Bella’s 1st Holy Communion|St. Matthew Catholic Church|San Antonio, TX.

Bella and her family celebrated her First Holy Communion this past weekend and we are so excited to share photos from her portrait session. St. Matthew Catholic Church is a beautiful church. So much planning goes into a First Communion and we were glad to help preserve these memories for her and her family. I recently had a conversation with a friend on why it is so important to hire a professional photographer for these type of portraits. I’m sure there are many different reasons to hire a professional for special occasions like this, but there are 2 very important reasons that I explain to parents who inquire with us.

First of all, there is almost as much planning in a 1st Holy Communion as there is for a wedding, why wouldn’t you want every detail to be captured.  These little details can be very important for your daughter/son in the future.  I know many heirlooms are passed on for occasions like these and some brides even keep these details for their actual wedding day.  How amazing would it be to recreate one of these communion portraits at her bridal session 20 years from now or if she passed on this same rosary to her own daughter years from now? As photographers, it is our job to help document all of all these important details that you will want to remember years from now.

Second and probably one of the most important is actually being present and enjoying the moment.  Many times parents are so busy trying to capture the photo themselves and miss those very moments (and I can say I am guilty of this on many occasions). I’m not talking about missing the shot either- I’m talking about actually missing the moment, the moment your child takes a quick glance back at you as they walk up to the altar to see how proud you are of them.  You want them to see your face, not a camera or phone. Having portraits done ahead of time ensures that you will get those beautiful memories to cherish forever and guarantees that you will be able to focus only on your child on their special day. 

I know Bella’s parents are so proud of her and I’m pretty sure some tears were probably shed this past weekend. You should see the way Bella’s mother’s face lights up when she speaks of her daughter, it’s indescribable. We were so happy to have met sweet Bella and hope that her First Holy Communion was just as beautiful as she was.