Pictage Teams up with World’s Best Professional Photographers and Catholic Charities Archdiocese of New Orleans to Offer Free Photo Shoots to Area Families Affected by Hurricane Katrina

TORRANCE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Pictage, Inc., the industry’s leading provider of online image hosting, printing, marketing, and e-commerce solutions to professional photographers, today announced it is partnering with over 100 world-renowned professional photographers, and representatives of Catholic Charities Archdiocese of New Orleans, to offer free photo shoots on Thursday, Nov. 5, 2009, to more than 200 families adversely impacted by Hurricane Katrina. The half-day event, scheduled from 1:00 – 6:00 p.m. CST, is exclusively designed to replace priceless family photographs lost or destroyed in the wake of the devastating 2005 natural disaster which tore through New Orleans, surrounding communities, and neighboring Gulf Coast states.

The series of family portrait sessions conclude Pictage’s annual Partner Conference, Nov. 3-5, 2009, at the Astor Crowne Plaza Hotel in New Orleans’ historic French Quarter. The exclusive gathering, expected to draw the largest contingent of Pictage members and partners ever in the company’s 10-year history, celebrates and explores the unique perspectives and remarkable ingenuity of today’s talented professional photographers through the conference theme, “Dream. Create. Inspire.”

“New Orleans has bounced back as a major center of creativity and celebration after Katrina, but many families are still rebuilding their lives. With hundreds of distinguished professional photographers joining us for PartnerCon, we were inspired to invite them to participate in a community service initiative that will have an enduring, positive impact on some of the Crescent City’s most hard-hit families,” said Jim Collins, chief executive officer of Pictage, Inc., and an experienced photographer. “After hearing the heartbreaking stories from affected families about losing everything precious to them, including their photos, we felt strongly that the Pictage community is in a unique position to be of service to them by capturing moments and creating new family portraits that will endure and be celebrated for years to come.”

Catholic Charities Archdiocese of New Orleans is working directly with Pictage employees to identify those families in greatest need of this service. With the assistance of over 600 staff members, the organization offers 45 life-giving programs, including those that address such pressing issues as hurricane recovery, hunger, poverty, unemployment, domestic violence, the mentally ill, low-income seniors, and at-risk children, throughout Southeast Louisiana.

On Thursday, Nov. 5, Pictage will set up numerous shooting stations at the Oscar J. Dunn Lodge, No. 85 F&AM, in Gretna, La., with each station equipped with professional lighting equipment, multiple back-drops, and other related gear, to accommodate all participating families. Every shoot, lasting approximately 15 minutes, will be managed by a volunteer team consisting of a professional photographer, an assistant, a runner, and a laptop attendant overseeing image downloads. Upon the shoot’s completion, the family will receive a CD-ROM containing their images, and a package of assorted prints will be delivered to their home several weeks later.

About Pictage, Inc.

Founded in 2000, Pictage, Inc. is the industry’s leading provider of online image hosting, printing, marketing and e-commerce solutions to professional photographers. Serving more than 8,000 practitioners nationwide, Pictage offers photographers freedom from every angle by serving as their complete, one-stop business partner and resource for online viewing, marketing, sales, and printing of professionally-produced images. The company’s broad range of services and products are designed to fit within a professional event photographer’s work flow; significantly reduce the time and effort needed to present, market and sell images and photo products to clients; and increase photographer revenue. Most importantly, Pictage gives professional photographers the power and flexibility to efficiently manage their respective businesses, and continue making favorable, lasting impressions with their clients. For more information, please visit http://www.pictage.com.

About Catholic Charities Archdiocese of New Orleans

Catholic Charities marks its beginning in 1727, when Ursuline nuns came from Europe to New Orleans to minister to the poor and sick. Incorporated in 1934, Catholic Charities is the humanitarian arm of the Archdiocese of New Orleans, covering eight civil parishes in Southeast Louisiana. Programs serve the hungry, survivors of domestic violence, those living with mental illness, children from low-income families, seniors, developmentally-delayed children and adults, and many others. For more information, please visit http://www.ccano.org.