I am by no means a writer or a poet, but this was on my heart today, so I scribbled it down. I hope it reminds you the importance and value a simple photograph can have. It may seem a little sad, but it is reality. As a photographer, I have had the opportunity to work with some people who have experienced serious loss + tragedies similar to the ones listed below. I cannot tell you how much those people explained to me over and over, the value the photographs I captured meant to them. Not because of who captured them, but because of what and who was captured and the quality in which it was captured.
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The Value of a Photograph
To know the value of a photograph
Ask the mom whose baby girl is already starting kindergarten and she can't believe it, how much those newborn photos of her daughter mean to her
To know the value of a photograph
Ask a mom who just watched her baby boy graduate high school how precious that kindergarten picture of him is to her
To know the value of a photograph
Ask the husband and wife who just celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary how precious their wedding photo 50 years ago is to them
To know the value of a photograph
Ask the wife who just sent her husband off to deployment how precious that photo of them together at the beach the day before means to her as she carries it with her everywhere for months on end
To know the value of a photograph
Ask the deployed military member who holds a photo of his wife and kids in his helmet as he's overseas missing home how much that photo helps him get through another day
To know the value of a photograph
Ask the grown children of the 90 year old mom of 4 who just passed away how precious that silly nursing home glamor portrait photo they have of her means to them
To know the value of a photograph
Ask the husband with 4 young children whose wife/mother of his children just died of cancer how much the family photo of her holding her kids means when he uses it nightly to console his heartbroken children
To know the value of a photograph
Ask the couple who the day after their 36 week maternity session, got the news during their ultrasound that their baby no longer has a heartbeat, what those ultrasound and maternity photos mean to them
To know the value of a photograph
Ask the couple who delivered a stillborn baby who will never have anymore photos to remember the face of their baby how much those "Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep" photographer photos mean to them
To know the value of a photograph
Ask the parents of the recently graduated high school senior who died while texting and driving a week after graduation how much her senior photos mean to them
To know the value of a photograph
Ask the wife of a Marine who was KIA who cries herself to sleep every night holding their last photo together how valuable that photo is to her
To know the value of a photograph
Ask the 8 year old boy whose daddy died overseas, how special the photos of his daddy are to him
To know the value of a photograph
Ask the mama who lost her sweet baby boy in a tragic accident at just over 1 year old how valuable those 1st year photos of her sweet baby are to her
The value of a photograph is endless and timeless. It is often not valued until it's too late. Know the value of a photograph and invest in capturing all of life's moments with the ones you love as often as possible. Those memories and photos will someday be all that's left.
#valuephotography #valuelifesmoments
Rachel Smith Photography
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