That Last Family Portrait…But Not Really
I hope that title doesn’t sound too depressing. Our family is changing. Currently, I’m in the middle of transitioning my oldest into middle school as well as getting ready to celebrate him becoming a teenager. I’m trying hard to embrace all the wonderful things about this parenting stage and not get sucked into the anxiety as I think about how they’ll manage as adults.
It made me think about families and family portraits. I think it’s easy to think of families as something that is concrete. Your family is this defined set of people around you but I think truthfully, your family is more similar to something living. It’s something that grows over time. It changes as a whole almost as much as the individuals change within it.
I often talk about how photography stops time. It’s a single moment captured and preserved. But photography is also a way to document change, or in some cases to document that moment just before everything changes.
Family Session at Point State Park
It was exciting to be contacted by a family that wanted to have a portrait session with their adult children. Both “kids” were in college and getting ready for that transition into adult careers. At this stage, it can be challenging to find the time to get photos but it occurred to me that this could possibly be the last portrait with just the four of them. Their family could quickly transform and add spouses or grandchildren. Documenting this moment, seemed to be a very special opportunity.
And we had to have a family portrait with the new puppy, Charlie!!
Oh and they kind of like Penn State too 🙂
So it’s not really the last family portrait. It’s the continuation of documenting these amazing people you have around you, learning, growing, evolving. Definitely, something to celebrate, preserve and cherish! So whether you’re just starting your family by welcoming a new little one or getting ready to send those little ones that have grown off to college, let’s talk about how best to capture this time for your family.
