It’s the age old question.  Why is this luxury investment worth it?  Do we NEED to have photos? Well the simple answer is no – they are not a necessity of life.. you’re right.  But do I NEED Photos in my life??? Yeah – I sure do.  They change my perspective, they allow me to relive my babies being babies, they provide me with a comfort in fleeting moments of our lives.  Photographs out live us, they tell our story for years to come, they are a family heirloom that will be looked back on for generations.

My answer about why the investment is worth it remains the same whether I am in photographer mode or mom mode.  Photographs bring us back.  They freeze a moment in time.  They allow us to not only visualize what our children (and we!) looked like, but they allow us to FEEL a moment in time.  When we flip through albums, or walk past prints on our walls – we are immediately transported back to the moments, we can FEEL the people who are in them, we can hear their voices, we can smell what it was like on that cool fall day when you could sense that winter was around the corner.

It’s not about the photo in that moment, its about what outlives you.  Its about the story you’ll tell to your children about that time we galavanted in the field at sunset just to be with each other.  Its about the story you’ll tell your grandchildren about how cute their parents were, or how they whined to get lollipops (which as grandparents you KNOW we’re going to give to our grandchildren too!).  Its the time you talk to your daughter when she’s about to welcome her little one about how freaking hard it was to have a baby, and yet the most incredible experience you could imagine – and you can show her those photographs in the album because you printed it, and you now have that story… forever.  THOSE are the reasons why the photos are important.  THIS is why photography matters.  Its the impact on the next generation, the impact on our kids when they see themselves in prints on the walls laughing and loving on their family knowing that there is literally nothing more important than being together.  It’s the clean up day when everyone is complaining and you can turn around and see the family portrait hanging on the wall – the one where you’re tickling, laughing, snuggling without a care in the world.  Those are the moments that the investment matters.

I’m thankful to have a few clients who I’ve photographed for years – and I wanted to hear from them why they think its important.  Why they prioritize finding the time and energy to document their families year after year.

Amanda said…. a picture is worth a thousand words…. So cliche, but also, so incredible true.  How do you freeze a moment in time to cherish forever? Through a picture.  Pictures are not just pictures.  They are lived moments.  When I look through my family albums I can still feel that day.  The stress of getting everyone ready.  My littlest overtired and sassy.  My oldest choosing her own hair style and her “no!” When I wanted it a different way.  My heart remembers the warm sensation pumping through when I comforted my littlest and its speed when my oldest decided to run off.  I can still feel the eye roll when my husband was being extra trying to make me laugh.  Looking through these photos brings me back to that day.  All the emotions.  All the memories.  I get to relive those sweet days when my girls were little all over again.  That.  That is why we invest in family photos.

Another long time client – Alex told me that each family stage is unique and I love looking back remember exactly how I felt in those moments that were so vividly captured.  I never want to forget the feeling I had looking at my new baby boy sleeping and now I have those moments to hold on to forever.

And of course – you can say – well.. Laurens a photographer so obviously she feels this way.  But it’s so much more than that.  I feel this way as a mom – I feel this way because I have looked through boxes and boxes or prints, because I’ve flipped through albums made by my grandparents that feel like some of the most important items in our homes. Our stories deserve to be told. I’m thankful to have these stories to tell my children, happy to create more for my children to tell their children, and really darn thankful to be chosen as an outside to document so many others families – because let me tell you… at the end of the day – they do matter, they are worth it, and no one will ever convince me otherwise.