The Urban Legacy Project – Free Senior Photos for Families in Johnstown, PA and Surrounding Areas

I never had deep conversations with my father. I don’t know much about his childhood because I never really got the chance to ask. But, as a little kid I was always fascinated with his senior picture.

I’d stare at it for hours and comb through his year book wondering what he was like back then. He looked so carefree, happy and relaxed. A sharp contrast to the man I knew. 

I’ve only seen a few pictures of my mom as a child. Never of her in high school photos or senior pictures — if she even had any taken — but she always told stories about that time of her life. I’d listen carefully and try to picture her in my mind. I never quite got it though.

As I got older, I began to understand something important about photographs. They become proof of a moment in time. Proof of who someone was before life changed them. Before responsibilities, hardships, grief, and time reshaped them into someone new.

I don’t recall the state of the union when I graduated. I don’t even know what the price for a gallon of gas was or whether or not the economy was thriving. I had a part time job making $6.25 an hour on the weekends. I can’t remember how much my mom paid for my senior pictures. She was happy to do it but I know it wasn’t easy to swing. 

Today, many families face even more financial strain than they did twenty years ago. Senior portraits can cost between $300-$1500+, and that doesn’t include outfits, shoes, hair styling and makeup. On top of that seniors have graduation fees, prom expenses, yearbooks costs, college visits, class rings, announcements, and everything else that comes with celebrating their graduation and next steps in life.

For some families, it becomes impossible to cover it all.

And unfortunately, some students have to choose which of these milestone moments are worth commemorating.

I may be biased, but I believe every senior deserves to have this moment documented with portraits, These portraits become part of a family’s history. Years from now, they may be the photographs someone’s children flip through while wondering who their parents once were.

That’s why I created The Urban Legacy Project.

The project was inspired by one of my closest friends. We met at my first job, where she was tasked with training me. We quickly became friends and remained close for the next fifteen years.

A few years after we met, she began the fight of her life, after several trips to the ER for a persistent cough, she received a devastating diagnosis. 

She lived with stage four breast cancer for more than eleven years.

During her final months, she was paired with a hospice program that offered something extraordinary: a professionally filmed and edited video message she could leave behind for her family.

I remember watching the video with tears in my eyes. It was beautiful and heartbreaking all at once. It struck me, knowing how much time, care, and talent someone had poured into creating it — not for recognition or profit, but simply because they believed their work could bring comfort and meaning to another person’s life.

This person saw the value in taking their passion and more importantly their time to make a positive difference for a complete stranger. To preserve their legacy and help bring peace to their loved ones.

I was touched and inspired. The Urban Legacy Project seed was planted. 

That was six years ago. 

Not long after, I began studying portrait photography. Now, when I look back at old landscape photographs I took, I catch myself imagining where I would place a person within the frame. Photography stopped being just about scenery and became about people, stories, and preservation.

After starting my LLC, Inclined Shutter, I decided to finally bring this project to life. Both to honor my friends memory and give back to the community I love.

Because every senior deserves the chance to one day show their children who they were when their story was just beginning.

Honest Moments. Meaningful Milestones. Legacies Remembered.

-Amber. “Inclined Shutter”

The Urban Legacy Project provides complimentary senior portraits for students and families facing financial hardship, creating meaningful images that celebrate identity, resilience, and the milestone of graduation with dignity and care.

The project is open to high school seniors in Johnstown and the surrounding Cambria County areas. No applications, no proof of income — just reach out. If cost has been standing between your senior and their portraits, I’d be honored to change that. Sessions are limited each year, so don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Learn More About The Urban Legacy Project and Apply

This project currently serves students in the following school districts: Greater Johnstown School District, Richland School District, Ferndale Area School District, Somerset Area School District, Meyersdale Area School District, Conemaugh Township School District, North Star School District, Shade-Central City School District, Westmont Hilltop School District, Portage Area School District, Forest Hills School District, Conemaugh Valley School District and Windber Area School District.