I want to say so much right now, I want to talk about my interns that I had the pleasure of working with for 6 weeks. I want to tell you all about what we did for mini sessions, talk about some personal stuff going on, like my daughter’s recital, but I also want to share something.

Something so much more important, in my opinion.

On child portraiture sessions, I always encourage parents to join in. Why? It’s crazy to say, but I have learned first hand, you just never know if tomorrow will ever come.

I remember being in my studio with my brother Karl’s family and we were waiting for him to come up. He was visiting New Hampshire from Cape Cod for his son’s newborn session.  He arrived at my Manchester, NH Studio, wearing the wrong shirt, he was late, sweating a little, and he was not happy to be there. Him and Katie were disagreeing about his shirt. I get it, it was not the proper one that was laid out for him.

I grabbed a shot of him and his newborn son, the whole time he smirked and said ” this is just ridiculous. Are you done yet? I am hot, I need to get out of here.” Things to that extent. When I was done with his photo, I moved onto a family photo. It was not perfect, his 5 year old son was not smiling, Karl just had a smirk on his face and was so ready to leave the whole time. But it was a photo. It was his family, my brother, his wife Katie, Kyla, Kaycee, Karson and baby Kody. 

The day his son turned 9 months my brother passed away unexpectedly. Our lives were turned upside down, but his wife and children were devastated. My husband was away on a trip, I was home alone with the kids and I just laid on the floor crying and screaming. So many questions were up in the air.  My neighbor came over to be with the kids and I traveled on adrenaline to Cape Cod with my parents, to be with Karl’s family.

To top it all off, his wife had just found out she was expecting. She was to find out the monday after his passing if she was having a boy or girl.

So..

What does this have to do with a photo? Everything. The photos from that moment in the studio means the world to us, as a family. My brother is laughing in the photo holding his son. His family photo, we used it at his funeral. It is what my brother’s children now have to remember him. They may not remember the day, but they will see his handsome face, smiling with them. He was never one for photos, he was hardly ever in them.  To my mom and dad, they have it enlarged at their house. It hurts to look at it, at times. Other times we are brought back to the day at the studio.  IT is all we have. We will never have him back, but we have him. Does that make sense?

What am I trying to say? Be present in photos. Take “selfies”. While you may not love them now, your children and your family will. They will become prized possessions, in some cases, all that is left. Do this for your children, they will thank you.

Who cares if your makeup is not perfect? You do.

Who cares if you are carrying a few extra pounds? You do.

Who cares if you have a double chin? You do.

Who cares if you forgot the proper clothes? You do. Maybe your spouse too:)

Your child does not. Your children never will. Why? You are prefect just the way you are. I always tell my friends, you will never look better then you do today! My friends have started to remind me of the day I said that to them and wish they just listened.

In June of last year, my sister in law welcomed baby Kalista to the world and she is the sweetest baby in the world.

The family Karl and Katie created is beautiful. I wish every day he could see his children grow up.

You just never know if tomorrow will ever come.

xoxo Caty