More than 200 people turned up with smiles on their faces for the third annual Help Portrait Ridge Meadows.
A line-up had formed by the time the doors of Golden Ears United Church opened Saturday afternoon.
Brenda Garcia, co-organizer of the event, was thrilled with the outcome.
“We had more people than we did last year. We saw lots of people who have been with us the last year. We also saw a lot of new people. I think there were more families this year,” said Garcia, adding that everybody, both the participants and the volunteers, had fun.
Help Portrait took place around the world with 205 events in 32 countries, giving free portraits during the holiday season to those who otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford them.
This year, 34,837 portraits were taken by 2,091 photographers, with the help of 497 hairstylists, 689 make-up artists and 4,537 volunteers.
Founded by American celebrity photographer Jeremy Cowart in 2009, Help Portrait has since given out 282,295 portraits by 20,371 photographers, with 32,299 volunteers at 2,128 locations in 67 countries around the world.
Next year’s event will be held Dec. 6.