pablove shutterbugs Virtual
Learn photography from anywhere in the world – including your hospital bed!
What you'll learn
introduction to photography
This course is designed to provide distraction and creative outlet for kids and teens currently undergoing treatment.
The introduction to photography course is an out-of-hospital program offered to patients ages 6-18. On the first day of class, each student receives their own digital camera kit, which is theirs to keep after the program ends. Students learn key photography concepts including: perspective, light and shadow, and storytelling as a form of self-expression. This program culminates with a gallery show where the community celebrates their accomplishments in a professional gallery setting.
example Pablove Shutterbugs camera kit
Teaching Artists
The teaching artist is responsible for leading our virtual photography courses for youth ages 6-18 across the country. They have a strong background in photography and know the ins and outs of teaching children and teens living with cancer.
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Ana Murphy
Ana is one of Pablove’s Local Teaching Artists representing New York City. She has been a photographer since 2012 and focuses on portraits, weddings and lifestyle work. She enjoys sharing her passion for photography and storytelling with the Shutterbugs and loves seeing their ideas come to life. Ana is originally from Mexico, and when she’s not photographing, you can find her trying out new brunch spots, walking her dog Ro, and taking care of her plants.
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Deb Hickey
Deb is a photo-collage artist living in Providence Rhode Island. She received a BS in Elementary Education and taught in Massachusetts, New York and California. After teaching she returned to school to pursue her other love—photography. Deb graduated from the Art Institute of Boston with a BFA in photography. For many years she taught black and white darkroom photography to high school students in Boston and also started her own business-Kids at Home, where she traveled to people’s homes to take portraits of their kids. In 2003, Deb moved to Providence to pursue her art career. She mainly works with photo-collage landscapes and pet portraits. In 2022 Deb was a Pablove Shutterbug Teaching Assistant and loved working with the program and the wonderful students who participated.
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Della Chen
Della is Pablove’s Local Teaching Artist representing the 206. Della has been a documentary photographer since 2004 and photographs weddings, families and editorial assignments. Della loves sharing her passion for photography with kids and is constantly inspired by their perspective. She enjoys traveling the world and being at home with her family.
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Sarah Wells
Sarah M. Wells, herself a childhood cancer survivor, has served as a Teaching Artist for Pablove Shutterbugs since 2014. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Photography from San Jose State University and has extensive teaching experience in the arts community. She was a commercial photographer and documentary photographer for 5 years until transitioning fully into teaching. She has worked as an Arts Specialist in the Palo Alto Union School District, Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, and at the Palo Alto Arts Center. She holds a Masters in Educational Psychology and is currently working towards obtaining her PhD in Educational Psychology from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Her research interests are in the effects of participatory arts on pediatric patient quality of life. In her free time, she likes to climb mountains, photograph and support her community in outdoor adventure sports.
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example student work
Through the virtual photography program, students learn a variety of fundamental photography techniques and how to express themselves while exploring the world from new perspectives.
“Cup of Me”, by Ciara, Age 13
“Prince In Action”, by Camille, Age 9
“Light Tunnel”, by Tessa, Age 8
“Mr. Ant”, by Jasia, Age 14
“Focus”, by Jeffrey, Age 12
“Las Rosas De Guadalupe”, by Diego, Age 19
“A Jungle through the Looking Glass”, by Simone, Age 10
“Jen”, by Ndubuisi, Age 11
“Andy’s Coming”, by Dafne, Age 17
Virtual programming is here to stay
The Pablove Foundation pivoted to add virtual programming to our Shutterbugs offerings in Summer 2020. As part of our evaluation program, we asked parents and Shutterbugs if they would be interested in a virtual option if there was also an in-person class in our program cities. We were astonished that 95% of respondents said that they would definitely, probably, or maybe be interested in a virtual class even if an in-person option was available at the same time. As excited as we are to have the opportunity to offer in-person programming again, we learned the value of virtual programming to our community, so it is here to stay!