Who is the memory keeper in your family??

How do you celebrate milestones in your family? A new baby, first day of school, weddings, anniversaries and birthdays? We have parties, we give gifts and, in many cases, we take photographs.  Being a photographer, I am usually the one who takes the pictures in our family. My daughter expects me to show up for family gatherings and sports event with my big camera in tow. I have photographed basketball tournaments , cross country meets, baseball games and dance recitals in the last year alone. Not to mention birthdays and holidays! My son, on the other hand, sighs and allows me to photograph his kids when I visit him on the west coast. If I didn't take the pictures, I wouldn't have any of that set of grandchildren! Men and women seem to be wired differently when it comes to sentimentality. I have a very hard time throwing away things my children made for me; I still have Christmas ornaments made of colored macaroni glued to cardboard that the kids made in preschool, (although so many bits have fallen off that I no longer put them on the tree). My "baby" turned 40 this year, so you can see that it's been a minute!

When it comes to professional portraits, it usually takes a major milestone. Have you noticed how the first child is celebrated in pictures each month of the first year, whereas the later children are lucky to get portraits for their first birthday?  Life gets busy. I am often booked to photograph big anniversaries, graduations and weddings. The problem is, many years go by between these events. I talk to people at events who comment that they really should have some family portraits taken. Then they go on to comment that it's been 10 years or more since the last picture! Despite the plethora of cell phone photos and videos of the kids, there are few pictures of them with Mom and Dad. 

In most families I know, the woman is the memory keeper. She takes the pictures of the kids and saves their report cards and prize ribbons. We make a fuss of Mom once a year on Mother's Day; the kids make handmade gifts at grade school which Mom will keep forever. As they get older, the handmade gifts are replaced by flowers or chocolates, which are nice but not as personal. What if, this year, you bought Mom the gift of a family photo session?  Not only would she have photos of the family to treasure, the family would have photos of HER to treasure in years to come. The weather is warming up slowly and the flowers will soon be blooming. I have put together a Mother's Day Special this year.  It can be pre-purchased as a gift certificate and booked a little later in the year. Your memory keeper would love some tangible memories of a fun experience that will last longer than a bunch of flowers!

Mother's Day sessions are $200 and include the outdoor session, some printed items and a voucher towards a future session (total value $484). Contact me in May to reserve your gift certificate!