I have lots of snapshots of my family. I have
snapshots of me and my brothers and sisters at the beach, at parties,
etc. And I have snapshots of mom and dad in various places and
times. But there are no portraits of my family with my parents
and siblings all together. Both my parents and one brother are
deceased, so that portrait of my family can never be made.
The tragedy of not having a portrait of my family,
(actually there aren't even any snapshots of all of us together),
is the fact that my children and their children, etc will never
know what we all looked like as a family. It's about lineage and
family history. If there are any photographs of my grandparents
in existence, I don't know of them. It's a shame.
I don't know why my parents never thought to have
a family portrait made, but I sure wish they had. All families
are different, and my family completely unraveled shortly after
my youngest sister left home. Shortly after that I left the roost,
(being the youngest child), and then my parents divorced. No getting
back together for a family portrait after that!
Just an hour ago a young family left my studio.
The husband is a medic in the Army, and will be deployed to Iraq
in two weeks for an undetermined length of time. The wife works
for the Army doing outreach and helps those families and spouses
who have lost a family member. She determined to have a special
family portrait made before he deploys. Her main reason, she said
is because she works with bereaved families and knows what their
regrets are. One that stands out to her is when the spouse or
family has no real nice family portrait to hold on to. She's not
about to make that mistake.
Beautiful, sensitive family portraits certainly
portray the family members in the most complimentary way possible,
but they also give a sense of the personality of the family, the
individuals, and the relationships within the family. The love
and connection.
As with many other families, my older siblings
left for the military, university, and marriage, and went of to
various parts of the world to start their own families. And as
many of my clients do, having a fine family portrait created before
the children go off to college or other pursuits can bring back
the added warmth and comfort to the empty nest. When going about
your daily business in the home, you can look at your family portrait
on the wall and see the expressions, all the personalities, all
the love of and for your family members is called to mind, and
warms the heart.
Family portraits also preserve the record of your
heredity. Looking at older family portraits you can likely see
where you got your nose, or who you inherited your jaw line from,
or your eye color, or curly hair. Portraits are a wonderful way
to remember your ancestors, and a wonderful heirloom to pass on
to your children and grandchildren.
Fine family portraits can give "life" to ancestors
from past eras, and give proof to your inherited features. They
can fill an empty home with warmth when family members are away.
They can bring comfort and preserve precious memories when family
members have been lost.
Stan P. Cox II is a professional portrait photographer
with over 30 years specializing in fine portraits of Families,
Children and High School Seniors. His work may be seen at Watanabe
Floral, Royal Hawaiian Heritage Jewelry, and at his website: www.ParamountPhotography.com.
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