You Aren't My Client – Your Kids Are

I was driving home from a baby session with these super-wonderful Italian parents who kept calling their little one "cucciolo" (the word puppy and other baby animals in Italian). I could not wait to work on some of the pictures of the mom and dad, because they were so happy and excited to play with their baby for the two hours he was awake between naps.Suddenly it hit me:

Parents aren't really my clients – their kids are.

When families hire me to freeze a chunk of memories for them, they really hire me to protect their kids memories. This means a few things:

Protecting tangible memories

It is my responsibility to make that when a family is done working with me they will have a photo book or printed pictures to pass on to their kiddos. The pictures will tease out precious memories of the baby and the childhood years for the parents, no doubt. But the pictures will also outlive the parents as keepsakes on their kids' shelves and walls, and eventually they will find their way into the hands of the grandchildren, too.

Protecting real memories

Another responsibility I have to the kids is to make sure that they have honest memories captured in those pictures. This is why I do sessions on the newborn's/baby's/kids' terms – so that they can look back on what their childhood was really like. Who they were, what was important to them, the moments they shared with their most important people.

Protecting memories of their parents

My last responsibility is making sure that the kids have pictures of their parents being parents, husbands and wives, and "just" themselves. To capture the connections and the relationships between them and the kids, as well as show a glimpse of who they are outside of being a parent.Read more about why it's important for parents to get in the picture, even if it makes you nervous.