Caring in Action: Winfield photographer rallies neighbors to raise money to battle hunger

Heidi Aubin says her photography business was busy before the COVID-19 shutdown.

Families had booked the Winfield photographer to take "mommy and me" pictures in anticipation of Mother's Day. Others had hired her to take photographs of their newborns.

All those sessions had to be postponed or canceled when Illinois' stay-at-home order took effect in March.

Despite her business coming to an unexpected halt, Aubin says she was thankful to have more time to spend with her husband, Ryan, and their three children ages 5, 4 and 9 months.

"I felt like it was nice just to focus on my kids," she said. "We had family time."

But as the shutdown dragged on and the unemployment rate jumped across the country, Aubin became increasingly concerned about other families that were struggling financially.

"You turned on the news and it was heartbreaking," she said. "I couldn't stay idle. I felt deep inside I had to do something."

So in early April, Aubin went on her neighborhood's Facebook page and made an offer.

She would provide her services at no charge for families in the Silverwood Glen neighborhood that wanted to have their photographs taken on their front porches.

In return, she asked participating families to donate money to the Food Insecurity Crisis Fund, which helps Wheaton Warrenville Unit District 200 students and families in need.

As a result of her efforts, Aubin's neighbors, friends and family members raised roughly $1,700 for the fund.

"Everyone was just so generous," she said. "It was amazing to see how generous the families were."

She also captured dozens of images that appear on a blog at her heidiaubinphotography.com website.

"It was really cool and fun to get so many great pictures of my neighbors," she said. "There were so many families and so much gratitude. We all came away with a wonderful feeling."

Aubin became a professional photographer about eight years ago after taking classes and shooting pictures as a hobby. She likes to create images that capture the connection between people.

"I enjoy seeing different personalities come to life," she said.

Aubin - who specializes in newborn, family and personal branding photography - prefers to shoot outdoors an hour or two before sunset.

As part of the porch family photos project, she did sessions with 20 families over a three-day period in May. All the sessions were done between 5:30 and 7:30 p.m.

Each family stayed on their porch or front yard while Aubin maintained a safe distance of 10 feet.

On one evening, Aubin photographed 15 families. She remembers looking down a street at neatly dressed families waiting for their turn to be photographed. It was a festive atmosphere, she said.

"The families were all just so happy to be outside of their house," she said. "The weather was getting nice. It was a very positive and pleasant experience, I believe, for everyone."