Papa Papa, as my children called their great grandfather, was 97 years old when he passed away in 1984. My oldest daughter was born in 1976. So for a grand total of eight years and two weeks, our family was a four generation family.
But by the time our kids had graduated from high school, we were down to two generations.
And all during that time, we never thought to create any kind of a Generations portrait. We missed an important family legacy and history moment with the rare opportunity to capture all four generations, and we didn’t even do a three generation portrait. The closest thing we have is a portrait of Papa Papa and Hollie together, taken when Hollie was about three. It was one of my first attempts at portraiture, and technically, it’s all wrong. But emotionally, it’s wonderful.
But that was before we really understood the importance of capturing this rather rare combination spanning family history. Now that it’s me that’s the grandparent, we’ll make sure we capture all three generations on a regular basis, and should we be lucky enough to become a four generation family (I’ll be in near or in my 80′s by the time our grandchildren likely start to get married), we’ll understand the unique opportunity this presents.
How about you? How many generations do you have in your family? If it’s three, then a Generations portrait can be a great extention of a Grandma’s Arms and Grandpa’s Hands session. If you’re lucky enough to have four, then realize your window of opportunity is probably pretty small, and it makes sense to schedule your session pretty soon.
These are ideal studio sessions, but if it’s appropriate, we can also do something on location. We can determine that in your pre-portrait planning consultation. Call the studio at 503-588-0902 to schedule a time to get together and explore the possibilities.
But do it today, so you don’t find yourself in the same situation we did.
