My husband walked by while I was pulling photos for this blog. He asked, “Why are you blogging those?” My first thought was “…because I like them?” They are different than most of my work, but I’m proud of them. His question was harmless. He was just wondering why I was choosing to blog my family instead of a client session.

Then I sat back and thought for a minute … why, at this moment, am I choosing to share these? Why, at this moment, have I also gathered other family photos taken in the last two years?

And it hit me. Because I miss my family. Because COVID-19 has made me more aware than usual that life is fragile. Because, if I’m honest, I’m scared…and want so badly for my family to stay safe.

So, in the uncertainty…in the missing…I find myself wanting to look back through photos of my family & their precious faces. That’s why I’m posting them. Now for why I took these photos in the first place…

In 2018, our world came to a screeching halt when my dad had a massive heart attack. Thankfully, due to so many small miracles & details, he made it. But 2018 was hard. For the first time, my family — who had been mostly healthy until that point — started to experience some other health challenges.

When faced with that fragility of life, my photographer heart suddenly realized — I have no recent photos of my loved ones! So began my “photograph-my-own-family” project. I asked my family to model for me. I’ve had 4 different family sessions with members of my own family since the middle of 2018. I still haven’t had a session that includes the youngest generations with our oldest generations, so that is next on my list. As soon as we get through this COVID-19 stuff, that will be top of my list!

For this particular session, I wanted to try something different than my normal work. Instead of going outside like I normally do for family sessions with adult children, I asked my dad & my grandparents to come to my studio and to allow me to take a few more traditional photos. I wanted to play with darker backgrounds, to focus on drawing out their personalities & to strip everything else away.

I loved that I got to sit with them and ask them questions and listen to them tell stories while I photographed them. Normally, I might have received some resistance from my family about taking more than two or three photos. My dad is famous for saying, “Okay that is enough” pretty quickly when it comes to photos! But, this was different. It’s truly a special memory for me. We were all so aware of how lucky we were to all be in that room together. So we savored it. With time in front of the camera, they relaxed and I got some photos showing expressions that I, as their daughter & granddaughter, recognize as “so them”.

Also — clothing note — my grandpa dressed himself! The older he gets, the more dapper he becomes!

If all that was too long to read — here is the short & quick take away. Life is fragile. Get photos with your parents, with your kids, with your grandparents — NO MATTER YOUR AGE. No matter their age. Get the photos. In hard times, you will be so thankful you did!

Thank you for taking time to read this blog post!! 

This post should give you a peak into what you will receive when you commission me to photograph your family or wedding. 

If you have booked a session with me and love what you see here – please send me a link so that I can see what you hope to create in our time together. 

Due to high demand, I accept a limited number of clients each month, so if you haven’t booked yet, contact me here to reserve your spot on my calendar!

Studies show that displaying family photos of parents, of children (all phases – newborn through adolescent), and of the family all together can help to boost a child’s self esteem & confidence. This is what excites me most about my work. As a former art teacher, I love children and want to help you preserve your memories, as well as help your children remember how much they are loved by their family. 

Sarah Sidwell Photography is based in Nashville, Tennessee and we specialize in wedding, newborn, baby, child, family, and lifestyle documentary photography. Areas of service include Nashville, Brentwood, Franklin, Murfreesboro, Spring Hill, Leipers Fork, Hendersonville and more.