Treasure Island family portraits

An annual delight: Family Portraits at Treasure Island Casino

This business is project-driven, which means we get involved in projects that have a beginning and an end. Some projects have longer life cycles than others, and all projects are unique.

Our most recent project is a series of family portraits. The Human Resources department at Treasure Island Casino has contracted us to provide family portraits (photos taken, printed, and framed) for all of their 1,500 employees who want to participate. At first glance, this might seem like a church directory project, where efficiency is prioritized over creativity.

But it isn't, and here's why:

Each family has their own story to tell. There was the man who, despite being extremely body-conscious, proudly showed me his gastric bypass scar. Or the young family with a little boy who had serious skin graft scars all over his body from a bad burn accident, yet he was busy running around, trying to keep up with his older siblings. Or the married couple who have been together for 55 years and still enjoy ribbing each other with wisecracks. This photo is of a young mom who had just found out she is pregnant. Her joy is obvious, and she is so excited that she is exaggerating her pregnant belly.

Another aspect was the challenge of using a very spartan set consisting only of a white vinyl backdrop and a simple bench while still making every image unique. It was easy to fall into patterns of using common poses that would always work. The challenge was to slowly add to the repertoire of winning poses by experimenting.

Initially, this project was not especially welcomed because the hours were long and crazy (the casino operates on a 24-hour basis), but after two weeks of photography, I am really sorry to see it end. The casino employees are fun and genuinely fond of each other. The demographics are at the lower end of the income scale, so it has been an especially well-received perk by the employees.

This has been a lot of fun.