Talking to your mom and dad about a multi-generation session and photograph

I talk to people all of the time about their families and the special connections that they all have.  

When I ask about their moms and dads, their voices change.

“My mom sacrificed everything for us growing up.  I love her more than anything.”

“My dad was gone a lot for work, but when he was home, he played with us and did projects with us.  I was really lucky.”

And then I ask them about now.  What do they mean to them?

“My mom and dad love each other so much.  They’ve been married for 47 years and I think that’s wonderful.” (For the record, so do I!)

When I bring up doing a multi-generational session, the first words are usually, “Oh, my mom won’t do that.  She hates photos of herself anymore.”  Now, this makes me sad, because we all age, and that’s a celebration in itself!  To have a beautiful photograph, surrounded by the most important people in one’s life, your progeny, is an amazing thing!

I want to mention something here.  The 3-generation photograph is not necessarily for the grandparents.  Of course, they’ll want one.  But do you know who the photograph is really for?

The grandchildren.

It is for them.  It is for them to look back on and remember that day, if they can, with misty eyes and have a moment in the sunshine, where they played in Grandma’s yard and helped pick veggies from her garden.

That photograph is going to be treasured and cherished long after Grandma and Grandpa have crossed over.  This is a photograph that the grandchildren’s grandchildren will look at and wonder that they were ever that age.  They will see it proudly displayed on the wall, and feel that legacy of ancestry, that where they came from and who they look like.

So when I talk to someone about these multi-generation photographs, I give ideas on how to speak to them.  The first thing is celebration, married for 47 years, all the kids and grandkids are there, and it’s a reason to celebrate.  The second is capturing those moments, where Grandma is holding her youngest grandchild on her lap, and surrounded by her beloved grandkids.  The third is memories, because photographs help trigger memories, keeping them fresh and alive in their thoughts. 

There’s a beautiful story behind every meaningful photograph, and such a photograph will mean much more as the years go by.

I want to encourage you to really consider what a wonderful gift you are giving yourself and your kids when you tell your parents what you’d love to do and why you want to do it.  And, when you display your artwork on your wall, in a place you’ll see it every day, you’ll be able to feel those emotions all over again.

Bee in love with the artwork of your life.