When wedding clients become family portrait clients, I almost feel more of an obligation to do a great job than I do with weddings, if that’s possible. Being known, primarily, for my wedding photography, a client is taking a chance by hiring me for family portraits, baby portraits, maternity portraits or birth photography.
More than a wedding photographer, but…
That comes down to trust, I think. When you go to my website, you see wedding images. If someone is looking for a family portrait photographer, they would have to go deeper into my site to see that I actually do them family pictures and baby pictures. This is purposeful. I love being a wedding photographer. I love it. It’s been my number one passion up until the time that I met my wife and we had children. Other than my family, nothing makes me more happy than weddings. But having a family has opened up my creative mind to other possibilities.
Pictures are part of our legacy
Our children are the best that we can ever do. Not to sound trite, but they are our legacy. Nothing should come before them. That is why, when parents are serious about having professional pictures with their children, it’s the pro photographers obligation to create something that reflects this legacy and do something that truly deserves that position. Something that they can hang on their wall and have it remain there long after they are gone.
For me, I want to do more than take a picture. Anyone with a camera can take a picture. Heck, anyone with a smartphone can take a picture. To create a portrait, a lasting piece of artwork that represents the importance of the legacy, it takes, I will humbly state, talent and experience. I want to create something that, not only they can be proud of, but their children and their children’s children can be proud of. I want to create something that shows that this was so important that their parents or grandparents that they went out of their way to do more than get their “pictures” taken.
Your pictures CAN be artwork
Is it possible for me to create a piece of artwork that is passed thru the generations? I hope so. That is my goal. That is the reason for doing what I do. After a wedding, there is nothing more important than pictures of our families. That is why a wedding album is staple to even my minimum wedding offering. If I can create something so valuable that it becomes a family heirloom, I’ve gone beyond just “pictures” and advocated for my clients their desire to create something that is literally timeless and ageless. Something that becomes a part of their family legacy and history.
When a wedding photographer becomes a family portrait photographer. That is where it begins.