My friend, Bill Folsom, is a resident photographer at Meadowlark Botanical Gardens in Vienna, VA. He doesn't actually shoot weddings there anymore but he does teach photgraphy classes. He is looking for some "models" to pose for his students at the gardens. He can't pay the models, but he and the students will give you CDs of the digital images that they take. I actually met him a few years ago by being a volunteer myself, and we've kept in touch. I swear that he doesn't try to upsell you anything or charge you anything--he is a nice guy and just needs real people to pose for his students so that they can practice their photography. It's a great way to get free bridal portraits or engagement photos or family photos. But, if you commit to him, you need to promise to actually show up and then you need to be patient and have a good attitude with his students!
Here are the details (excerpted from an e-mail that he sent to me):
(1)
Sunday April 15, 2012 from 9am to 12pm: "I will hold a Wedding Photography Class on Sunday, April 15, 2012 from 9:00 AM to 12:00 Noon. I would like to have two "brides" per hour (9-10, 10-11, and 11-12) for a total of six brides. Preference given to "brides" who are already married and don't mind getting their shoes and dresses a bit dirty as it does rain in April and there are lots of geese on the grounds!"
(2)
Sunday April 22, 2012 from 9am to 12pm: "I'll be doing a "Better People Pictures" of families outside in the Garden (hopefully a warm day with lots of flowers). Again, I would like six families for the same time slots."
Any interested volunteers should e-mail Bill at
wfolsom@attglobal.net--include a photo (so he can identify you when you show up at the park!) and a preference for a time slot. Again, no charge to the volunteers (for the photos or the park admission). Plan on bringing along some mailing labels to give to the students so that they know where to send the DVDs with the digital images that they take of you. Also, you'll be asked to sign a model release for the students, giving the students permission to include your photos in their portfolios. Bill also sometimes posts his students' work on his website, which is
http://www.wfolsom.com/, so you can go there and see some pictures of other volunteers posing at Meadowlark.