Bonnie Babes Foundation - Brett Richardson Photography organisation running as a charity, appears to be a front for commercial business Braeside Victoria Australia
On the birth of our first child, we were very Keen to make a contribution to the fight against miscarriage, stillbirth and pre-mature babies, as well as SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome).
We made a modest charitable donation to the Bonnie Babes Foundation, who then made us the offer to be photographed for our newborn daughter to appear in a annual book -- "Pride of the Nation", which could later be purchased for $150, the proceeds of which would go to the foundation. We agreed to the offer and made an appointment with the "professional baby photographer", Brett Richardson Photography, Balwyn.
On the day of the photographic session, we arrived at the lavishly decorated studios, with a small garage of luxury cars as a backdrop.
We were treated to the inexperience of a wedding photographer, who by his own admission had not done any child portraits before -- this inability proved itself during the session. Immediately following this, we were corralled into a small room to endure a hard-selling session that would have made any Scientologist proud.
We were offered either a $2000 or $3000 album, as a start, with very little more affordable alternatives given.
After an embarrassing struggle, we made it clear it was beyond our means and intentions to spend so much. The remaining shots from the session were going to be immediately deleted without option. We conceded to pay a further $550 for only four images. After this disappointment we had to wait months for what are at best, third-rate photographs. At no point were we offered the book that was originally offered in the Bonnie Babes letters, and is not available in bookstores, even the shops including Target, (that helped sponsor the POTN project).
It is clear from our experience that there is much double-dealing going on, and this BB fund is merely a means to selling the services of poorly skilled commercial business, rather than working toward any charitable end.
Kris
Balwyn
Australia
2 Updates & Rebuttals
Brett
Melbourne,Australia,
Australia
Misleading Report on Bonnie Babes and Brett Richardson Photography
#3REBUTTAL Individual responds
Thu, February 01, 2007
My name is Brett and I am the photographer that has been noted in the earlier report. There are some points that require clarification from the original report from Kris. However, the main point that I would like to clarify is that the Bonnie Babes Foundation are one of the most respected charities in Australia and America.
Bonnie Babes are always ethical and reputable while carrying out their incredibly valuable work for the families of more than 50,000 babies that die each year from miscarriage, stillbirth and pre-maturity by providing grief counselling to ease the suffering of this tragic loss and by supporting important medical research projects. Brett Richardson Photography fully supports Bonnie Babes and the Pride of the Nation project.
Now to clarify some further points:
1. Regarding the Pride of the Nation Project: There is no cost for the professional photography. All that is required is a $50.00 donation for the first child or $75.00 for all children from the same family, to the Bonnie Babes Foundation when you register. When you register to become part of the project, the donation goes directly to the Bonnie Babes Foundation; the photographer receives no money whatsoever. Brett Richardson received no money from Kris or the Bonnie Babes Foundation for the professional photography session, nor was any request to pay for photography services made.
2. Brett Richardson Photography submitted all photographs (for all Pride of the Nation participants) as required for publication in the Pride of the Nation Book, within the required timeframe.
3. The Pride of the Nation Book is a massive project and has finally been collated and printed but has yet to be delivered to points of sale. The book was due to be available by January 26th 2007, but unfortunately has been a little delayed for release and distribution. This is out of the control of Brett Richardson Photography. Brett Richardson Photography will be contacting participants regarding purchase of the Pride of the Nation book when the book is available for delivery.
4. I have significant professional photography experience with children, ranging from newborns through to teenagers. I have in fact been commissioned by Bambini Models (the largest and most respected national children's modelling agency in Australia with over 2,000 clients nationally) between 2005 & 2006 to provide professional photographic services for all Melbourne based clients. On some days, I photographed portfolios for over 20 children, continually photographing from morning to evening without a break.
5. All Pride of the Nation participants (and our other clients) are professionally photographed in our fully equipped studio, comprising 2 roll-down backdrops, two professional electronic studio flashlights (with stands, soft boxes and umbrellas) and a professional Nikon D2X camera in a room large enough to also accommodate a 3 seater lounge, a large table and a radio/CD player, along with examples of my photographic work on the walls. These items would be standard features in most professional photographic studios.
6. There was never any obligation to purchase additional photographs. The majority of the Pride of the Nation participants have welcomed the opportunity to view their photographs immediately after the photographic session, rather than returning on a separate occasion. It has always been the discretion of the participants should they decide to purchase images from the session.
7. My partner and I are intelligent, successful hard working people and have chosen to live in a nice comfortable house with nice cars.
To summarise this information, the Bonnie Babes Foundation is without reproach an ethical, reputable charity and is definitely not a front for a commercial business. I myself am a professional photographer with over 20 years of professional photography experience including extensive experience in children's photography. Brett Richardson Photography is proud to be able to offer their professional photographic services and support to the wonderful work carried out by the Bonnie Babes Foundation and the Pride of the Nation Project.
Brett
Of Brett Richardson Photography
Melbourne, Australia
Michael
BRAESIDE,Australia,
Australia
Misleading Report on Bonnie Babes
#3UPDATE Employee
Sat, January 13, 2007
My name is Michael Warshall and I am the Executive Director of the Pride of the Nation Fundraiser for the Bonnie Babes Foundation.
This National fundraiser in Australia has been put together to raise much needed funds for the Bonnie Babes Foundation.
By donating $50 for one child or $75 for more than one from the same family, your child will be photographed by an accredited professional photographer and one image will be included in a beautiful coffee table book called Pride of the Nation- a record of a generation.
Since the initial launch around June of last year , over a hundred thousand dollars has been raised for Bonnie Babes..
Each participating photographer has to submit work to qualify and I am surprised at the comments made that you felt that the photographer had no experience photographing children.This is in fact incorrect as Mr.Richardson has been involved for some time photograping children in Australia.
As you are aware when you nominate your child, it is made clear on all the entry forms that you are not under any obligation to purchase additional portraits unless you want to.
As far as the book is concenrned, the first book is over 860 pages thick with over 3,500 children photographed.It has always been available from the participating photographers, or you can purchase it directly from www.prideofthenation.com.au or from selected Target Stores throughut Australia after the official launch on Australia Day this year. So it seems that somewhere along the way there has been some miscommunication. On behalf of the Pride of the Nation I can only apologize for any misunderstandings. Please be assured that at all times all the participating photographers are professionals and ethical in their business dealings otherwise they would not be accredited to participate in this worth while fundraiser.They have been chosen carefully from the thousands of photographers in Australia.