I want you to go find a photo - maybe it's you and your parents, or your parents wedding album, or you with you deceased grandmother.
Look at the people in it. What do you see? How does that photograph make you feel?
Now, imagine never having that image. Was it 5 years old? 10? Can it be retaken? Do you still have the story behind that image? Imagine how you would feel, if that photograph was taken away from you.
Or rather, try this scenario. Imagine holding that image after 40 years. Are the people in the image all still with us, or have you lost a loved one over the years? Does it mean more to you now that time has passed? My guess is, it does.
For all of these reasons - that's the value of a portrait.
I can tell you from first hand experience that the photos of my son with his grandfather are some of my most valued possessions. You can have my tv, my computer, heck, you can even take my camera. But if I ever lost those photos, I'd be a wreck.
Those photographs are how I'm going to teach my son who his grandfather was. They're how I'm going to hold on to him when I need to hear his voice. They're part of our story, and serve as a reminder to our history.
But had they never been printed, or worse, never been taken at all, I would have only have the pictures in my ever fading memory to rely on.
Moral of the story - take pictures, and then also print them. Because to me they're one thousand times more valuable than any of the most expensive gifts you'll ever receive.
If you don't understand the feeling right now, trust me, someday you will.
~ Erin
