A Snapshot

I am a photographer and I love it.

I love it for many reasons…the creativity of it, the flexibility of it, the art in it.  But…I think one of the main reasons photography means so much to me is because I get to share in others people’s lives at some very important moments and milestones like graduations, weddings, birthdays and accomplishments.  I feel honored and blessed to be able to do this.

With it being “senior season” right now, I get numerous requests for photos taken in certain locations like a pretty park, a cool alley or a beautiful beach and all of those make for some terrific photos.  However, I had gotten a request to shoot in a place that I had never before been asked to shoot in…a teen’s bedroom!  I thought “Oh yeah, that’s going to be different!”

When I walked in to Randi's room, I saw what I expected to see.  I saw lots of posters, stuffed animals, books and of course, a bed.  I started into the shoot and was getting excited about the photos (this always happens to me!…LOL) and showed her mom a few on the LCD screen in the back of my camera.  We finished the shoot and we talked about setting an appointment to be able to view and proof the photos and then I left.  I realized as I was driving back to the studio how profoundly this photo shoot touched my heart.

You see, I am a photographer….but I am also a mom.  I realized that what I had just seen was not only a teen’s bedroom, but a childhood.

Each one of those stuffed animals had a name and a memory attached to it and it was evident which ones were the favorite.  Each one of those books she has read has left an impression on the person she has become.  Her drawings stood as a symbol of a talent practiced that took hours of time and effort.  There were mementos of numerous birthdays and family vacations and collections of items of favorite obsessions.  You see, a bedroom is a very intimate space.  This  bedroom, in its entirety, was indeed a “snapshot” of her childhood…a period in her life that has been slowly coming to a close.  The transition to becoming an adult and starting a new phase in her life is around the corner and as a mom, how can that NOT pull at my heart strings?  

Although I only met Randi about a month ago, by visiting her room, I know what she likes to read, her favorite movies and the fact that she loves cars and has quite the collection of “Hot Wheels”.  I know that the name to one of her favorite stuffed animal dogs is Tracker and that the reason that her real dog’s name is Pirate is because he is missing on eye! 

It warms my heart and makes butterflies flutter in my stomach to know that the photos we took that day will last a lifetime…because they ARE about a life time.

Randi, thank you for letting me share in it.