You Should Have Been in Pictures

The kids are off at college, on a Navy ship in the middle of the Atlantic, and/or living their own dream 1,000 miles away. Where did the years go? It all happened so fast. 

But, wait. There are photos, right? We hired a photographer when each of our children turned one and again the year they graduated high school. Even if we received digital images, do we know where we stored those files? Maybe, maybe not. Hmmm … instead, we counted on the phone pics to document our lives and scramble to find them in times like these, hoping and praying they’ll be found and of decent quality.

Fear not, while we lay one opportunity to rest, other opportunities arise. Today’s family portrait may involve additions such as a son-in-law and/or a slew of grandchildren, a few extra pounds, and wrinkles. Or maybe someone is now missing - maybe estranged or maybe no longer here on Earth. Nope, we can’t push the rewind button on life. However, we can still capture the here and now.

Yep. I’m ready for some naysayers, but what I will say is, we at Photography by Misty are the experts and see the results of missed opportunities each and every day.

If you’re still convinced that digital images are the way to go when it comes to family portraits and high school senior photography shoots, please continue to indulge me.

“I just want digitals.” Splash them on social media, show everyone how perfectly beautiful your family has grown. Then what? Phones crash, social media changes their ways and memories vanish, computer files corrupt never to be recovered. Take me, for instance, someone who knows to back up my images in three different places, to print and proudly display them.  I have a plethora of family images stored away in my system- most of which have been forgotten. I am no better than most of my clients - 

I get calls when someone passes away (far more often than you might believe) with loved ones hoping and praying I have saved files. Yes, of course, I do!! Do you? These pictures mean so much to the family. I even had a client this year hire me to take her memorial-service portrait. She ordered a 16x20 and has it in her home, making it easier for her children. Is she ill? Nope. Just wants to be prepared. 

That may be a bit extreme… or is it? Hey,  admire the fact she wants to be well repped on her grand exit.

While L is definitely on the back 9 of her time on Earth, the truth is none of us really know when that day is coming for us or for those we love the most. A friend of mine was recently murdered in a random act of violence. We were supposed to update her professional portrait, however, the day we had it scheduled she was having a bad hair day, then we were waiting for the weather to warm up a tad, then COVID hit. Fortunately, she has a decent portrait on file, but oh I wish we would have made that session happen before her family’s life came crashing down. 

I have a plethora of stories….

• Less than a year before a 14-year-old client’s life came to an abrupt halt, we created family portraits. Gma was over-the-top excited when we pulled off this last-minute request, and I promise you those portraits are treasured each and every day.

• A friend of mine lost her husband at the age of 38, and said to me after his viewing, “This is why you do what you do.”

• Rough-and-tough M’s idea of fun was definitely NOT having her picture taken. However, we bribed this HS senior into formal posed portraits if she could be rewarded with action shots in the school gym afterward. To celebrate her life, we displayed one of each at her memorial service locally and overnight two others to her celebration in Georgia.

I am not trying to be morbid here. Really, I just want to emphasize the importance of portraits. Not digital files, (although those are nice, too), but something that can be held, admired on a daily basis, and not caught in a system to be forgotten or lost. 

Honestly, it’s about a lot more than the portrait itself. It’s also about the memory of those whose hand we can no longer hold, and it’s about the experience of the day. I can promise you, M’s mom cherishes her defiance that day, she laughs about M hanging from the goal, the hurdles we had to jump to get into the gym. Those three hours can be played over and over again just by simply admiring one of the four wall portraits.