Capturing Once-in-a-Lifetime Memories with Generational Family Portraits

Many of my clients know that I am the proud mum to three lively boys. I have portraits of them on my walls at home and they often feature on my Facebook and Instagram pages. But not everyone knows that I am an only child and I lost my mum when I was very young. I was just 20 years old when she died, which was well before I started my own family.

Quite recently I was looking for a photo of my mum and me and I discovered that I actually only have one poor quality snap. In my family, as in many others, photographs were not seen as important, and many have been burned or thrown away. It was a really sad moment, as I realised that I have so many memories of my childhood and my mum, but I have nothing that I can share with my family now. Even more upsetting is that I have nothing to hand down to my boys to show them the grandma they never knew.

Capturing Precious Moments

Having been through such a life-changing experience and then starting my own family, I am now really passionate about helping families capture these precious moments. Through my personal experience, I know that family portraits aren't just something to treasure for now, but something to pass down the generations and to look back on in years to come. As the saying goes 'if you don't think photos are important, wait until they are all you have left'.

I always encourage new mums and dads to get in front of the camera and capture at least one family portrait. Not only do those portraits capture mums and dads at such a special moment, but they also record the start of your family's journey. Many mums and dads are surprised when it comes to their gallery presentation, as their family portraits are often their favourite and the ones they choose for their wall art.

Generations Captured in a Family Portrait

I’m also on a mission to help more families capture portraits of all the generations of their family. I have had several family groups in the studio recently where I have welcomed newborns, their mum and dad, and also one or more grandparents. It is a real privilege to meet the older generation and to capture a portrait of the whole family. These portraits really do chart your family's journey.

It is particularly exciting when the newborn is the first grandchild. Being able to follow your family's journey from grandparents, through mums and dads to newborn grandchildren is so precious and something I have never been able to do.

These portraits become such a valuable part of your family's history and your journey. They are truly something that will be treasured for many generations. I love choosing artwork during a gallery presentation for both mums and dads and grandparents to treasure in their homes.

Beyond Newborn

I also love welcoming families who journey has gone beyond the newborn stage; perhaps for a grandparent's significant Birthday. Some families book their portrait when family members who live overseas are back in the country for a brief visit. There doesn’t even have to be a reason to get your whole family together for a multi-generation portrait!

What matters is that memories of your family's journey are captured forever. We have even welcomed one great-grandma to the studio, which was incredibly special and something we would love to do again. Four generations in one portrait actually brought tears to my eyes.

It can be difficult to look forward in your life and anticipate what might happen to members of your family. But I can guarantee you will never regret having treasured artwork of all your loved ones together.