The Birth Roots Family Photo Booth Fundraiser is back for an 11th year! This collaborative photojournalism essay on family life is inspired by the hope to make real family life and childhood more visible. This pop-up photo booth is a powerful glimpse into all the ways that families take shape and experience phases, moods, and imperfection, both individual and collective. See back story of this event here.

 

Tickets go on sale Monday, July 13th at noon. The event is on Tuesday, August 11th, between 3:30-6:30pm.

 

Know Before You Go:

Date: Tuesday, August 11, 2026

Time: Time slots are available between 3:30-6:30 pm for 3-minute micro-sessions

Location: Birth Roots Outdoor Classroom at 16 Vannah Ave. Portland, ME (rain location: inside Birth Roots 2nd Floor Treetop classroom)

Parking: Free parking is available in the lot at Birth Roots as well as street parking. Please allow additional time before/after your time slot to park and walk from your car as needed.

Ticket Price: $195 per family

Photo Details: Each family will receive a minimum of 10 black & white photos taken on film. Photos will be uploaded as high-resolution digital files to an online gallery. Participants will be given access to the password-protected gallery for digital downloading and printing as you please.

What to Bring: A fun loving attitude and anything your family may need to enjoy the event (snacks, water bottles, a favorite toy to play with while waiting for photos, wipes for dirty faces/hands, etc.)

What to expect:

Families register to participate in a 15-minute window for a 3-minute micro-session with Alyssa Soucy. Alyssa is a Midcoast Maine family photographer. She uses film cameras to document real family life, focusing on connection and the beauty of the everyday. Her work is all about documenting the imperfection, joy, and chaos with a kind eye. Her approach is rooted in creating photographs for the family album by allowing families to just be themselves.

Participants should not expect formal portraits. This is a playful snapshot of family and human authenticity – silly, goofy, authentic facial expressions capturing a moment of our children’s growth & development. Laughing, squinting, nose to nose, cheek to cheek, raised eyebrows, the interplay of relationship…all the things! This is an alternative to “hold still for the camera,” an approach that children tend to enjoy a whole lot more.

This is a rain or shine event. If heavy rain occurs, photos will be taken indoors at Birth Roots (Treetop, 2nd floor location).

2026 Benefit Ticket Price – $195

This event is a benefit for the nonprofit organization Birth Roots Center for Community Supported Parenting. Birth Roots’ mission is to create a culture of support for parents, beginning in pregnancy and stretching throughout the vulnerable, precious, and tumultuous days of early parenthood. This is also a way for families to have affordable family photos since we know this is cheaper than what it would cost to have a mini-session with Alyssa.

WAIT! Before you participate in this fundraising event, it is important to fully understand what the benefit is and is not. There are many “mini-session” opportunities out there for family portraits, but that is not what this event is. These images might include eyes open or closed, looking up, down or away. Not everyone in your party will necessarily be facing the same direction, in the center-middle of the frame, or looking at the same focal point at the same time. Formal portraiture is not the intent or purpose of this photojournalism essay project and fundraising event.

By clicking purchase, I am agreeing to the following terms:

– We understand that this event is a fundraiser for Birth Roots and as such tickets are nonrefundable. They are transferable, however, and may be given or sold to another family.

– We understand that the photographer, Alyssa Soucy, is volunteering her time as a generous gift to Birth Roots and should not be contacted with requests for redo’s or refunds.

– We understand that the photographer will produce images of our family unit, but not individual shots of each member separately.

– We understand that, due to the excessive time involved in making individual galleries, images will be made available in one shared gallery only accessible to participants. Individual photo waivers will be made available prior to the event allowing you to opt-out of your photos being used in Birth Roots social media or marketing.