It’s about more than photography
Portraits remind us about what matters
This is an essay by Stephanie Carney, who recently had portraits created. She lives in Palm City and is raising her three grandchildren. I love what she has written about how the images are so much more to her than simply nice photography.
Anyone walking into our home notices Diane’s portraits of our family because they are gorgeous works of art. “Oh, WOW! That’s amazing!” is the usual comment, and what the children said when they saw the first installation over the fireplace. This was followed by more oohs and aahs and big smiles over the second canvas on the wall and the collection in the bound family album.
Framed 30x40 Canvas
I see the beauty, of course. I appreciate the quality of the photography and the success with which the photos capture the unique and different qualities of each child. But when I look at them, I see so much more than that. They touch me on a deeply personal level and evoke all the many emotions I feel about the children as individuals and as a family together in spite of difficult circumstances that led to their home with me.
These are my children, yet not my children. I didn’t bear them, but I raise them. I am at once a grandmother and a single mother, yet fully neither one. It’s not easy, even with help. I commissioned these photos because I wanted to preserve this moment in the children’s lives in a gallery quality work of art, but every time I look at them they also remind me why I’m doing this job.
The girls may have just moments before screamed at each other and slammed doors, Jax may have just burst into tears because his sister knocked over his Lego creation, but at the end of the day they are truly what the photos show, bonded and united in love, relaxed and happy in what has become their own backyard.
I may have just collapsed into bed at 10pm after a day of packing three kids off to two different schools, shuttling to carefully coordinated after school activities, resolving countless inter-sibling disputes, working through three loads of laundry, cooking dinner, packing lunches, assisting with homework, getting everyone bathed and to bed on time….but before I escape into Netflix, I make sure I take a moment to take in their peaceful, joyful faces surrounding the adored family dog in Diane’s portraits and it reminds me that I’m lucky to share this time with these special children.
A Framed 16x20 Canvas
For 20+ years as a family portrait specialist on Florida’s Treasure Coast, I have been known for relaxed portrait sessions at locations around Stuart, Palm City, Hutchinson Island, Hobe Sound, Fort Pierce, Vero Beach and all areas in between. I am not like most photographers these days because I believe your family deserves to be celebrated each day, as part of your home decor. When you work with me, we will collaborate in creating Fine Art Portraits of your family, which will live on your walls or in a custom-designed album or folio box and be remembered as one of the best investments you have ever made. In addition to creating portraits for families, I create headshots and personal branding images for business use. To learn more, go the the Dultmeier Photography homepage.