The Heartbeat of a Family Bond

Pet Portraits

February 26, 2021

Now’s the time!

As a living thing, we maneuver through life while never really knowing when the time will run out.   I say that not to scare you but to remind us (me included) that time is fleeting.  We can place a call on hold or pause a movie, but we can’t pause time or life.  If we’re lucky we have our family to share those moments as long as possible.  The good, bad, or indifferent.   

Why you should make time for a family portrait.

Heart, Family, bondA Lifetime

definition
noun
The duration of a person’s life.
The duration of a thing’s existence or usefulness.
 

Family

A unit of living things that make up your unique family. Mother, father, child(ren), a friend(s), partner, fur baby.    Those extra special people join together to be the heartbeat of your family.  Does that mean blood-related? Absolutely not, and that’s amazing!   Values of a family member: appreciated, grateful for, comfort & sense of loyalty, genuine, selfless.  As Bruno Mars would say “I’d catch a grenade for ya”.

 

Your family. Your story. Your home. 


Objections we hear.

Objections why people can’t do a portrait session right now, and the harsh reality.

  • I want to lose some weight first.
    • Completely understandable, but what if next year you’re still not at your target weight? And the year after that?  Your family loves you for you.  
    • Remember each lifetime has a different length. You’re never guaranteed tomorrow.
  • Our dog(s) are too crazy. You’ll never get a decent shot.
    • After a decade in the business, we have never had someone not invest in an heirloom because the quality isn’t there. 
  • We’re just too busy.
    • The hard reality is if you value and see the importance of it you’ll make the time.  
  • We don’t have the wall space.
    • No problem. We offer exquisite albums. They save space without compromising the quality of your family heirloom.
    • If you owned the Mona Lisa would you find a space on your wall for it? 
  • My dog needs to stay on a leash.
    • As do most dogs. We’re masters of concealing a leash and if something needs to be edited in post-production we do it. 

You’re probably saying to yourself “Danyel, do you have a point, and are you getting to it anytime soon?”  Yes, I am and here it is!  Aside from creating beautiful artwork for clients, my ultimate goal is to protect them from future regret. That emotional state involves blaming yourself wishing we could undo a previous choice we made.  Like not making time for family portraits. 

*Disclaimer* I’m not saying family portraits need to be done often.  

Human Children

We have 18 summers to make memories with our kids. Studies show that by the time our children leave the nest you’ve already spent 85-90% of your face-to-face time with your kids. Does that freak you out as it did me? It makes sense if you think about it but still. 

As a newer Emptynester I will tell you the first 18 years will go by so fast and the things that used to drive you crazy you will eventually miss. What eases my mind is in 2014 I made sure we did a family portrait that summer. I look at those images every day and admire what a beautiful family I have.  No regrets!

I’d suggest, if you haven’t already, take the time to invest in your family portrait BEFORE your first child leaves the nest (X marks the spots on the timeline).  It will save you from significant regret. 

Time Line of Life

FUR BABIES

It’s well known our fur babies do not stay on Earth nearly long enough. It’s their biggest flaw really.   Even so, animal portraits tend to be more of want versus need. That is until it…   

If you love your dogs like we do I’d suggest setting up an appointment with a pet photographer around the age of 2. Immortalize their life and get them photographed in their prime. I promise you, it will keep you from regrets in the future.

 


Blog Circle

Don’t forget to continue following the blog circle. Up next is Angela Schneider of Big White Dog Photography, profiling a Spokane dog trainer

  1. Kim Hollis says:

    I know the regret you mention all to well. It’s the reason I became a dog photographer.

  2. Jessica says:

    Yes, so many of the reasons are why we do what we do! It’s sad we have to remind others of the reasons why they need photographers, but it is always so worth it once the commit.

  3. Live life with no regrets. That’s what I want. To chew all the marrow out of the bone, to slide into my grave scarred, bruised and laughing my ass off. And part of all that is living every day with my dog like it’s her last. I lost my sweet boy before I was ready for it, even I look back now and realize that he was ready to go. So I want to immortalize (great word, BTW) her and her adventures every step of the way. Any family would be lucky to have you immortalize them in your beautiful work.

  4. Elaine says:

    Loved this reminder to all on the importance of grabbing photographic memories!

  5. Such an important message. It’s too easy to forget how important right now is and how easily and quickly it can all change.

  6. Great post, Danyel! We all need to hear these things. I’m having my own photos done next month – would I like to be 10 lbs less? Of course! But we don’t know what the future brings and we have to make the best of being in the “present”.

  7. Terri says:

    This is amazing! Such great messages here.

  8. Tracy Allard says:

    What a great post to help people “get over the hump”, I regret everyday that we never had our first dog together, Penny, photographed. For my husband, she will forever be the dog that all future dogs will be measured against.

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