Adopt-A-Child Photography (AACP) is a collaboration between its volunteers and the Northwest Adoption Exchange that began in 2015. Today, AACP recruits and prepares professional photographers to work with the specific needs of youth waiting to be adopted in Washington state.

We know that professional portraits increase inquiries about youth who are interested in being adopted, ultimately increasing their chances of finding an adoptive family.

Below is an example of before and after photographs for Deon’s profile. Deon was successfully adopted after his photo session, which CNN wrote about.

The idea for AACP came about when AACP founder Jennifer Loomis, of Jennier Loomis Photography, was thinking of adopting. She was surprised and saddened at the lack of quality photographs the youth profiles had. She emailed Northwest Adoption Exchange to offer her services, thinking that professional portraits on the profiles could help youth find a family.

That email resulted in a two-day photo session for older male youth who often face barriers in the adoption process because of their age and gender. Almost 50 percent of the youth photographed were adopted. The photo session was made possible thanks to the help of fellow photographer Rocky Salskov.

Now, Rachel Anne Seymour is serving as the director of AACP. She became involved in the organization during 2018 and has since stepped up to support AACP in a larger capacity. Rachel has a background in documentary photography and multimedia journalism. She now works as a strategic communications professional.

AACP is supported by SEED.