Community Portraits

Twice a year—once in the fall and once in the spring—the Division of Strategic Communications hosts free, first come, first served community portrait sessions for UVM faculty and staff.

This is a new service that is currently being piloted, and future changes will be informed by user feedback and demand. At present, freelance photographers are engaged for these services due to the absence of an in-house photographer. The available budget limits the number of portrait slots offered to the community per session. Individuals who have had a portrait taken in the past 12 months are encouraged to allow others with more immediate needs to access the available slots.

Dates & Location

Fall Date(s): 

Wednesday, October 8 (8:00 am - 11:00am) 
Location: Outside Billings Main Entrance

Thursday, October 9 (2:00pm - 4:30pm) 
Location: Davis Center Oval; 3rd Floor Davis Center Entrance

Spring Date(s): 

TBD (Targeting March or Early April)

Summer Date(s): 

TBD

Cost & Eligibility

  • Free for UVM staff and faculty during Community Portrait Days.
  • Who can participate: UVM Faculty and Staff; we do ask that if you have had a portrait taken in the past 12 months, please consider leaving space for colleagues with a more immediate need.  You will need a UVM netid/password to log in.
  • Capacity: Due to staffing and budget, capacity is limited and first-come, first-served. We expect to be able to provide this service to around 100 staff and faculty for each community service day. We appreciate your flexibility and planning ahead for the next session if slots fill.
  • Med.uvm.edu: If you have a med.uvm.edu address you may need to open the booking link in your browser's incognito mode and log-in with your UVM netid/password (and not you med login information).

Sign Up for a Fall Portrait Slot

Note: You may need to navigate to the appropriate month to view available dates.

What to Expect at Your Session

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After your prompt arrival for your time slot, a StratComm staff member will check you in and confirm the group for your time slot has arrived.  Our photographer will quickly go over the shoot with some recommended posing and positioning tips with the group.

During your shoot our photographer will instruct you on where/how to stand for appropriate lighting and a professional UVM backdrop.  We can accommodate quick changes If you need options with and without certain items of apparel (a jacket, glasses, etc.). We expect sessions to last only 2-3 minutes per individual. 

We will have a mirror and blotting paper in-hand so you can prepare for your shoot while you wait.

Preparing for your Shoot

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  • Professionalism: Choose a look that reflects how you want to be seen in your work at UVM—from formal to business casual.
  • UVM pride: Green and gold accents or V-shield pins are welcome.
  • Personal style: Wear what feels authentic to you.
  • Clothing tips: Solid colors work best; avoid busy patterns or logos.
  • Day-of: Arrive early, check pockets, and bring a comb or brush.
  • Identification: While not required, we also recommend bringing your nametag with you.  This allows us to take an 'identity photo' at the start of your shoot to help us appropriately identify your photos for tagging and organization purposes when they arrive.

Receiving Your Photos

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After your shoot, our photographer will process your photos and deliver them to our Strategic Communications team for tagging and organization.  We expect this process to take roughly 10-14 business days from your shoot.  Once photos are ready our Strategic Communications team will send a UVM Photoshelter download link to the email you provided at registration.

Some recommended areas to use your new photo(s) include:

* Note: If you don’t manage the web group for your area, contact your area web steward for help. If you don't know who your local web steward is, feel free to reach out to the digital team via their web help request form.
 

Accessibility & Accommodations

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We’re committed to providing inclusive portrait experiences for our community. If you need disability related accommodations (lighting sensitivity, mobility access, extended time, etc.), please contact stratcomm@uvm.edu at least 5 days before your session and we will do our best to provide a reasonable accommodation for your shoot.

Booking a Spot

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When registration is open and active, you can book any available slot by:

  • Visiting the booking page url provided above.
  • Selecting a 'service'. This is typically AM or PM sessions which have different dates and locations.
  • Selecting an active date for your selected service. Please note that the booking service will not automatically navigate to the first available date, which require you to manually navigate to the appropriate month to see them.
  • Selecting a time available on that date.  When time slots are full, they will no longer appear on the selected date.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

I'm having difficulty booking a spot.

