As my daughter in law was leaving my home last night, Morgan pointed out a picture on my wall and says, Mommy we don't take family portraits anymore. Maria just laughed and said, no we haven't done that in a few years. After they were gone I thought about that. It is true that they used to have a family picture each year as the children grew. I don't know what year that tradition ended. There on that same wall hangs a picture of myself and my siblings. We are all standing in a row in our matching " trap door " style footie pajamas I can be no more than three in that picture. My Mom has given me some other pictures with us kids all together but very few. I have never seen, nor do I think one exists, of us as a family complete with Mom and Dad. I never had any taken with my own family either. I just never gave it a thought over the years. Shame too, can't go back and get the shot now.
In recent years I take a lot of shots with the kids and Grandma and their cousin. I have pictures with us ( Grandma and Grandpa ) with them at school. Those kids will be rich in pictures, that much is for sure. None of these pictures are professional studio pictures. I wonder if that isn't beginning to be a thing of the past. I see the studio at the Walmart but question the credentials of the photographers. I mean, technically, as long as you are being paid to take those pictures you are a professional, but what qualifications are required ? The ones that come to the school strike me the same way. The digital image is reviewed right there and you can approve or disapprove the shot. Don't like it, take another. That does relieve the necessity of having to get it right on the first try, so maybe I could hire a, let us say, a less talented photographer, at a more modest salary.
It is difficult for us to imagine a time when getting a family portrait or individual picture taken was a big deal. You had to go to the studio. I have several old photographs that were taken this way. One is my Great Grandfather in his Civil War uniform and another is Great Great Grandfather Abraham and his brother Oliver taken before a whaling journey. The later is in a small locket like frame that their mother carried with her. I have a family portrait taken in 1914 of my Swedish ancestors. Getting these photographs taken was an event. I think that is what Morgan meant when she said that to her Mom. Getting a family picture taken is an event. Everyone gets dressed up and spruced up to look their best. Then off to the studio. It was an outing and a special event. I think that is slowly going away however. Our pictures today are far more informal. Something that happens almost daily. Some of us are even taking " selfies ". Yes, stopping by to get a family portrait at the Walmart doesn't hold quite the allure of a professionals studio.
In the big picture, pun intended, it really doesn't make any difference where the picture was taken. What does matter is that the picture is not just taken, but kept. We should make an effort to keep those photos together. I personally think they should all be displayed. I also think in today's world, where it so easy to get the shot, they are not as valued. Images from the past, priceless treasures that can never be replaced or recreated. Pictures capture a single moment in time. Just a few hundredths of a second but can give back years of enjoyment. Indeed, those fractions of time can travel generations.
In recent years I take a lot of shots with the kids and Grandma and their cousin. I have pictures with us ( Grandma and Grandpa ) with them at school. Those kids will be rich in pictures, that much is for sure. None of these pictures are professional studio pictures. I wonder if that isn't beginning to be a thing of the past. I see the studio at the Walmart but question the credentials of the photographers. I mean, technically, as long as you are being paid to take those pictures you are a professional, but what qualifications are required ? The ones that come to the school strike me the same way. The digital image is reviewed right there and you can approve or disapprove the shot. Don't like it, take another. That does relieve the necessity of having to get it right on the first try, so maybe I could hire a, let us say, a less talented photographer, at a more modest salary.
It is difficult for us to imagine a time when getting a family portrait or individual picture taken was a big deal. You had to go to the studio. I have several old photographs that were taken this way. One is my Great Grandfather in his Civil War uniform and another is Great Great Grandfather Abraham and his brother Oliver taken before a whaling journey. The later is in a small locket like frame that their mother carried with her. I have a family portrait taken in 1914 of my Swedish ancestors. Getting these photographs taken was an event. I think that is what Morgan meant when she said that to her Mom. Getting a family picture taken is an event. Everyone gets dressed up and spruced up to look their best. Then off to the studio. It was an outing and a special event. I think that is slowly going away however. Our pictures today are far more informal. Something that happens almost daily. Some of us are even taking " selfies ". Yes, stopping by to get a family portrait at the Walmart doesn't hold quite the allure of a professionals studio.
In the big picture, pun intended, it really doesn't make any difference where the picture was taken. What does matter is that the picture is not just taken, but kept. We should make an effort to keep those photos together. I personally think they should all be displayed. I also think in today's world, where it so easy to get the shot, they are not as valued. Images from the past, priceless treasures that can never be replaced or recreated. Pictures capture a single moment in time. Just a few hundredths of a second but can give back years of enjoyment. Indeed, those fractions of time can travel generations.
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