New York photographer Stephanie Diani traveled all across Canada when she was approached by creative director, Marko Kokic, to photograph the Canadian Red Cross campaign, “Faces of Humanity.” The assignment came from Getty Images’ assignment division, and the campaign called for Stephanie to photograph the delegates of the Canadian Red Cross in Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, and Calgary in the settings where they carry out their work. The CRC delegates do field work to provide aid to people in need, and Stephanie was all too happy to be a part of a campaign supporting such good.
The “Faces of Humanity” campaign will likely increase the number of willing delegates, which is a very satisfying project to contribute to.
The goal of the “Faces of Humanity” campaign is to increase volunteering in Canada, so they wanted to get portraits of the real people who are doing this beneficial work in a way that would connect with the public. Stephanie says her ability to connect with her subjects was key. “Eliciting a feeling from subjects in front of the camera—confidence, pride, satisfaction, happiness—and getting them to relax,” she says, was essential for communicating who they were and what their cause was about.
If they’re connecting with me, they’re connecting with the viewers, and once that happens, the images will hopefully stick in the viewers’ minds for more than a heartbeat or a finger swipe.
While the CRC handled the casting, scouting, and scheduling, Stepahnie’s trip was no walk in the park. She and her very small crew carried 250 pounds of gear with them for the duration of the trip. She says the CRC representatives in each city were incredibly helpful, but getting through airports and in and out of cities, the team was on their own. “It was a good workout,” notes Stephanie.
Stephanie shot around two delegates each day, and because the CRC was considering both a poster and billboard campaign, she had to be sure to get a horizontal and vertical photo of each person. Despite the tight schedule and heavy lifting, Stephanie says this trip really was amazing for her, getting to work with an incredible team and experiencing some of the beautiful country.
The images will be shared across four of the biggest cities in Canada on billboards, in subways, and of course, digitally. So it’s safe to say that quite a few million people will come face to face with “Faces of Humanity.”
To view more of Stephanie’s work, visit stephaniediani.com.