Mother's Day 2020

A couple of years ago, I had a wonderful photo experience with two high school students who were best friends - Olivia and Keeley. They wanted their senior pictures taken together. The girls were inseparable and we had a blast taking pictures on the beautiful Mt Holyoke campus.

A year later, reflecting on the good time we had, I did a senior portrait promo where I invited kids to bring along a best friend to their portrait session. I’d do individual senior pictures and pictures of them together. What surprised me - and I love being surprised - is that most kids came with their mothers! Each experience was incredible, and I ended each session with pictures of them together. To celebrate all the wonderful kids and moms on this Mother’s Day, I offer you this video:

Pictures ground us in our love and connection to our kids. They are reminders of close times, happy times.  We see in their faces the strength, beauty and confidence that in some small way, as parents, we helped them arrive at.  We did ok if we can send them out into the world as loving, responsible, capable individuals.

When they’re off in college, and we begin the process of re-examining our lives and what it means to say good-bye to daily hands-on parenting and to say hello to becoming a coach on the sidelines of their lives ( and not their mom down the hall), trust me when I say old photographs will be our friends in those teary (our tears, not theirs!) first weeks! After my daughter left for college, a day didn’t go by that I didn’t take pleasure in seeing photographs around my studio and house of my daughter with friends, dancing, some solo portraits, and a snapshot of the two of us from a summer trip to San Francisco and LA.  And when she started setting up her dorm room, she had dozens of joyful photographs of herself with friends that went on the wall above her bed, hung from clips on her fairy lights, and even one 4x6 of us from graduation night in a small frame that went on her windowsill. The space was suddenly magical and full of life with all the people who matter to her.

Pictures have the power to keep us connected, especially when they’re printed and we can enjoy them everyday.  It’s an investment in love. And a way of celebrating that love as a source of strength and meaning for both of you.

Happy Mother’s Day to all who trusted me with senior pictures of your wonderful kids!