There are many reasons that we choose to photograph people and events in our lives. Perhaps to document a special occasion, or remember a milestone. I have loved documenting the different ages and stages of my children. These are days we will never get back. I now have a daughter out on her own, and trust me when I say that it really does go by faster than you expect. I know I will blink and my son, the baby who is now 8 years old, will be headed off as well. I’m so glad that I value photography and have so many photos of the different stages of our lives.
I have several photos that I cherish for tender reasons. I recently printed one of my favorites of my dad and me, and had it framed to give him for Christmas. We both love it, as it is such a touching photo that reminds each of us of my childhood. It allows us both to reminisce about long ago when I was little, and life was so much simpler.
There are also photos we don’t give much thought to at the time, but become so precious to us when they are all we have left. I took this snapshot of my second daughter and my my father-in-law napping, just a few months before he died. I love that we have this sweet photo of them. What I love most about it is the feeling it brings to my daughter. She doesn’t have any recollection of him, being so young when he passed away. However, when she looks at this photograph she sees and feels an emotional connection to him. It lets her know that he held her and loved her. It is one of her only emotional connections to him, and that makes it a very powerful image.
The thing about these images that means the most is that they are not sitting in a drawer or trapped on a computer. Both of these images are prints that our family has taken and printed. Neither of them are professionally taken, but the important thing to note is that they have been printed and displayed. It’s not just a matter of printing photos out for display. Studies have shown that children with photos of themselves displayed in their homes have higher self-esteem. When they see images of themselves on the wall or in frames around the home, they feel cherished and loved.
What photos do you have that mean so much? Are they displayed or sitting in a drawer? I would encourage you to have them printed and to put them out to be seen. If you don’t have a recent photo of your family to display, now is the perfect time to create one. I would be happy to set up a consultation and prepare an amazing session for you.