It's just a photograph...isn't it?

This weekend I will photograph a large family group. Then, it will be broken into individual family groups. Maybe there will be some "just the kids" shots. I am certain some of the participants will approach the shoot with the attitude that "it's just a photograph." Well, is it?

As a label, a photograph is what it is, but it is something more. It is an event. It is a memory. It is documentation of a family's legacy.

Individuals come and do what they have to do because it is their duty. They wear clean clothes, paste on a smile, and then walk away. It's finished. No thinking required. Well, I beg to differ.

This is documentation of your legacy. It is what has come into the world through you and everyone else in the shot. It is the result of frequent trials, challenges, birthdays, and both sad and happy moments. In it you are all survivors. All are winners. You are here. It won't always be this way.

After this you may lose a child, a parent, a grandparent, or a spouse. New members may enter in. The size and/or the dynamics of the group will change. Heights and ages will change. Smooth skin will wrinkle. Clothing and hairstyles? You know. It is only a moment in time.

If you are a nit picker about things other than the people, let it go. This is not what a family photograph is about. It is about the people.

After twenty-five or thirty years have passed, people will examine the faces and spirits of the participants. The viewer will wonder and imagine. They may react to the clothing or the setting, but they will be attempting to connect with this "memory". It will not be the same as now.

So if you are having your photograph taken, whether in a group or not, allow yourself to consider a bigger picture. It is a memory. It is a legacy. It is a moment in time. Nothing displayed will necessarily ever be the same again. Viewers will not look at it with a nit to pick. Stand comfortably, but relaxed; strong, but vulnerable; and confident, but not so vain. Give the future a memory to examine and ponder.