best aspects of raising our family–our connections to Spain, to Spanish, and to the loving and intense experience of hosting these wonderful young women for a year each. We hope to continue this amazing tradition.

 

Ann Covode, Evanston

Photographed by Yancey Hughes

From left to right: Ann Covode, Marketing Specialist – Eve Alfille Gallery & Studio, Teresa Klier – Principal, Strategic Analytics, IRI Worldwide, Shari Greco Reiches – Principal Rappaport Reiches Capital Management, Paula Jacobi – Lawyer partner at Barnes & Thornburg, Elaine Lev – Assistant Vice President – Senior Legal Counsel,AT&T, Marianne Moberly – Self employed non-profit consultant, Linda Burtch Honnold – Managing Director of Burtch Works Executive Recruiting, Cathy Callal – Physician. Zeke and Honey also pictured.

Please tell us a bit about yourself and the people in the photo with you.

We are a group of women who workout together twice a week with personal trainer Nibra White at Fleetwood-Jordain Community Center in Evanston. Since the pandemic has started, we have been walking as a group around Evanston each morning. We meet at each of our houses in different parts of Evanston to start each social distancing walk. We have seen a lot of Evanston in these past few weeks! This has given us a chance to connect in a safe way during this unprecedented time.

Why did you decide to have a photo session?

We wanted to mark this pivotal moment in time.

How has COVID-19 and the lockdown impacted you?

While most of us have been able to work from home we all have been isolated in some way. One of our participant’s husband has been afflicted with Covid-19.

How have you found moments of joy?

Walking together has given us joy and connection!

Anything else?

Our group has been extremely blessed through all of this and would like to applaud our healthcare workers and essential workers who are on the frontlines. Thank you!


How to help:

Many are finding that helping others is an effective way to help combat feelings of powerlessness in the face of COVID-19. Here are some deserving nonprofits, including food pantries, that need your support.


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Macaire Douglas lives in the Chicago suburbs with her husband and two sons. She proudly supports Save Abandoned Babies Foundation, a Chicago-based nonprofit organization that works tirelessly to prevent the illegal abandonment of newborns nationwide. Since its inception in 2000, more than 3,600 newborns have been safely surrendered and adopted into loving homes.

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