The Value of a Portrait to me

A Post by Studio Manager, Carla

The damp feeling of the hallway carpet near the front door, the small gold tin in which my Grandad would roll his cigarettes, the old train set which stayed in a glass cabinet to the rear of the living room. These are all fond memories I treasure of my Grunny & Grandad’s house. The house which now belongs to my Dad, but what I’d love more than anything would be to visit it the way I remember it was almost fifteen years ago.

I remember the smells, the narrow staircase, even the griddle my Grunny used to make her famous pancakes on. Now though, more than anything, the memories I treasure the most are the portraits which my will Dad often share with me now, the portraits in which I see the resemblance of my daughter to her late Great Grandad, the images which show my Dad minus the grey hair, a young boy making his memories. His biography has been created for me to treasure, by his parents. The albums were full, with images of him his a baby, holidays, special occasions, school events, church events and many faces I wouldn’t know. Grunny would sometimes note the dates and who features in each photograph – but there are often debates as to who is who in some of the portraits.

When I got married and parted with my last name, I had always wanted to keep part of my family’s name in my own children’s. Luna May was born in August 2017 and I remember vividly seeing the emotion in my Dad’s eyes that his mum’s name featured in his new granddaughters. My Dad is the last of his immediate family of four, with my Uncle, Grandad and Grunny passing away just a few years apart. The memories of them I’ll hold close to my heart forever, and I feel so lucky to have them, I was a teenager when I lost them and, thankfully, I remember them vividly. But my two year old, Luna May, will never get to watch her Great Grunny May perch herself on the organ stool and play her heart out to her favourite hymns. She won’t remember my Grandad’s faded boiler suit and cap, the bench where I’d always find him having a natter and his shed full of tools which would in this day be a health and safety hazard.

But what she can see, is their pictures, featuring my Dad and Uncle in their younger days, the caravan holidays and the many four-legged friends who played a big part in the family. I’ll tell her all about them and their personalities as we scroll through the boxes my Dad has now, full of albums and polaroid’s, their legacy, so to speak.

How sad would it be if we land up in a world where we are unable to show our children who their great or great-great grandparents were? Because we were too busy waiting for the right time.

In the days of my pregnancy, I followed Mum forums, scrolled Pinterest endlessly, read countless blogs and made a vow to myself that I’d print albums to document my baby’s development during her early years.

And yes, I signed up to an app which entitled you to a monthly album or a print bundle and for her first year I was persistent. And then, life as a mum got busy, and spending half an hour choosing photos to fit in boxes on my iPhone was last on my to do list amongst the ironing, the baby food preparation and wardrobe organizing required (who knew babies could go through clothes so quickly). And when I wasn’t doing the things that I kept thinking I should be doing around the house, I had the seat reclined and I’d binge watch anything other than babyTV.

We are only on year two, but on each birthday we have captured her and hope to continue to do this until she will willingly allow us. It has been quite a crazy year for us, close friends losing family members unexpectedly and others lives’ being placed on hold due to illness.

Don’t let reasons like this become the reason you say, “I wish”. Begin your legacy and be a part of your children’s, grandchildren’s and great grandchildren’s future. Don’t put it off for a haircut, until you’ve lost a little weight or you’ve got a bit of a tan. These minor details will be irrelevant when your portraits hold so much more value at a later date. Be on the other side of the camera, write your names and the date on your portraits and savour them. Put them on your wall, put them in a box, make them a valued physical memory rather than being on a USB or hard drive in a drawer somewhere. We always talk about future proofing our images, or saving them to the cloud. In my Dad’s boxes are images of Luna’s great-great grandparents. And what a great feeling it is to see them right their in my very hands.

Leave your legacy <3