There’s one thing we say to our clients time and again – don’t be the missing person in your family’s photos!

We humans have really strong, often unbreakable, bonds with our families and loved ones. Yes, we may well bicker or go through periods of being completely and utterly irritated by one another but, in the rich tapestry of life, there are always those people who have a firm place on your landscape, who are there from start to finish, through thick and thin, and who are at the heart of your most cherished memories.

Memories are funny things. There’s so much detail of a past time or experience you think you’ve forgotten until you hear a particular track or smell a particular flower, after-shave or hairspray, and you’re transported back to a special time and place.

Photos too are important in evoking strong memories. A glance at a photo will instantly help you remember someone’s smile, the touch of their hand, their favourite dress or shirt, and always the feeling of what it was like being together on that occasion.

Family photos and the grieving process.

Family photos are never more important than when we’re faced with a loved one’s passing. When we suffer a loss, our natural response is to find any way in which we can to connect with that person. Often, that means dusting off old photos and albums, scrolling through phones, or asking others what photos they have of that person.

At memorial services too, it’s becoming increasingly popular to include a slideshow of family photos as a way of celebrating a person’s whole life, from their early days and through each chapter. There’s something comforting about seeing everything they’ve been and have achieved, and that theirs has been a life lived well.

What triggers the most powerful emotion at such times are photos which show loved ones together.

But what happens when those photos simply don’t exist?

Sadly, we’re often approached after a wedding or other family event – sometimes years afterwards – to see if there are any photos of a lost loved that PhotoJENIX might have somewhere in its vaults. Regrettably, we can’t go back and invent photos of family members together so the best solution really does lie in making sure those photos are captured in the first place.

How do you convince someone to have their picture taken?

There’s always one (or more) in each family who’s far more comfortable being on the other side of the camera. The camera shy amongst us will convince themselves they’ll be happier to be photographed when their hair has been perfectly styled, when their roots aren’t showing as much, when they’ve lost a few pounds, when they’re feeling less tired and have fewer bags under their eyes, when they’ve invested in a better foundation, when they’re feeling more themselves or, quite frankly, when Hell has actually frozen over…

Time, however, waits for no man or woman. What starts as a ‘Don’t get ME in it!’ as you hold up your phone, all too often becomes the norm. Before you know it, there’s very few photos with you all together.

To a greater or lesser degree, no-one likes their picture taken. There’s something about seeing yourself as a non-mirrored image (the reverse to what we see in the mirror every day) that looks alien and causes discomfort.

Add to that, complete self-consciousness as soon as someone shouts ‘SMILE!!’ and we’re frozen into the weirdest, dummy-like positions.

If that person is you, it’s important to know this: you being ‘in the frame’ is more important than you might ever know. If your ‘together’ photos are few and far between at the time of your passing (there, we’ve said it out loud - we all have to accept it will happen to us at some point!), it only adds to the loss felt by your loved ones.

The best family photos.

Whatever concerns you or a family member may have about being photographed, we have the lighting, equipment, environment, skills and general down-to-earth, get-it-done approach (that comes so naturally to Northern mums), that we will put you totally at ease and capture you in your best, most authentic light. We work with lots of different families and love nothing better than to capture those moments in time when different generations come together.

Something really magical happens when family members are photographed naturally and at perfect ease. There’s a story that’s told in a look. There’s the joy of uncontrollable, eye-streaming, shoulder-shaking giggles. Or the eery similarity of father & son or mother & daughter with the exact same head tilt.

So, we urge you – don’t ever be the missing piece in your family photos. Next time – embrace being photographed and give your family the memories they can truly treasure for a lifetime.