I have always loved old photos. I grew up with them on the wall. Every aunt and uncle and grandparents had them on the walls.
This is a page from a scrap book I made 18 years ago.
These are copies of pictures that were hanging on the walls of my grandparents tiny house. It had a tamped down dirt floor but they had these large pictures on the wall.
I was planning to recreate the image with the 3 girls when I go home to visit. I have not seen my family for 4 years. Covid and the rules, then the inflation had a say in my plans. I am ready to go this year, but I will never be able to recreate this image anymore.
My mom’s youngest sister passed away before I made it and the first thing I did was look for pictures. She was only 14 years older than I am. She practically raised me and my sister when we were young and my parents had to work. She lived with us for a while with her husband when she had my first cousin.
The originals are still hanging in her house on the walls (from 1954).
These photos are priceless to me. It is a sad reminder that we should have taken more pictures at every stage of life, so we could look back and remember our family members who have passed. These photographs are not just decorations on the wall; they are windows into our history, connecting us to the aunts, uncles, grandparents, and great grandparents who have shaped us. Let us honor their memory by preserving our own stories, creating new memories, and passing on the invaluable gift of family heritage.
I also have an uncle who left us 3 months ago and I have him only on his wedding picture from 50 years ago. It’s a pretty hard year for me.
It’s important to capture everyone so we can pass on the memories to future generations. They want to see how we looked at every stage of our lives, just like we want to see our aunts and uncles and grandparents and great grandparents.
I don’t know what happens to us after we die, but I know that those who love us will miss us.
The value of a portrait extends far beyond the surface of a photograph.
Photography is a service. The photo studio is not a retail store that sells photo paper and some ink printed on it at some markup. When you get a photograph, you are not buying the paper and the ink that is printed on it for $10 bucks. You are paying for the service, the experience and skill and vision of the photographer, and the quality products that are created for you in a custom session designed specifically for you. Nowhere else can you get that as each photographer has different style, skill and vision, and all of this is built into the price of an image. When you hire a photographer, you are hiring because you saw something in their work that you love. Skill, experience and vision is worth beyond the photo paper and a couple of drops of ink on it.
When you proudly display a high quality family portrait on your wall, you’re not just watching your loved ones grow; you’re preserving a piece of art that will become an heirloom, lasting for generations. These carefully framed portraits aren’t just pictures; they’re a testament to your family’s history. What you have today on your wall, your grandchildren will show your great-great-grandchildren. They will still be there when we are long gone. It’s legacy.
In today’s digital age, it’s easy to overlook the significance of tangible photos. Digital files can easily get lost or forgotten in the depths of hard drives, never to be cherished again. Moreover, computer technology changes so fast, we don’t know where we are going to store our images next. Do you remember when the CD was the greatest thing ever invented after the floppy disc to store photos? Today you can’t buy a computer with a CD drive. The old CDs are useless but the content is priceless and irreplaceable if it’s lost. They need to be converted to continue to store the contents, and most just end up in a landfill. How many times have you looked at a CD, or looked for an image you knew you once had, but now it’s nowhere to be found? If you want digital files that you will lose, get a photo session for $400.
There is a place for digital files. It’s on social media for sharing, either in personal applications or for business use. Social media files are never meant to be printed, just shared in the moment. You can do that with a phone and most people do just that. For business use though your images need to be professional, otherwise they don’t work to attract clients, because if you don’t value yourself or your business to look professional, why would anyone else? Digital files often lack the resolution required for enlargements, making legacy prints all the more valuable.
But what is a legacy print?
A legacy print is a promise of longevity. It’s an image protected and printed on museum-quality archival paper, with inks that stand the test of time. The professional frame ensures airtight sealing, UV protection, and shields against dust, moisture, and insects, all working together to safeguard your cherished memories for a century or more. So, the value of a portrait isn’t just in the image; it’s in the lasting legacy it represents. Museum quality print is just that. Acid free, dust, humidity and UV protected to last. Have you looked at your family photos printed in a mall? They start to fade in 10 years. The colours are not as vibrant. Some images are so blown out, it’s hard to see any detail left. Those images cannot be recovered by any technology. Once the detail is gone, it is gone forever. Do you want images that last 10 years? Hire a photographer for $400.
That’s not what I want to sell. I sell museum grade archival qualilty matted prints on acid free paper, framed correctly to protect the work, that will last a lifetime. I don’t even touch them with my bare hands. I wear gloves when I handle my products. One day your family will own this piece. One day people on the image will be gone and some of us will be gone sooner than others. These images will be our most priced posessions. If your house were on fire, these are the first things you would grab. I know I do. That’s where the value of a portrait lies.
Follow me on Facebook or Instagram (links on the top of the page) to stay in the loop for what we are doing, and contact me if you need updated photos now or if you have any questions.
I don’t know what happens to us after we die, but I know that those who love us will miss us.
Business people, entrepreneurs rely on their looks to make that first impression.
