Matt Mendelsohn is a photographer from Old Town Alexandria and like many others his business has been affected by this pandemic. But that has not stopped him from using his skills to give back to his community.
A few nights ago around 1:30 a.m he decided instead of hopping on the trend of sharing his high school yearbook photo he thought "Why not honor this year’s seniors by actually capturing them?"
He asked for a neighbor's help to reach the class of 2020 at Yorktown High School and within two days, Mendelsohn had photographed 30 students. But he does this while properly adhering to social distancing rules.
"I wear a mask and gloves, and don’t get any closer than 15-20 feet. I use a long lens and don’t do groups. All of the shoots are one-on-one at the person’s house." He shares with Arlington Magazine.
Mendelsohn eventually wants to weave all of the portraits together into one cohesive photojournalistic essay which is why every image features a portion of the same simple backdrop.
Mendelsohn has a portrait studio in Old Town Alexandria, but this project is pro bono.
To schedule a photo shoot, sign up here.
Source: Arlington Magazine
Photo: Matt Mendelsohn Photography