Legacy Matters | Client Stories
Meet some of my legacy makers!
I met Heather and her family over two years ago. I noticed them right away at church as I was looking for diversity in my portfolio. I had just opened my doors for my studio work and wanted to showcase people and families of all ages, skin tones and variety. When I saw all the small blonde afros running towards Heather at church one Sunday, I KNEW I had to ask her. They were troopers and had such a great time that they came back the next year. Only this time I pleaded the importance of Heather’s mother being in the photographs. Tugger, they call her, resisted at first, but ended up coming and their three generation photo turned out to be incredibly sweet.
Legacy does not always have to be generational. Sometimes having a photo with your siblings is just as nice. Lori initially contacted me for headshots but after going through all the services included with a photo shoot (a second hair and makeup look on the house) she immediately wanted to invite her sister Sarah. These two had me laughing from start to finish. It was truly an experience for me to witness and watch as they giggled, told inside jokes and reminisced about the “good ole days.’
Legacy sometimes means working with who you still have. Often I hear, well, my grandparents are not around anymore or even more heart breaking, my parents passed away already. Or, it’s just me and my XXX. My client Sam had a lost her mom and never got the chance to get a generational photo done with her and her son. When she came in for her consult I reminded her how much the images she could find of her mother had brought her great comfort and proposed that regardless of how much of a pain it may be, getting her son to come in for some of her shoot was vital. Sam came in on her birthday to celebrate and when she arrived, she was in tears. She wasn’t sure if her adult son was going to make the effort to show up, lets face it, most guys are not super fond of “family photos.” He called during her shoot to talk to her, and my makeup artist Angela was quick to answer and before he could speak, she asked, “so….do you need directions on how to get here?” Needless to say he showed up and made his moms day and better yet her BIRTHDAY! You can just feel the joy on her face!
I don’t have any children and I don’t know if I ever will or if I want to and if I don’t have anyone to pass these images on to, so why bother spending the time, money and energy on such a luxury experience that perhaps will just get lost in the shuffle some day? My challenge to those of you think that is to think outside of you blood or even your marriage. There are people who love you and admire you. Whether they are friends or your community. Did you know that Betty White never had children and neither did Dolly Parton yet both of them are well documented? Yes they have acting careers, but that doesn’t mean that you should skip out on having the best portrait you have ever seen of yourself. The experience is for you and the photo is for everyone else. Your life matters and you were placed here and born for purpose and to sit there and think you are not worthy because you don’t have xxx, is absolutely a lie! In fact, make it a girls day out and bring your best friend with you, or your cousin or maybe a niece that you have grown close to.
Meet Tanya, she is currently not married (but in a relationship) and has chose to not include her son in her photo shoot this time. What I loved about her session is that she came in for branding and I asked her if I could take some photos of her that expressed more of her sensual side and this is the image we came up with, just for her.
You see, legacy doesn’t have a specific dynamic in order to be a legacy. Legacy is about who you are impacting and how. Perhaps, like me, you no longer have those grandparents or for some you don’t have your parents anymore, or maybe you don’t have children at all. It isn’t vain to want to be remembered it’s part of the story. Who knows, the future generations may be looking to see themselves in you whether thats because they are related to you or are just inspired by who you are and what you have overcame and accomplished while you were on this planet.
