Buffalo Grove photographers giving back to graduating seniors

So much has been taken away from the Class of 2020.

School. Spring sports. Prom. Graduation.

Jordan Hollander, a photographer from Buffalo Grove, wants to give something back.

"I can't even fathom how challenging it must be for these seniors and their families," Hollander said. "Through no fault of their own, they're not getting the opportunity to experience a lot of important moments."

So Hollander, who owns his own business with his wife, Ashley, also a photographer, is offering local high schools and graduating seniors free and heavily discounted senior portrait sessions as a way to provide something positive to balance the sadness and frustration of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"I have reached out to some local high schools and also posted something on Facebook to let people know," Hollander said. "We saw people doing some 'front-porch portraits' where they have neighbors take pictures of them from the street, and we thought this was a way we could do something similar in the community as a way to give back."

Hollander said that with the help of an anonymous donation, he will be able to offer his services in a way that will allow many graduating seniors to participate once the stay-at-home order is lifted.

He has a 5-minute session in which seniors could get two to three quality portraits in a group setting that would respect social distancing.

"Say we would get 20 kids from Vernon Hills High School to sign up. We could set up a day for them all to meet us at a central location and then do a 5-minute session for each of them for free," Hollander said. "If there are seniors or families who want more, we have sessions of 15, 30 and 60 minutes that are deeply discounted. For example, our 60-minute session is usually $500 and we will be offering that for $100, and the shorter sessions for less than that."

Hollander is willing to work with high school seniors from within a 15-mile radius of Buffalo Grove.

Since the stay-at-home order in Illinois has yet to be lifted, Hollander has not set a timeline for the photo shoots, but he hopes to start them as soon as Gov. J.B. Pritzker relaxes the restrictions.

Although 25 seniors have already registered for photo shoots, Hollander said there is no deadline for registration and he would honor this deal even into the fall if customers would feel more comfortable to wait until a later date to do their shoots.

For more information, visit jhollanderphotography.com/senior-portraits.