Reflecting

The other morning I started reflecting while looking a portrait of my children. I looked at it and thought, “this stinks!” Was it the fact that I’m getting older, or are they getting older? Let’s face it; I certainly don’t want to go back to the days of chasing around toddlers and worrying about if they will hit their heads on the corner of the glass coffee table that we purchased before having kids.

In my wife’s and I’s bedroom, we have portraits of my boys Matthew and Jacob from different ages. One of these pictures is a 24×30 mounted on a museum-quality canvas. It’s stunning. I remember taking this portrait like it was yesterday. They were about seven years old, right before the age where they would stop holding hands. Jacob said something to Matthew under his breath, and they both had the most authentic laughter together, which made it into a tear-dropping image.

Portraits In The Bedroom

When I woke up this morning, it was the first thing I saw. It made me realize a lot of things as I laid there staring at it. Perhaps I need to start engaging with them more and attempt to have better conversations instead of the same old questions about school.

Furthermore, as I reflected, I realized that I am a fortunate man to have two empathic and compassionate boys. As I write this blog, I wonder what they will be as adults for the first time. What kind of men will they be. Admittedly, for some reason, I am scared for them. However, all I can hope for is that they can be happy and successful men.

All Of This From Portraits On My Wall

All of these feelings came from having portraits all through my home. I hope the same happens to my clients. That at times, the images I create gives them opportunities to reflect. Perhaps, even make them teary-eyed at times.

Social Media vs. Family Heirlooms

I’m fortunate enough in the world of attention-seeking behaviors that my clients are more concerned with having a family heirloom created more than the number of likes they get from those portraits on Instagram. However, we always like seeing both the Instagram likes and the photographs hanging on our client’s wall.

If I were to do it all over again, and if my professional wasn’t a portrait photographer, I would keep the special portraits created of my family and children exclusively in my house. As a result, the only people I would share them with are the people most special to me. To me, there’s something nice about that.

Take Time To Reflect

Whether it’s a professional portrait or snapshots that you took with your phone, allow yourself to reflect on your family’s journey through the pictures created of them. Keep  Reflecting.