It’s really a simple idea:

A photo by Stephen Katz, photojournalist and co-founder of Shoot for Good.

In one day–a full 24 hours this Saturday from midnight to midnight–all of us in Hampton Roads take a photograph of someone doing good in our community. Then go to shootforgood.org and share it. Like I said, it’s a simple idea–but its effects are sure to be profound.

I spoke with Stephen Katz, one of the co-founders of Shoot for Good, to find out more about this inspiring project.

You are–not just in this area, but nationally and internationally–recognized for your work as a photographer. Can you talk first a little bit about your passion for the medium and why you do what you do?

I have long recognized the power documentary photography and thoughtful journalism has to inspire, educate and affect change. In fact, it was at the early age of 15–when I started a winter clothing drive in my community for the homeless in New York City–that this became perfectly clear to me. The first year I ran the program, we collected a few hundred items, including coats and blankets, and brought them to three shelters in a couple mini-vans. The next year, Newsday did an article and photo about the program, and seemingly overnight we filled my high school’s auditorium with mound after mound of clothing as tall as I was. We delivered somewhere in the realm of 20 thousand articles of clothing to over a dozen shelters in the city on school buses. The governor made it one of his top 10 philanthropies of the year the following year. So years later, when I was a frustrated social worker in Washington DC, I fell back on my love of photography as a tool to help more people than just the students at my tutorial center, and I became a photojournalist. Since then, whether working in a hydrocephalus ward in Manila, a mental hospital in Nigeria or with a foster family in Fredericksburg, VA, I have literally seen photojournalism exponentially improve, and even save, lives.

Katz photographing for Hope House at Sugar Plum Bakery.

My path to becoming a photojournalist has been anything but traditional. I was an anthropology major in undergrad, then a social worker and later worked in PR to put myself through grad school. I have never taken a class in photography, which is why much of my interest in this line of work lies in documenting the human condition and less with the craft of photography. As a result, I don’t make photographs for the sake of taking pictures. Each frame I make has to have purpose. I have never considered what I do to be art. That’s not to say I don’t admire and honor those shooters who take photos for beauty and enjoyment. I love looking at breathtaking landscape and wildlife images as much as the next person. For me, photography is a double-edged sword. I am enormously fulfilled when I see the work that I, and others, do to help people in need. But, routinely witnessing and processing images of people suffering can take a significant toll on one’s emotional and psychological state.

One of the greatest gifts of having been in the business for a while, is working with so many talented and thoughtful photographers–a couple of whom are members of the Shoot For Good team. Steve Remich, Jennifer Ditona, Lisa Villamil and I were out for a bite to eat one night in late June. Conversation–as it often does with photographers–turned a bit geeky, and before long we were talking about how photographers have at their disposal this incredible skill and ability to help non-profits, but too many of them don’t realize it. I speak regularly at universities and conferences about “shooting for good”–and while I can see the enthusiasm on the listeners’ faces, in the end, too few of them follow through with pursuing it. So we came up with the idea of Shoot For Good to lay the groundwork for shooters to think about and pursue opportunities to focus on the positive things going on around them–an introduction of sorts between non-profits, do-gooders and photographers. Volunteer Hampton Roads was invaluable in helping us early on, and groups like EDMARC, the Virginia Beach SPCA and Hope House, that signed on right away, really got the momentum rolling.

The Shoot for Good team, including Lisa Villamil, Jennifer Ditona, and Steve Remich.

How did the project develop from there?

I am frankly amazed at how quickly Shoot For Good has evolved–essentially in just three months. Steve Remich is an absolute genius and developed an incredible website for the project, and Jennifer Ditona has been amazing at reaching out to the non-profits and organizing all aspects of the project. The two of them, and several others who have helped out enormously, are some of the most thoughtful and dedicated people I have ever known. Thanks to their hard work, within the first few days, we had thousands of hits on our website. The buzz that soon followed through social networking was mind-boggling.

Be bold, but be respectful. Good pictures come when you engage your subject. Get to know them, let them get to know you. When you care about what your photographing, viewers will see that in your work. Recognize that your subject probably hates having his or her picture taken as much as you do, so put them at ease by being friendly. Be curious. Step into your pictures–don’t stand across the room and zoom in.

We see Saturday as a wonderful break from all the bad news we are inundated with day in and day out. Shoot For Good is a window into the generous spirit of our community and will serve as an example to others, hopefully inspiring them to either do good themselves or seek ways to document and celebrate the kindness of others.

By no means does Shoot For Good end at midnight on Saturday. In the months to follow, we will be exhibiting a selection of the work around Hampton Roads in unique ways. We have been approached by many communities around the country to organize projects for them. And Shoot For Good will remain a portal through which non-profits and photographers can communicate about working together.

Shoot for Good takes place this Saturday, October 9 from midnight to midnight. To find out more about Shoot for Good, visit shootforgood.org or check out their Facebook by clicking here.