Davidsonville Photographer Prepares for 2012 Little Angels Calendar

Linda McCarthy, owner of Visual Concepts Photography in Davidsonville, had an idea a few years ago to do a calendar to benefit a charity. As a photographer who works frequently with children, she thought that a "Little Angels" calendar could be a great product. 

Around that time, she got a quarterly magazine from Anne Arundel Medical Center. "I wanted to keep it in my backyard," McCarthy said.

She decided to give the proceeds from the calendar to the AAMC Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

So the first year, she put out a call for children to be photographed. She had a handful—enough for the 12 months of the calendar—and the product made a little money that she was able to gift to the hospital.

Each year, as more have heard of it, McCarthy has had an increase in participants. She will photograph as many as 100 children, using what she feels are the 12 best photographs that come from the sessions.

Last year, McCarthy and the AAMC NICU decided to do a voting component, where the 12 photos that will be included in the calendar are posted on the AAMC website and from there, users pay $1 to vote on which photo should be the cover art.

With that addition to the program, the calendar and voting pulled in $25,000 according to McCarthy.

How the shoots work

McCarthy takes anyone who wants to participate. They have to be 0 to 36 months. They do not have to have been NICU babies.

The sessions take anywhere from 10 minutes to a half-hour, depending on how comfortable the child is with the process. The children are dressed in different costumes that McCarthy keeps in her studio—or sometimes parents and caregivers bring their own.

"We have about 99 percent success with the children," McCarthy said.

Once the shoot is completed, McCarthy shows the photographs to parents and takes orders. With the Angel Calendar shoot there is no session fee. The cost for the photos can range from $30 for a few smaller images to $900 for a full package with retouching.

Many of the people who come to participate in the Angel Calendar have some connection to the NICU. Either their child was there, or a cousin, nephew or friend had an experience.

"I get a lot of Angel moms from the past," McCarthy said.

Christy Beales said that she wanted to bring her daughter, Kallie, 2, to participate because she had another daughter born in the NICU, and neices and nephews who were delivered unexpectedly at 24 weeks.

"We are more than happy to do anything we can to help with the NIC unit," Beales said.

"They saved my daughter's life," is one of the things McCarthy said she has heard over the over.

The shoots run during the week and on Saturdays through April. Call Visual Concepts to schedule an appointment, 410-626-7474. The calendar for 2012 will be available in November at Visual Concepts or the Anne Arundel Medical Center gift shop.