I am so excited about my current portraiture project! I'm photographing families who have adopted older children from other countries after participating in the Summer of Hope program (www.summerofhope.org). The program gives kids (ages 8-15) who are living in orphanges around the world the opportunity to spend four weeks in the home of an American family. The program aims to give these kids an experience of loving home life and ultimately a hope for the future. Many of the families who act as host homes during the Summer of Hope program end up adopting the kids that stay with them, or help to connect them with other families who are interested in adopting. I've come to understand that adopting older kids can be very trying, but also very rewarding. A unique situation is created when an older kid is adopted from another country.
I have had so much fun getting to know the two families I have photographed so far. The second family's photo shows how the baby was stealing the show! Everyone had so much fun trying to get him to look at the camera and to smile. However, I think this image tells a lot about the family's collective personality (fun!).
