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I want to tell you a true story - one that actually brings people to tears every time I tell it. As hard as it may be to believe, I promise you this actually happened...
About 6 years ago, I was asked to photograph a "family". I put "family" in quotes because in reality it was only the woman and her dog, a beautiful little Pomeranian.(Yes, I photograph pets too.) He was her only "family", her best friend and constant companion. It seemed only right that they should be photographed together.
Although I enjoy creating wedding, children and senior portraits, I enjoy family portraits - particularly when the family pets are included - a little more.
Sometimes, specially with larger families, it's the first time the entire family has been together in years. And, they are probably at their absolute happiest on this day.
But, this wasn't a large family. Just a woman and her dog. Though this family was small, there was every bit as much love as I've ever seen in any size family.
This is such a moving story that I'm going to protect her privacy by not telling you her name (or her dog's), if people were to contact her, it could bring back some painful memories and I wouldn't want to be responsible for that. If you want to know more, call me and I'll gladly set a time to show you her portrait ( she ok'd a release), but please don't call her. For the sake of clarity, let's call her Sharon and we'll name her dog Skip.
When she originally called me for a portrait session, we discussed the location and her clothing choices, etc. I could tell by the way she spoke of Skip that she really loved him and
desperately wanted this portrait.
Like many of us, she's a fairly busy person so the session had to be scheduled several weeks in advance. As the time neared, she called and said that she was just too busy at work and wanted to postpone. I always try to be reasonable and give the customer what they want, so I agreed. We moved the session back a couple more weeks.
A couple more weeks go by and she calls - again - to say something "came up" and could we postpone just a little while longer. I was starting to see a trend here but, again I agreed. Then again, another postponement, and another. Normally after two, I won't reschedule but, I knew she really wanted this so I went along.
Now, Fast-Forward Six And A Half Months... A Tragedy Happened, And Sharon's Life Was Never The Same.
Then, one of the things we fear most happened...Skip got
sick - was diagnosed with cancer, and died. All within a period of just a few weeks. On top of that, he died only two days before our scheduled session. This time, I'm convinced, she was really going to "get around to it."
....She Was Devastated. Skip, Her Best Friend, Companion, "Family" Was Gone. Forever.
She Called Me, Wracked With Grief, To Cancel, One Last Time...But What Happened Next May Startle You.
Just imagine yourself in this situation, how terribly she must have felt. I don't suppose any of us can really know what that feels like, unless we've actually been through it.
I went over to her house and as Sharon sobbed and told me stories about Skip, I noticed she kept clutching a small snapshot. I asked to see it and was pleasantly surprised to see that it was a pretty good picture of Skip, sitting on the same sofa where Sharon was now sitting. The end table and lamp were different because she had slightly redecorated but otherwise the room in the snapshot was basically unchanged.
I asked if she had the original negative to the snapshot and as luck would have it, she did. A wild notion occurred to me. I quickly explained the idea to her and she agreed. While she was changing clothes, fixing her hair and makeup (it's amazing what Preparation H will do for puffy eyes) I set up a small portrait studio in her living room.
What I Was Able To Do For Her Makes Me So Proud I Could Just Burst.
I then did one of the most emotional and
heart wrenching portrait sessions I'd ever completed. A few days later, after she'd selected the portrait
of herself that she liked best, I took the negative she had of Skip and the one we created from her session to what I consider to be the best digital artist in the country. He worked his magic and when it was all done, I was able to give her a wall portrait, on canvas, that showed her sitting on the sofa, caressing Skip.
It is impossible to tell that
they were not both actually on the sofa together! And if you think it wasn't an emotional experience to show her that portrait, you'd be very, very wrong.
It's now hanging prominently on her wall where she can see it everyday and remember the special bond that she and Skip shared.
This Is What Photography Is All About For Me. Creating Photo Memories.
That very story sums up the reason I became a photographer. Creating photographs that mean that much to people - I can't imagine anything that would make me feel more fulfilled as an artist.
Sharon Realized That The One Thing That Can Never Be Replaced - That We MUST Hold On To - Are The Memories We Share With Those We Love.
Life is so terribly short. But, at the same time, life is such a wonderful gift. And the memories we keep of these moments with our family will last forever.
CLICK HERE to call me on the phone to chat (no cost, no obligation) about how you can have photographs created that will mean this much to you...
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