What do people try to save on their way out of a house fire? After making sure family members get out, they want family portraits. What are people thrilled to find in the wreckage after a tornado? Family portraits. Why do we treasure those pictures? They remind us of shared love-memories evoked when we see that wedding photo of our grandparents, or we smile seeing ourselves in that young, awkward stage.
When all of your loved ones are gathered in your home, or you in theirs this holiday season, make sure to take photos. They are proof of moments shared in the company of those we treasure, to remind us of that bond when we are later separated-by distance, by death.
(On a practical note: when you are taking down the Christmas decorations, take an extra few minutes to download those photos from your camera. Email them to family members, print your favorites and put them in an album, burn them to a CD and then store the CD in your safe deposit box, or upload the images to your Cloud account, or somewhere else to ensure that you have an off-site copy.)
My vocation as a professional photographer gives me the wonderful blessing of photographing many families this time of year. I take this responsibility seriously, as I photograph not only for those here today, but for those yet to come.
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