We love a workshop! As often as possible, we invite young people to work with us. It's the perfect way to teach graphic design, photography and inspire creativity. One Sunday afternoon, Chris and I cleared the first floor of our home to make room for a photo shoot. 

The kids showed up and took over.

Back row left to right - Piper Martin, Becca Stevenson, Jenna Kahwash, Sarah Stevenson. Front row left to right - Ethan Stevenson, Emma Malinsoki.

Sarah, a high school senior, has been working with us for three years. She prepared everyone for the shoot. “I adore the art of hair and makeup,” Sarah said. She has readied many of her friends for Homecoming and Prom at Fairland High, but this was her first time making people look good for a product photo shoot. “I made sure everybody’s face was fresh that day. It was a blast.”

Emma Malinoski, a high school junior and next door neighbor, was having a good time at the shoot both in front of and behind the camera. Emma has worked with us for years, she also has photo credits for one of our best selling posters -- “Read to Imagine.”

While Emma thinks it’s cool that poster is hanging in thousands of libraries and classrooms all over the world, she has learned that selling the posters was a lot more difficult than it was to push a button on a camera. “Working with Echo-Lit, I’ve learned that setting up and maintaining an Internet business isn’t as simple as it seems,” Emma said. “I don’t think people understand how much goes into something as simple as this photo shoot. Each of the photos that will be used requires makeup, lighting and lots of set up to get the angle just right.” 

Ethan Stevenson proudly shows our Historical Fiction poster which happens to feature a photo of Ethan himself taken at Heritage Farms in Huntington, WV. Ethan is in eighth grader from Proctorville, Ohio.

Piper Martin frames the shot while Becca Stevenson looks on.

Piper Martin wrangled her peers that day. The high school freshman took photos in addition to modeling herself, and was tasked with making sure everyone was holding the posters correctly for most of the shots. “A lot more goes into these types of projects than it seems,” Piper said. “Usually we all see the finished product, and it seems like it was quick and easy. In reality though, there was a good amount of time put into the models’ makeup and wardrobe, the setup for background and lighting and other tiny details.”

Piper is a veteran of many photo shoots set up throughout our Fort Hill neighborhood, including a personal favorite that required a high, stacked hairstyle and enormous wings, but not everything at Echo-Lit is glamorous, she groused. “I do all sorts of work for the company that’s not as artsy. Stuff like laminating posters, trimming them, stamping envelopes and sorting invoices.” 

While modeling our "Do What You Can" poster, Jenna Kahwash learns posing for the camera is tougher than it looks. Gorgeous Jenna is a freshman in high school here in Charleston, WV.

Piper and our kitty.

We are looking forward to working with this crew again.