Because everyone needs a good portrait shown at their funeral...

Tina Davis
Mar 6, 2018
2 min read

This message is for all the people out there who have ever lost a loved one. I spent a good deal of time in the last few weeks at my sweet Aunt Mary's bedside before her passing. In preparation for her funeral service I began to gather photographs of her to use in a slideshow celebrating her life. Which leads me to the reason I am writing this blog. I've always thought my Aunt Mary was a beautiful woman. She was always "put together", never sloppy. She wouldn't dream of spending her entire day in her active wear, maybe taking a shower, and maybe not, as I will admit I am guilty of :-/

My cousin and I sifted through hundreds of photographs. I could not find one professional photograph of my beautiful Aunt Mary. We found multiple shots of her at Christmas holding up her gift in intentional admiration for the camera and some blurry old vacation pics but nothing truly worthy. More than half the pictures we found, her eyes were closed. Bottom line, if you are a blinker, candid shots are not your friend. As gorgeous as I have always thought she was, I believe that she did not feel the same way about herself which is likely the chief reason for her life of no portraits. I remember her always being worried about her weight.

I have been a portrait photographer for 25 years and I constantly hear from women especially, that they would love to have a family portrait made or a portrait of themselves but they are just too fat, or want their hair to grow etc. But mostly because they don't like their body image.

No one knows when they will die and your family is left with only photographs and memories.

You're not getting any younger and it really does not matter what your current weight is if you trust the photographer to put you in a flattering pose and highlight your features instead of your flaws. It's not necessary to have a full body shot done in order to complete your session.

I wanted so badly to find a clear picture of my Aunt Mary looking back at me with her pretty brown eyes. I wanted a picture of her face, not of gifts of Christmas' past and I could care less what her weight was.

If you have not had your portrait made in a few years...or ever, I encourage you to do that right away! Book with me or book with whomever you feel comfortable.