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When registration is open you should be able to book a slot by:

  • Visiting the booking page. (Med Accounts: If your primary account is a med.uvm.edu address you may need to open the booking link in your browser's incognito mode and log-in with your UVM netid/password to access the booking service.)
  • Selecting a 'service' (typically AM or PM sessions)
  • Selecting an active date for your selected service.
  • Selecting a time available on that date.

If you do not see a service available to select - it's likely a date/time has not been confirmed for an upcoming shoot, and thus registration is not yet available.

If you do not see an active date, first confirm you are on the correct month. If you are, it's likely spots have been filled up.

If you do not see a selectable time on your date, it is likely that all available time slots have been booked. You are welcome to check back in periodically to see if a slot opens up - cancellations can happen up to 24 hours before the shoot.

If you have questions or issues with your booking, please email stratcomm@uvm.edu

Will my portrait cost money?

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No—Community Portrait Days are free and provided as a courtesy of the Division of Strategic Communications. Outside these windows, photography fees apply for individual or departmental portrait shoots.

How long will this shoot take?

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To provide this service to as many people as possible, shoots must be extraordinarily quick.  We are hoping to dedicate roughly 3 minutes per-person.  Because of the speed of which we need to take photos, please be prompt in arriving to your session time and be ready for your shoot.

What determines your capacity?

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Creating, editing, and delivering portraits is a time-intensive process. Currently, we do not have an in-house photographer and therefore must hire freelance support for these services. Consequently, our available budget in conjunction with ideal lighting, available space, and even class-change scheduling determines the number of portrait slots we can offer to our community.

What if I can’t make a booking time/date—or they fill up before I’m able to register?

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We offer varied time slots in an attempt to provide as many opportunities to individuals as possible in conjunction with best hours for lighting - but acknowledge that it’s impossible to meet every schedule, for every employee, especially in a hybrid work environment. As we plan to support these twice a year our hope is that employees who wish to take advantage of this service will plan ahead for the next session.

While we cannot facilitate an individual shoot for you or your unit - we are happy to provide recommendations for freelancers we frequently work with that you can hire in order to schedule your own personal portraits session.

Is there a waitlist?

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We are not managing a waitlist at this time. We recommend checking the bookings page up to 24 hours before the shoot date as cancellations can occur and spots may open up.
 

How do I cancel or reschedule?

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Use the link in your Bookings confirmation email at least 24 hours in advance so another colleague can take your spot.  Because we do not manage a waitlist, please be prompt in freeing up your spot should you need to cancel.

Should you need to cancel once the 24 hour window of your booking, please email stratcomm@uvm.edu

What should I bring?

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A small comb/brush and any brand touches you like (e.g., V‑shield pin). We will have a mirror available to check yourself before your photo. Blotting paper will be available as needed.

It is also helpful to bring a nametag - this will help us take an 'identity' photo at the start of your session which will help us organize your photos when they come in.  No worries if you don't have one - we will also provide a small whiteboard for this purpose.

Will photos be edited?

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Minor edits will be made to photos taken during this shoot. Standard edits include—adjustments to exposure, color balancing, light blemish cleanup, and occasional background object removal (e.g. signs, cars, etc).

When will I get my files?

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We expect photos to be processed and sent to us two weeks after your shoot. After which we will send you a download link to a UVM PhotoShelter gallery to the email you provided in your booking.

Note: Galleries will contain photos of all individuals who had their photos taken during your registered block. 

What if I don’t like my portrait?

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Our goal is to take the best photos we can – but we understand that given the speed of our shoot, we won't always be able to capture the perfect portrait.  We’ll do our best to capture multiple options and offer light editing of photos, but if you are not happy with the results you are not obliged to use your photo. In this scenario, you are welcome to rebook during the next portrait window or facilitate your own off cycle shoot for a fee.

Can my department schedule a group session?

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Unfortunately we don't have the resources to handle individual or departmental requests for portraits outside these sessions. However, we are happy to provide recommendations for freelancers we frequently work with that you can hire in order to schedule your own personal portraits session.

Who owns the photos taken?

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Photography taken during these sessions will be owned by the University and is being provided to individuals for their professional and personal use as a benefit of being an employee of the University. Photos cannot be resold.

Have Additional Questions?

If you still have unanswered questions about this process, reach out!