That is a wonderful idea to add her daughter into the family portrait! There will be many ongoing milestone events that will no longer include my daughter Alix in the family portraits. In my thoughts she is there too!
Oh, that first family portrait without Garrett felt so wrong! It still does. He will forever be part of my family. I am still considering having him added to the photo. AI can do wondrous things.
We had some family photos taken the year before Dom died…they were on the wall already, thank goodness, which helped me feel his presence still, even though looking at them felt very painful at the beginning.
We share photos with sheepdogs in them! My favourite one of us all has Ollie the Sprollie in it (collie/springer cross.)
I treasure this and so many others with Dom still there. I’m glad you have ones with Alix in too. But yes, the ‘happy’ ones without them now can be so very sad as well 🥲
That is fortuitous you did the photos the year before Dom died. I love that Ollie the Sprollie is in it too! Yes the ones without them are sad. If Alix’s younger sister marries it would be bittersweet without Alix there.
Thank you for sharing these portraits and your own personal story of how your family portraits changed. Family portraits can be tricky. They don't often show what's missing and what had to be reimagined.
I have a friend who had a photographer add her daughter into their family portrait. It was quite beautiful.
I gaze at the ones with our family in tact, and realize I never truly knew how blessed I was until my son was ‘missing.’
Tender memories indeed for us all who live into this daily reality. 💜🪶
That is a wonderful idea to add her daughter into the family portrait! There will be many ongoing milestone events that will no longer include my daughter Alix in the family portraits. In my thoughts she is there too!
Oh, that first family portrait without Garrett felt so wrong! It still does. He will forever be part of my family. I am still considering having him added to the photo. AI can do wondrous things.
Oh that is something to consider adding our loved ones to the picture afterwards!
We had some family photos taken the year before Dom died…they were on the wall already, thank goodness, which helped me feel his presence still, even though looking at them felt very painful at the beginning.
We share photos with sheepdogs in them! My favourite one of us all has Ollie the Sprollie in it (collie/springer cross.)
I treasure this and so many others with Dom still there. I’m glad you have ones with Alix in too. But yes, the ‘happy’ ones without them now can be so very sad as well 🥲
That is fortuitous you did the photos the year before Dom died. I love that Ollie the Sprollie is in it too! Yes the ones without them are sad. If Alix’s younger sister marries it would be bittersweet without Alix there.
This is an excellent article for those passionate about family dynamics.
Thank you for reading and commenting! Happy to find you and your work. I just subscribed to your Substack!
You are welcome! I am excited to read more of your work soon.
Thank you for sharing these portraits and your own personal story of how your family portraits changed. Family portraits can be tricky. They don't often show what's missing and what had to be reimagined.
Thank you for reading. Yes family portraits can be tricky. I’ve done a lot of reimagining after the loss of my daughter Alix.