Arthritis Foundation Gala ’18 // The Crystal Ball

Last fall, I met Liz Martin, of the Arthritis Foundation through a mutual acquaintance who was at Slow Foods Shake the Hand That Feeds You dinner. We connected on a Sunday morning as I was driving to that mornings shoot, Columbus SOUP’s fall event was that evening, and the photographer that they’d had lined up had to back out at the last-minute due to a family emergency, Liz and I were put in touch, and the rest is history. She reached out again this winter, when it came time to hire a photographer for Arthritis Foundation’s annual fundraising gala, The Crystal Ball.

Arthritis Foundation Mission Statement

For those of you not familiar with what the Arthritis Foundation does, their mission statement is this,

The Arthritis Foundation is the Champion of Yes. Leading the fight for the arthritis community, the Arthritis Foundation helps conquer everyday battles through life-changing information and resources, access to optimal care, advancements in science and community connections. Our goal is to chart a winning course, guiding families in developing personalized plans for living a full life – and making each day another stride towards a cure. We also publish Arthritis Today, the award-winning magazine that reaches 4.2 million readers. – Arthritis.org

Photographing a black tie fundraising gala? Yes please.

The gala was held this year at Villa Milano, in Westerville, and was so. much. fun. When I’m photographing an event, the frozen, staid portrait isn’t something that you’re going to get. The standard step and repeat? No thanks. If we’re going to do this, we’re going to have fun. And oh man did we.

Everyone that opted to have their photo taken ended up laughing and having snuggling thier date, or making funny faces at the camera, or really any combination of both.

A bunch of money was raised to help work towards a cure for arthritis, and we all got to rock out to Mojo Flow while we did it.