I get it. Getting the family ready for a photo shoot should make it on the list for the top 5 most stressful events in a lifetime. The 10 year old outgrew his pants yesterday (they fit him when you were at Target 2 days ago), the 6 year old decided to give herself a haircut like her teacher (which you had always thought wasn’t really a good look on a middle aged woman- and now your daughter has the same one!), and your husband won’t stop saying that his newly purchased plaid shirt was a waste of money.
I totally get it. I feel it when I get photos taken of my crew and I know you do too….when families get out of the minivan for a session I can usually tell which of the children is in the MOST trouble and am constructing a plan for getting mom and dad to relax and the kids to have fun with the moments we are about to share together. It is a challenge I feel well equipped to accept.
So why follow through with what seems a daunting task? As I look around my living room I see old, original photographs of my grandparents, their parents, and their parents’ parents. If they had not seen the value in photographs I would not have these sentiments. I loved my grandparents when they were living. I have beautiful memories of visiting them in New York- sledding in the backyard, birthday parties with crazy hats, and the tea parties wearing my grandmother’s fancy gowns. I do not, however, have a relationship with my father and my only tie to that side of the family is my aunt who has graciously sent me all these photographs of my family. I cherish seeing them everyday hanging on my wall. The photographs connect me to a time long gone and serve as a reminder of the grandparents whose love I felt so deeply.
I want the same for my children, their children and their children’s children. Photographs are a legacy. Things take up space- mom’s favorite dishes, trunk, etc. I love those things too but photos don’t break when you move to a new house, they don’t take up half the living room, and they don’t rust. They can be treasured on a wall, on a phone, or in a wallet. Photographs are timeless and they are forever. Memories are meant to be captured and legacy lives on through our photographs.
