Two days ago, I posted my Kalamazoo minisession special with a word or two about the importance of family photos. Here is a little bit of it in case you missed it.
“When my husband and I were first married, I told him we were going to have a family photo from every year…it is really important to me because I lost my dad to cancer in high school and have very few family photos of all four of us. We have a ton of photos of my brother and me…but my dad was behind the camera and rarely in front of it. If you are always behind the camera or telling yourself “after I lose that last 15 pounds”, stop now and get in those photos.”
Below you will see a sampling on my family photos from the past six years. I am sure by the time the girls are 13 and 11 – they will be SO tired of annual family photos but in our world, it is not negotiable. Then down the road, when they start their own families, they will look back on these memories and know that they should do the same with their families…or else I will become the equivalent of a stage mom…I will be a crazy photog mom…and insist on family photos and perhaps even suggest who they use for photos if they don’t want me to do them. Makes me wonder if PCS (Photographer’s Child Syndrome) is hereditary – is there such thing as PGS (Photographer’s Grandchildren Syndrome?)
2006 – In a frame in my basement. We went to JCPenney.
2007 – I think we went to JCPenney again. They aren’t my favorite family photos but they captured our little family of three at the time.
2008 – Family photo by Anna Sawin Photography. I love the photos from that session as they really captured my girls at the time. These photos also remind me just how long Dora Mermaid (who sleeps with Leah every night) has been a part of our family. Should have totally rethought the hat on Hannah…doesn’t really fit very well, does it?
2009 – This year I tried to take it myself with a tripod and remote at Avery Point in CT. Right as I was getting started, a photographer was walking to her car after an engagement session…she noticed me and my tripod and asked if she could shoot a few for us. She proceeded to pick up camera, tripod and all…and capture about 6 images of us…and she managed to capture the perfect family image. I felt so indebted to her. She disappeared as quickly as she appeared. Thank you again mysterious photographer! Try as I might – I can’t find the original digital file of this one…but on facebook I found the front of our holiday card from 2009.
2010 – I was lucky enough to hire my friend/mentor Crista of Crista Acosta Photography to capture my family this year. I loved that she was willing to come a bit out of her way to shoot at Harkness Park in New London, CT. This was one of my favorite spots to shoot my clients…so I love that I also have images there of my own family. I have three images from this session on canvases in my entryway. Now that we no longer live in CT, these photos mean even more if possible – a reminder of our time spent there.
2011 – This was a big year for us. We spent the year living on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. It was a fabulous year and all four of us loved living in the city. It was important to me to capture our family there…in the city that we love. I was pretty picky about the photographer for these images…I couldn’t really find someone in NYC with the style I wanted. So I decided to hire my friend Bernadette of Bernadette Uzcategui Photography. She is now based out of Colorado but at the time was based out of Philly. Fortunately she was more than willing to come into the city to shoot our session. I love every single image. Each image is a memory and represents our life for that year. In on image, we are on the top of the building that we lived in and can see the skyline view in the background. In another, we are hanging out in an alley that we walked by everyday. We have photos from the bus stop across from our building, our favorite fruit stand and of course Central Park…the girls’ favorite place in NYC. I have a huge canvas over my fireplace and a display of 17 images above my desk. I look at them EVERY SINGLE DAY.
2012 – Part 1 – This was the year for our big Disney trip with the girls and my inlaws. When I heard that Lori from Cayden Lane Photography was doing sessions at Disney, I thought it would be a perfect place for family images. After natural settings and urban settings for the previous years, the Boardwalk at Disney made a fun, colorful background to our family photos. Our Disney trip was a blast and these photos (once on the walls) will remind us of that time (without throwing Mickey Mouse in our faces everyday). I haven’t decided where and how to display these yet but will definitely share when I do!
2012 – Part 2 I am planning on another family session this fall in Kalamazoo. This is our first year back and I want the four of us captured here now that we are back “home” after six years on the east coast.
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