One of the greatest things about being in the business we are in...is being able to preserve memories of people who aren't long for this earth.

Recently a bride forwarded several e-mails to me from her relatives -- they all say the same thing -- that they cry every time they watch the slideshow.

I shot her wedding (click here for slideshow) two months ago and her grandfather passed away recently. They say that the images I shot on the wedding day really showed his personality.

(forgive me for my tilt abuse!)

That's awesome Dan. I really believe that that is the most important part of what we do. When someone is gone, for whatever reason, having a picture of them that really captures their soul is a tremendous blessing.

:-)

~Bill

Nice wedding Dan! It looks like it's still Summer in St Louis--you are so lucky! The grandfather is so cute...you are right, we are lucky to be in this biz!

I shot a wedding back in 2001 and a few months later the father passed away from blood cancer disease. I knew to concentrate on him because they let me in the loop. He whooped it up and I tried my best to capture all that for the couple. It was pretty amazing gift that I was honored to give them: fun memories of their dad!

Geneve

dan, that is so wonderful.

this is exactly why formals need to be elevated to the same fun/creative/timeless shots as the rest of the day. there needs to be a beautiful photograph of the people who are close to the couple, as it could be the last photograph any of them take.

Oddly enough, dan, I *just* went through this same thing yesterday...
The bride called me and told me that her special aunt passed away, and that the family's favorite photo of her was this one:
...because it shows her personality. (And she was an absolute gem!)
(forgive my selective coloration abuse)

tilt abuse
selective color abuse

LOL

That's cool Dan-
and thanks Robin for reminding me about "elevating" formal family photo time to be fun and creative-

I photographed my girlfriends family before she started chemo for breast cancer and lost all her hair-
She is 37 and has two children under 5.
Everyone who sees the slideshow(who knows her or just knows her story) is so emotionally moved by it-

I always praise the person(generally women(....sorry for the gender abuse)) who organize these large family sessions to document their immediate and extended family-
not an easy thing to pull off, but the photographs will be around forever!

Cheers

Great work Lisa. Love the desaturated shot of mom & daughter hugging.

Nice work, Dan! I like the song...who is it?

And what you are saying is so true. My grandparents weren't in my formals and that is the one shot I really miss! Now they are all gone and I missed a great chance to get pictures of them! Live and learn! What we do really is important...I would say the most important! Without pictures, there is no link from the past to the future.

BTW, is that the Anheiser Busch building where Dan Schmidt works?!