Community and garden photography

Jerome Home: community activities and garden photography

Community photography that pairs shared moments at the table with the gardens and grounds around Jerome Home.

Photographed for The West Hartford Book.

Smiling people at a table raising their glasses at Jerome Home — People raising glasses at a table.

The assignment

Jerome Home was part of our photography for the West Hartford Book. The aim was to show the place through what happens there and the grounds around it: shared moments at a table, a game in progress, and a garden with a pond, a building and a gazebo.

The garden sets the scene. The pond leads the eye into the picture, and the building and gazebo behind it give the grounds their setting.

Garden pond with a building and a gazebo behind it at Jerome Home — The garden pond, with the building and gazebo beyond.

Photographing people who are not used to posing

Several of the people we photographed were not accustomed to posing. That was the real challenge here. For people who do not pose regularly, clear and considerate guidance can make the experience easier.

So we kept the direction clear and kind. A portrait of two people depends on simple guidance about where to stand and how to turn toward one another, so the pose feels natural. The two-person portrait here shows the result outdoors.

Two people posed together outdoors in a portrait at Jerome Home — A two-person portrait outdoors.

Directing a group, sensitively

Directing several people at once adds another layer. A group needs to be arranged so everyone is visible and the composition holds together, while each person still feels looked after. Sensitive direction was part of the work: giving clear instructions, keeping the mood easy, and letting the activity itself carry the picture.

The tile game shows both ends of that approach. The wider frame gathers the group around the table, and the closer one rests on a single smiling player.

Group of people gathered around a tile game table at Jerome Home — A group around the tile game table.

Smiling woman playing a tile game at a table at Jerome Home — A closer look at one player.

The finished photographs

The finished set opens on a toast, with smiling faces and raised glasses, and moves through a game, two portraits and a garden. It shows Jerome Home as a place of shared activity and calm grounds, with smiling people at the centre of the frame. The pictures keep their attention on the people and the setting, and they work together as one visual introduction to the place. The framing changes with the subject: a wide frame for the table, a closer one for a single player and a pulled-back view for the pond, so each picture has the scale it needs.

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Legend's work for The West Hartford Book

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