Photos Spark Joy | Greater Washington DC Photographer
Have you ever had photos professionally taken? If you have, I hope it was a wonderful experience. I hope you look back at those photos and that it sparks so much joy and love in your heart. Because that is the goal of professional portraits. That the photos spark joy, and love, and happiness in your entire being.
When I look back at all the sessions I’ve had done of my family, my heart melts a little every time. I have never regretted any session that I had done. Some were done in little mall studios, when my big ones were little. Looking at them now I see how totally unfocused they are, but I don’t regret them for a a moment. Those photos spark joy! Some done in more recent years, knowing what I know now about picking a good photographer make my heart absolutely soar! I look at those photos and I could cry with how much love they invoke.
I want that same experience for you! I want you to have photos that spark joy in your heart! I want you to look at the images of your little ones from a newborn session and I want to hear you sigh as your heart melts. I want you to treasure every tiny little feature of your little one. From their tiny nose to their baby button nose. Those delicate fingers and precious toes, oh my! Can you imagine the way you will react? How those photos spark joy?
As I write this, I’m already thinking about how I need a new photo session of my family, lol! I’m getting jealous of the thought of everyone else having photos spark joy! Can you feel it yet? Do you have the longing that I have? Are you understanding the power of photos?
Let’s look at this from another angle. When someone passes, all that we have of them are our memories and the photos we have of them. As time passes our memories are harder to recollect, unless we have photos to go along with them. Photos spark joy and help us remember the people that are no longer with us. Photos are so incredibly powerful. They carry our memories within them. They encase our love, our joy all those warm fuzzy feelings. You know what I’m talking about!
Now think about it from your children’s point of view. How do Photos spark joy for them? I’ll tell you how. When you print images from your family sessions and hang them on the wall your children look at them and feel that love. They feel safe and protected by their family love and that’s how the photos spark joy for them. Have you ever printed an album or photobook and let your children look through them? They will sit for hours and hours looking at every image, looking how everyone has grown, talking about all the people in the image.
It’s so important for our children’s mental health to be surrounded by photos. Even if you cannot afford a professional session, take photos on your cell phone and print those! Let them see the love, let them experience photos that spark joy!
I see with my own children how excited they get every time I print another album from a professional session or photo book from cell phone images. My refrigerator is covered in images that I slip into photo magnet covers. My kids love arranging them into a new gallery daily. Those photos are a timeline of our lives. Starting with the photo of my husband and I at our engagement party (can you spot us?), all the way to our latest family session last spring. Even something as simple as my fridge covered in photos sparks joy.
My Fridge Door
You can have it too! You can have that love, that warmth, that feeling. Whether you hire someone to take photos for you (and you should even if it’s just once every few years, moms need to get in those photos) or if you do it yourself on your cell phone. Having those photos printed in some sort of physical form is the greatest way for your photos to spark joy.