The Part that no one Warns you about

I have come across a lot of different situations while taking photos but there is one thing that everyone neglected to warn me about when I continued on with taking clients. It came as quite a shock to me when I realized it, as it had never crossed my mind before, photography was always such a happy occasion for me...

A few years back I was looking through a newspaper (wow, I know, people still read!), and I was about to set it down when I noticed a photo that looked very farmiliar to me. My mom had taken it, it was a smiling older gentleman who I just knew as "grandpa" from my first bride (My first time photographing a wedding was with this lovely woman). He was a kind man from the small amount I had gathered from his family and it broke my heart when I noticed that this lovely photo was placed in the Obituary section. 

 
At this point, however many years ago, it did not hit me all that hard, people age and eventually they pass on. Grandpa had lived an incredibly full life and while we were mournful, we were settled knowing he had a wonderful time here. It wasn't until 2019 that I had the horrible realization that at some point, you are going to take someone's last set of photos.

I took a last set of photos a few years back, every moment of it broke my heart even though we were having so much fun. My friend had gotten a rare Cancer, and we weren't sure how long she had so I offered to do photos of their family as a happy memory. As I had said before, we had so much fun. We laughed, we chatted about old times, we got wonderful photos for all of them to remember the moment by. They modelled, they goofed around, and we just kept laughing together. But when it came time to go everything seemed to hit us at once. It was like time stood still as we said our goodbyes and I hugged my friend, for what I didn't know would be my last time. 

She insisted on paying me, even though I persistently said no, they gave me two dollars and told me to carve a pumpkin for them. We had done our photos at a local pumpkin patch and it was one of my absolute favourite spots. After getting home, editing, and getting the images back to them, I got amazing feedback on how much fun it was and how well I did with the images. It truly is a huge compliment when people you've known forever tell you how talented you are. 

It’s taken me what seems like a lifetime to be able to finish this post, as I’ve cried every time I look at it. Going back through the photos I can still hear her laugh, and remember her how she was. She was a ray of light in the darkness, a bubbly warm hug on a cold day, the person that stuck up for you when no one else would. I could go on about her and what a kind human she was but that would make this my longest post yet. I am forever grateful for the photos I was able to do for her and her family. Forever grateful for that last hug that I got with my friend when she was still in such good spirits. Truly forever grateful to be a photographer and be able to pause time in those moments we never want to forget. 

“Morgi’s Glow”

🐾 Grae