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The 208

Front porch family photos bring smiles to Star residents

Photographer Jean Wolford is taking fun family photos to spread some smiles during the pandemic.

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STAR, Idaho — Staying social while social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic can be a challenge.

A lot of people are meeting up over video calls, while others are setting up chairs across the street so they can chat with their neighbors.

Photographer Jean Wolford in Star has adopted another method - the Front Porch Project.

“I was seeing a lot of people saying they were bored on social media, asking, 'I don’t know what to do with my kids. They are driving me insane,'” Wolford said.

So, she decided to give them something to do - family photos.

“So I started the Facebook group, just to kind of get things organized,” Wolford said.

Thus, the Star Front Porch Project was created.

“We have done 37 homes so far,” Wolford said.

She wanted to keep things organized, so she put out some basic rules.

One “rule” though set the tone for the ”stars” of Star.

“I think it was rule number five, I am going to be really disappointed if we don’t have some toilet paper, some hand sanitizer, and some alcohol in some of these photos,” Wolford said. “They got very creative.”

Some families went all in.

“We got a little bit of the Tiger King going on out there,” laughed Wolford. “Pets! Pets was a big deal,” she said.

Speaking of pets, Wolford brought her own dog, Zoey, for a little bit of moral support.

“My helper was as bored as I was standing at the door the second day I was going out, and she just looked so sad," she said. "So, I said come on, let’s go."

So far, the five-minute photo shoots have been a hit.

“The kids were having so much fun and they couldn’t wait to tell me what part they took in it,” Wolford said. I’ve gotten some great stories.”

Credit: Jean Wolford
Photographer Jean Wolford has captured photos of dozens of families on their porches as part of the Star Front Porch Project.

Those stories now live on Facebook for families to bond over. You can also see them all in one place on Wolford's website.

“They start cheering each other on," Wolford said. "It's brought a lot of camaraderie, a lot of fun. Being able to laugh and brighten our spirits."

Wolford still works another job, so her shoots are usually on nights and weekends. Her availability can be hard to find.

“Saturday is already booked for an 8- to 10-hour day.”

All of her front porch photos are free of charge.

“There is no reason to charge people right now, they need something to make them happy to get them through this,” Wolford said.

So, why does she do it?

“I wanted to bring something positive to our city, I wanted to bring some fun. Give people a reason to put on makeup, put on some jeans, or hard pants has some people like to call them,” Wolford said. “Thanks for bringing a smile to a more somber day, thanks for making me laugh today.”

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