I have loved photographs for as long as I remember. Not because they were shot in "glowy dreamy light", not because they were "tack sharp" and most definitely not because they were "composed really well". Honestly, the photographs I loved were none of them. They were sometimes blurry, mostly dark looking and in very rare cases had us smiling at the camera but I loved them anyway. You know why?
Because I loved the people who were in the picture. I loved how a glance at the picture could remind me of all the memories we shared, how it could remind me of how much we loved each other and the bond we shared. And I loved my pictures. I was actually obsessed with them.
This is why I am a family photographer. This is exactly why I do what I do.
I know how powerful photographs can be. They can hold years of memories. They can transport you to a time where the air was filled with laughter and joy and can make you smile instantly. And sometimes when you're going through a tough time, those photographs can remind you of what you have and why it is worth fighting for.
In a phrase I call it "Holding Your Whole World In A Photograph"
When I first started in August 2020 to mid-October 2020 I was doing shoots at my place, building my portfolio. We were all restricted to our houses, so I used the beautiful and wonderful garden the Lord had given me and did all my shoots there.
I really wanted to do a family shoot and requested a friend of my dad's to come over. She agreed, the plan was in place and then she cancelled because she was really worried for her 89 year old dad. Perfectly understandable. Aunty asked me if I could come over to her apartment and do the shoot, I politely declined because I didn't know much about light then and I didn't know how to shoot indoors.
We cancelled the shoot and agreed we'd do it when things got better. I didn't think much of it.
I post my reviews and for one such review Aunty replied, "Can't wait for our turn".
That was it. The last thing I ever heard from her.
In December 2020, we got a call saying Aunty and her older daughter had passed away in the very accident we were all watching in the news the day before. From the second I heard the news until today, I regret not doing the shoot. So much. All I could think of at the funeral was, "Should have gotten the shoot done. Should have pushed and gotten it done." I couldn't think of anything else. If I had just done the shoot, no matter how "technically" wrong the picture was, Carol aunty's dad and younger daughter would still have pictures of the four of them together and now they will never get a chance and that hit me like a truck. I realised in that moment, what being someone's photographer means. It is not just shooting pretty pictures. It is giving you your whole world in a photograph, it is more than words can explain. As years roll by and memory fades, photographs will stay to remind everyone of all the good times and to get to be the person to do that is such a huge honor that the Lord has given me.
We will see Caroline aunty and Evelyn again when the Lord comes and until then, I will serve you and every family the Lord sends, the very best I can and I will be honored to do so, because I know what it means to give you your whole entire world in the most beautiful photographs possible. And this time the photographs will be ones that are tack sharp, composed well and shot in glowy dreamy light.
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