A Quirindi photographer is bringing fun back to family time with her Front Steps Project.
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Sally Alden was dealt a major blow when the federal government banned events this month, but she was soon inspired to launch a project that would bring the community back together.
Since she created a Facebook page for the project on Friday, Ms Alden has been photographing Liverpool Plains' families out the front of their properties free of charge, then sharing the photos on social media.
The response has been "overwhelming".
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The Slades from "Ginger Heights" were the first to take a punt, showcasing their personalities in a unique shoot on Saturday, complete with a leotard and footy shorts.
"It used to be a running joke for me that if this comes to Australia, I will have to photograph everyone with a long lens, and that became a reality," Ms Alden said.
"A friend said something about people doing it over in America and I looked it up and thought, 'This is great. I need to do this, I need to be a part of this'."
She said she was also inspired by a Quirindi High School teacher who set up a Facebook page to keep in touch with his neighbours.
"It made me wonder, 'What can I do for my community? What skills have I got that I can share?'," she said.
"I [also] wanted to think of ways to keep my Facebook page active and people still connecting through beautiful imagery and words and this is a way of doing it and actually letting the people tell their story .. in a way it's hyper-reality because people are able to be funny."
Ms Alden knows the "interests and passions" of many locals and tried to incorporate those into the photos, saying "let's embrace what you're about".
The project has turned what is a distressing time for Ms Alden - "I lost 80 per cent of my business in four days" - into a realm of shining possibilities.
"I'm so glad I have this project. It's something really positive. It's giving me back as much as it is giving everyone else," Ms Alden said.
"It's still about capturing love - it's about how this family wants this love captured."
Ms Alden said it may even change the way she does her family shoots in future and she'd be glad to see people take the idea and capture their own families in a special way and share them on the Front Steps Project page.
She is aware that the project may be short-lived because of ever-changing rules but in the meantime, she will stick to the guidelines and continue to lift the hearts in her community.
- Check out the Liverpool Plains #frontstepsproject2020 by clicking here.