Four Generational Family Portraits | San Antonio, TX.

Great Grandmother/Great Grand-daughter Photo Session

4 Beautiful generations of Women

This portrait session was one that I will never forget. Jessica had contacted me in June about a few family session ideas she had.  When she came in for her consultation she told me that she was looking for a photographer – not only for one session but one that she could trust to capture all of her family’s special memories in the future as well. Never would I have imagined how Jessicas’s family session would help me through some of my darkest days.

We talked about all her photography visions from maternity (she is expecting!!) to family portraits to one-year sessions.  Of all of the sessions that we talked about- Jessica said that the most important on her list at that moment was to get photos of Marianne and the woman she was named after – Jessica’s grandmother. Jessica mentioned that her grandmother insisted that Jessica and her mother be included in the photo session as well. I, of course, loved the idea! I went on and on to Jessica about how I loved capturing my son and my grandmother and talked about how close they were. I also told her that my sister had recently married and that I was so happy to get photos with my grandmother and my sister on her wedding day. I also talked about how close Sam was with his grandmother and how much she meant to him.  Towards the end of the consultation, I told her if she wanted to go home and think about it she could give me a call and let me know if she wanted to schedule and when she immediately said she had already decided to schedule, I was happily surprised and honored! 

The day after we scheduled our session, my grandmother unexpectedly passed away. My heart was broken. The next few weeks were some of my most difficult and I just tried to keep as busy as I could with photos and editing and looking for every single photo I could find of my grandmother. I was comforted to see all the photos I had taken of her with my son. She came when he was born and every time she visited, I am so glad that she never minded that I shoved a camera in her face. She loved taking photos with my son. A month later, it was time for Jessica and Marianne’s session. As soon as we started shooting I thought I might cry but baby Marianne was just so cute, how could I? I left the session feeling so happy. When they all came back 2 weeks later to view their photos. As they watched the slideshow I couldn’t help it and just couldn’t hold back my tears. When it was over Jessica looked at me with tears too. My sad tears instantly turned to tears of joy. I was so happy to have been able to give Jessica and her family this gift. Her grandmother Marianne is such a sweet woman, even my son couldn’t hold back from giving her some hugs. As we walked them out, the smiles on their faces and the love that they share could be felt. It gave me a such a sense of peace and happiness. Knowing that these photos will be baby Marianne’s one day to look back on, is one of my greatest honors.  Although Jessica and her beautiful mother and grandmother thanked us, I can never thank them enough. Even though they may not know it, photographing these beautiful memories for them helped me heal when my heart hurt the most.