Victor Moreno has shot dozens of covers for InMaricopa, magazine but in terms of volume, the magazine photos are a small percentage of his work.
He shoots photos at all kinds of community happenings. Sometimes, the City hires him for events; other times he’s capturing events on his own time. When people see Victor coming their way with a camera, they know it’s time to smile. He shares photos on his Facebook page.
But in early 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit Maricopans the hardest, there weren’t many people smiling.
The pandemic struck in the spring months and some people started losing jobs. As a result, suddenly out-of-work parents were calling Victor to cancel or postpone their children’s planned graduation portraits.
“They were telling me that they couldn’t afford it because the husband lost his job and the wife was the only one working, or vice versa,” Victor said.
Graduating high school is a special time for kids everywhere. That year was disappointing for many, as the annual commencement at Ram Stadium would be canceled, with graduates picking up their diplomas in a drive-thru ceremony. And then the cap-and-gown photos treasured by parents were in jeopardy for some.
In many ways, the portraits represent the final chapter of childhood for these kids and their parents.
Victor wanted to help. He wanted to make a difference in these family’s lives.
“I felt bad for them,” Victor said.
Inspiration came from Linette Caroselli, a local teacher. She sponsored the first graduate, paying for the photos of a graduate whose family couldn’t afford them in tough times, and showed Victor how he could move forward in a way that helped everyone.
“She called me and asked me, ‘May I sponsor a kid?’” Victor recalled. “She told me that there was a family she cared for and they didn’t have a way to pay for it, but she wanted to give them that as a gift.'”
A good deed blossoms
Hoping to restore some semblance of normalcy for graduates and their families, Victor found a way to get the community involved — to ensure more families were able to get portraits.
First, he cut his photography rates by half, and then he followed up by asking local businesses to sponsor more kids.
And while the program started two years ago was intended to help families who had run into a rough patch during the pandemic, it has blossomed into something much bigger.
In 2020, Victor and local businesses put 65 kids through his lens that likely would have gone without professional portraits. Last year, the number was 98. And this year it will exceed 100. He still does the work at a 50% discount, and local businesses and individuals pay the balance. For example, this year, Global Water will sponsor five graduates.
But now his efforts have moved beyond a needs-based program. It’s become a way of people in the community doing something nice for their neighbors.
Some benefactors sponsor a graduate or two matching interests they had in high school.
“I have one person who wanted to sponsor a student who participated in band,” Victor said. “I got in touch with the guidance counselor at the high school and we found a student who fit.”
Some business owners use the arrangement as an opportunity to thank employees. If they have a worker whose son or daughter is graduating, they will sponsor the student.
In other cases, the portraits are paid for by a friend of the graduate’s family.
Custom photo sessions
While these photo shoots normally are about an hour long, there’s a lot of work behind the scenes. The effort begins weeks before the first photo is taken.
Victor learns about the students and tries to conceptualize a photoshoot that fits. Then, after identifying a location and theme, he organizes the time and location of the shoot.
To watch Victor work is to see an artist in his element. He takes time to talk to the graduates and form a rapport with them. He makes these graduates, and basically anyone else who steps in front of his camera, feel like a million dollars. It’s their day in the spotlight.
It’s important, he explained.
“I will talk to them about their college plans or whatever they’re planning to do after graduation. I want them to feel comfortable,” Victor said. “I want them to look relaxed in their photos.”
Following the actual shoot, there’s work to do processing the photos. And later, he catches up with the parents and delivers the photos.
This year, his annual project kicked off in the first week of February. He works long hours to get most of the shots done before the graduation ceremony.
Until then, there is no such thing as a free weekend for Victor.
And he wouldn’t have it any other way.
This story was first published in the March edition of InMaricopa magazine.
