Extended Family Sessions after Quarantine

12 months ago 44

My family and why we rushed this session forward!

This is my family, an extended family session we had booked in months ago to make sure everyone could attend.

We were doing this because my Nan and Pop moved into a retirement village last year and we all wanted to give them something special to put on their VERY large, VERY blank walls. They have never had professional family portraits done with their family and we decided we'd left it too long to get together and give them this gift.

(A link below to my blog about their mammoth move after 52 years)

https://www.samanthabrycephotography.com.au/post/52-years-and-now-it-s-good-bye

In the last few months we watched this global crisis carefully and decided to postpone the session for a few weeks to see how things played out.

Then came the day our world stopped. Not due to the crisis turning into a Pandemic or our country starting to lose their mind over toilet paper but my Pop, my Mum's Dad, my Nan's Husband was diagnosed with bowel cancer.

A cancer that has plagued my life personally further back than I'd like to remember, first taking my Father-in-Law in 2017, then 3 months after HE passed MY Dad was diagnosed with it and came through it, and now my Pop. One of the great gentlemen in my life, who WILL get through this!

(A link below to my blog about our first Fathers Day after my Father-Law passed and MY Dad was diagnosed)

https://www.samanthabrycephotography.com.au/post/2017/09/03/a-hard-fathers-day

We were distraught, beside ourselves but at the same time keeping positive because he needs us and WE WILL be there for him.

We know he needs an operation VERY soon and then chemotherapy afterwards.

We all banded together and decided to drop what we were doing a few weeks ago to make this happen quickly. Before this virus got out of hand, before lockdowns and business closures were even being considered, before we all knew the major details of his diagnosis, while we were all still living in a bit of ignorant bliss and lastly, before he has his urgent operation and chemotherapy where he'll need to focus on rehabilitation and when we ARE ACTUALLY in compulsory lockdown.

Time was against us, this virus was against us and his health was against us. We needed to do this quickly.

The day came....we were happy, we smiled, we laughed, it was a great day! I got photos of each individual family groups with their kids, husbands and wives without their kids, kids on their own, cousins, grandchildren and great-grandchildren together.

I got Nan and Pop together and with THEIR children, with THEIR grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

We did so many combinations and each family got updated portraits.

The last photo I'm going to mention is the first one we took on the day and the only one I'll show in this blog because it's the most important.

My Nan and Pop with their 4 children, their 4 'in-law children', their 7 grandchildren, their 2 'in-law grandchildren' and their 2 great-grandchildren.

We will forever have this portrait, this day, these smiles forever to hold.

My Grand-parents take up a huge part of my heart and this group as a whole, are the people that are my home and always have been.

The reason for this blog is NOT for sympathy, or attention, or marketing my business but for perspective. To put your family into perspective, to think about the last time you took a photo with the most special people in your lives that WAS NOT a selfie.

Parents, when was the last time you had a professional photo taken WITHOUT your children in it too?

An 'Extended Family Session' includes ALL of your family and in any combination you can think of putting together. I'd love to meet you and your family, but whether you book a session in with me or another photographer makes no mind to me, but PLEASE think about this.... While we're all stuck in our houses please think about who you're missing the most, who you wish you could see hanging on your wall right now and who you'd be devastated to have missed the opportunity to get professional portraits with.