Diwali has passed, Hanukkah is in full swing, Christmas is coming (fast)! Festivals of light amidst the cold and the dark send the universal reminder to come home and gather.
Most of the time I take photos of immediately families, parents and their children. We make memories around fall or spring, around births, around babies growing into toddlers too quickly. We use the days when the are long, the air when its more warm, the trees when then they are in bloom or transition. This is where gift certificates are a great idea: you can give the gift now and gather again later!
Photos with grandparents is a truly unique and special gift because it gives in so many ways through time. Its a record for the grandparents themselves to be sure… they’ll love sharing their photos with friends and guests, its bragging fodder! But its also a gift for your children. The littlest ones don’t carry memories of their own yet and its important to see that we have been loved from the beginning. As we age, we can see how we loved them back: I cherish a picture of my grandmother in the process of opening a Christmas gift I had chosen for her, a smile brimming on my own face as I watch her in anticipation. My grandparents have long passed and I realize that, with the ticking of time, their shapes in my minds eye come from the photos revisit more than actual memories. I’m grateful for these photos from my childhood and have loved sharing them with my own son.
During Baby Maggie’s dedication weekend, family came from across the country to celebrate with her and her parents had the foresight to set up a very special memory making opportunity. I came and spent a little time with Maggie and each side of her family on two different days.
She is clearly adored…
On another day we went outside to play. Cousins are so much fun!
There was some time to cover the immediate family too…
If this looks like something you might want to give this holiday season, reach out to me for details. And don’t forget to give pictures you have taken with me over the fall as gifts! Bragging fodder, people, you gotta provide…