I am surrounded by photographs. As I sit at my desk to my left is a cubby of old pictures from my childhood. Directly in my line of sight over my computer monitor is a mantel with photographs from our last beach vacation. In my bedroom I have boxes of prints from high school and college. Most of these photographs are not professional. Some I have taken, some others have taken. But, each image is a piece of a memory I want to remember.

People who hire me to take their picture are brave. They are brave and they understand the importance of remembering The Now. I don't love how I look in pictures (there, I said it) but I force myself to be in them because what if I am not here tomorrow and these snapshots are the main memories the girls have of me? I am in awe of the mother I photograph a week after she has her baby. She is letting herself be memorialized in a less-than-perfect physical state. She understands that someday that picture is going to make her smile. That picture will make her look at her husband and say, "Remember when…." And, I promise it will be followed by, "We were so young and THIN."

I have been working on this post for some time. It started around November. I got lost in what to say. Today I saw This Post. Please, PLEASE follow the link and read it. It says everything I have been wanting to say…but in a much more lyrical way.

The bottom line: All of my clients are so, SO brave for choosing to have their picture taken and so, SO wise for understanding the power of capturing their family right here and now.