We just returned from our family vacation to Oahu, and I spent last night downloading the images from my memory cards and looking through them. I only took about 250 photos on our trip, which is not a lot, by my standards. But, in my opinion, the most important images weren’t on those cards.  Yes, they were our memories of the trip, but there is one problem: not a single image contained all three of us, one of us was always behind the camera.

There were plenty of grumbles when I woke my husband and daughter up at 4:00 a.m. on the Saturday morning during our vacation. But we had somewhere important to be. We dressed, carefully did our hair, and jumped in the car to drive an hour in the darkness.  We were having family portraits taken at sunrise on the famous North Shore. When we decided to take this trip, one of the first things I did was start looking for a photographer. As a recently reunited family following a 207 day deployment, it was very important to me to document our reunion and the special vacation we took to celebrate.  And a tripod and remote shutter release is really no substitute for professional portraiture.  Instead, we opted to have a portrait session that was relaxed and celebrated our family.

Could I have spent that money on an amazing dinner, or even a first-class upgrade on our flight? Sure. But those things are fleeting. Memories are forever. I value our time together as a family. I’m reminded all-too-often that our time together could be cut short at any time. Those portraits are going to be proudly displayed on our walls, at some rather large sizes, so I can remember this trip, this feeling of reunion, this joy and gratitude that we have all that we do.  Those portraits will stop time.  I wish there was a way I could explain to everyone just how valuable the family portrait experience is.

Last month, I had the pleasure of photographing Leslie and her two daughters.  This is a family who knows how important it is to capture these moments.  Their dad is currently overseas, serving in the military, and I know he misses every small moment like the ones we captured this day.  Even the seemingly insignificant moments are truly precious.   I thank Leslie and her girls for spending an evening at the beach with me.  They are beautiful and so full of love and life!