Professional headshots are an important part of a professional image. They provide a visual representation of who you are and what you do. They can be used to help promote yourself or your business, as well as to create a positive first impression. What kind of impression are you trying to create, and what kind of impression do you think your friend’s phone picture of you creates?
Headshots can also be used to help create a personal brand, which can help you stand out from the crowd. They can help potential employers, buyers, clients get an idea of who you are and what you are capable of. Headshots can also be used to build relationships with potential customers as they help create a sense of trust and connection.
First you need to create connection. Connection helps to develop that like factor, and like grows into trust.
I can help you with your personal brand, and I can give you the professional images that you need. You may not need a beautiful glam image of yourself, but you need a headshot. Everybody needs one great headshot.
When you work with me, we will talk about your brand, colours, what to bring, what to wear. We will do your hair and makeup, I will guide you through the poses so you don’t have to worry about what to do, and we will create a series of images that you can select from.
There are many places you can use your headshot image. Here is a list but I am sure you can think of other places to use them:
LinkedIn Profile Image
Other Social Media Profile Images: e.g Facebook Instagram
Messenger Apps Whatsapp
iPhone User So your pic shows up when you phone someone
Website Bio, About or Meet the Team Page
Blog Posts
Business Cards
Newsletters
Email accounts
Email signatures
Networking Sites BNI, Women in Business, Rotary, Chamber of Commerce
Meeting Apps Zoom Teams Google Hangouts
Google/Outlook Profile
Google Business Profile
Online Tools(Gravatar) Mailchimp or other email marketing platforms CRM’s WordPress/Hootsuite…. Dropbox Eventbrite Zoom
Dating Sites
Professional Conferences Flyers, Marketing Materials, Speaker notes
Presentation Slide Decks Use on the first page where you introduce yourself.
Marketing Materials Flyers, Posters, Pop-up Banners, Exhibition Stands Brochures Direct Mail – postcards, leaflets
Office/Clinic/Hotel/School Notice Boards Duty Manager Care Staff Department Heads
FB and IG posts
Newspaper ads
Tv ads
Company badges, name tags
Promotional materials/swags
Company car magnet
Book sleeve/cover
Follow me on Facebook or Instagram (links on the top of the page) to stay in the loop for when we are hosting the headshot days, and contact me if you need a few updated photos now or you have any questions.
Headshot days
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Birthday parties for your child and their besties. Let her celebrate in style, with hair and age appropriate make up included, plus all the usual activities, dance and music. All of the friends go home with a group photo, and your child receives a matted print ready for the frame on the wall.
Contact for more info and let’s design a party that suits you.
Recently I was part of a group that discusses clutter and what to get rid of to reduce it. The subject of year books came up, and year books were considered something to get rid of, because they are “clutter”. Some people agreed and some disagreed.
I am in the keep the yearbook team. I don’t have any from my previous life. It was not the thing to get when I was in high school. We had a big tableau on the wall of the school. When we went to visit my family back in the old country, I took my kids to the high school to show them where I stood before exams, where I held someone’s hand, our class picture framed on the wall. It was not there. :0(
There was a renovation at some point, and all of the tableaus were taken to the basement storage. Then a plumbing accident damaged a bunch and they were unrecoverable. I was sad about that. My kids never saw part of my (their) history.
I am a photographer because I believe that pictures hold legacies. I grew up with family pictures on the walls of all of my aunts, grandparents, great aunts and I really enjoyed knowing and seeing my ancestors. I will be referring to those walls full of pictures in future posts. They really affected how I turned out.
I don’t know; maybe because I am getting older, old pictures mean more. We do get together when I visit, and talk about people who passed: classmates who died young from work accidents, teachers who died from disease or suicide or old age; everyone has a story.
I like to investigate my ancestry and hear other people’s life story. When I knew them I was wondering what they would become. Now we look back and celebrate life’s turns that took us away but then got us back together to compare notes.
Someone said: if you cared about a person who passed in that book, you would have more than just a picture in a yearbook. Not necessarily. Sometimes all you have is one, and it will have to do. Thanks to facebook, we found old classmates and teachers and when we go home on vacations we organize class reunions and visit teachers. They were a big part of our lives when we were kids and there is nothing wrong with holding onto those relationships.
I make sure my kids have all their year books and they do look through them often. They are only 18 so we are talking kindergarten and elementary schools. They enjoy seeing old friends all grown up, voices changed and all.
I am designing their high school grad year book for the school this year.
It’s part of my job and getting rid of year books, or pictures conflicts with my work, with my belief that they are precious and priceless.
I can find something else to get rid of on that decluttering list. Maybe year books don’t need to go right now for me.
If other people find that they are just clutter, they can get rid of them. They are not clutter for me so I am keeping them. No drama about that
Here is an older year book that we check out once in a while. They are fun memories to look at.
1996 Yearbook – Faculty of Medicine, University of Calgary
