Portrait sessions are always exciting but sometimes there's even greater joy because of something special that happened meantime.
Ten-year-old Ellie Edwards came to the studio in April with her mother, Natasha; brother, Duke, 12; and sisters Amanda, 14; and Victoria, 15. It would have been the normal portrait session in every way except for one minor detail.
I had a special relationship with Ellie. Only two years ago, I had photographed her with other children for the Pediatric Cancer Foundation, an organization that conducts tests at various clinics in hopes of finding treatments and cures for the devastating disease. At the time, it wasn't known exactly what direction little Ellie's health would go. Just having cancer is bad enough...but not knowing anything beyond that is even worse.
I was overjoyed when Ellie came to the studio to have a portrait taken with the rest of her family. The sparce head of hair I remembered her with had given way to a full head of long, beautiful hair and she was bubbling with joy in the present and hope for the future. Her treatments had been successful. Each year I take photographs of those children, I wonder about them and their future. This time I got to see firsthand.
Ellie's mom had purchased a gift certificate to my studio at the Fashion Funds the Cure fundraiser for the Pediatric Cancer Foundation at Saks Fifth Avenue some months ago. She had come to the studio to redeem it. The session was so special, to see how Ellie connected with her mother...to see her celebrating her recovery.
Portraiture of the type I do for the Foundation requires me to stay in the present. I try not to ever focus on the illness but on the people...the children. For them, being photographed is a break from the routine, the treatments, the occasional pain, etc., and a time I try to make into an extraordinary experience for them.
The great thing is their experience is recorded for posterity. This time I came away from my work with more than just exposures in my camera, more than just wall portraits. The experience gave me the great feeling that perhaps photography plays as important a part in the healing process as medicine and therapy. It may sound strange to some but I truly think it does.
The sense the children get that they are important, that being in front of the camera is at that time the most important place to be in the world...that's got to have an affect on them. The relationship of subject, photographer and camera is one that cannot be replicated in any medical clinic anywhere in the world.
Ellie, you're a beautiful and courageous lady. Good luck and please visit us again soon!
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Happy Endings are Best!
Portrait sessions are always exciting but sometimes there's even greater joy because of something special that happened meantime.
Ten-year-old Ellie Edwards came to the studio in April with her mother, Natasha; brother, Duke, 12; and sisters Amanda, 14; and Victoria, 15. It would have been the normal portrait session in every way except for one minor detail.
I had a special relationship with Ellie. Only two years ago, I had photographed her with other children for the Pediatric Cancer Foundation, an organization that conducts tests at various clinics in hopes of finding treatments and cures for the devastating disease. At the time, it wasn't known exactly what direction little Ellie's health would go. Just having cancer is bad enough...but not knowing anything beyond that is even worse.
I was overjoyed when Ellie came to the studio to have a portrait taken with the rest of her family. The sparce head of hair I remembered her with had given way to a full head of long, beautiful hair and she was bubbling with joy in the present and hope for the future. Her treatments had been successful. Each year I take photographs of those children, I wonder about them and their future. This time I got to see firsthand.
Ellie's mom had purchased a gift certificate to my studio at the Fashion Funds the Cure fundraiser for the Pediatric Cancer Foundation at Saks Fifth Avenue some months ago. She had come to the studio to redeem it. The session was so special, to see how Ellie connected with her mother...to see her celebrating her recovery.
Portraiture of the type I do for the Foundation requires me to stay in the present. I try not to ever focus on the illness but on the people...the children. For them, being photographed is a break from the routine, the treatments, the occasional pain, etc., and a time I try to make into an extraordinary experience for them.
The great thing is their experience is recorded for posterity. This time I came away from my work with more than just exposures in my camera, more than just wall portraits. The experience gave me the great feeling that perhaps photography plays as important a part in the healing process as medicine and therapy. It may sound strange to some but I truly think it does.
Ten-year-old Ellie Edwards came to the studio in April with her mother, Natasha; brother, Duke, 12; and sisters Amanda, 14; and Victoria, 15. It would have been the normal portrait session in every way except for one minor detail.
I had a special relationship with Ellie. Only two years ago, I had photographed her with other children for the Pediatric Cancer Foundation, an organization that conducts tests at various clinics in hopes of finding treatments and cures for the devastating disease. At the time, it wasn't known exactly what direction little Ellie's health would go. Just having cancer is bad enough...but not knowing anything beyond that is even worse.
I was overjoyed when Ellie came to the studio to have a portrait taken with the rest of her family. The sparce head of hair I remembered her with had given way to a full head of long, beautiful hair and she was bubbling with joy in the present and hope for the future. Her treatments had been successful. Each year I take photographs of those children, I wonder about them and their future. This time I got to see firsthand.
Ellie's mom had purchased a gift certificate to my studio at the Fashion Funds the Cure fundraiser for the Pediatric Cancer Foundation at Saks Fifth Avenue some months ago. She had come to the studio to redeem it. The session was so special, to see how Ellie connected with her mother...to see her celebrating her recovery.
Portraiture of the type I do for the Foundation requires me to stay in the present. I try not to ever focus on the illness but on the people...the children. For them, being photographed is a break from the routine, the treatments, the occasional pain, etc., and a time I try to make into an extraordinary experience for them.
The great thing is their experience is recorded for posterity. This time I came away from my work with more than just exposures in my camera, more than just wall portraits. The experience gave me the great feeling that perhaps photography plays as important a part in the healing process as medicine and therapy. It may sound strange to some but I truly think it does.
The sense the children get that they are important, that being in front of the camera is at that time the most important place to be in the world...that's got to have an affect on them. The relationship of subject, photographer and camera is one that cannot be replicated in any medical clinic anywhere in the world.
Ellie, stay well and come back soon! You've come a long way!
Ellie, stay well and come back soon! You've come a long way!
Saturday, June 20, 2009
We Can't Go Back....
There are lots of places we can procrastinate in life but photography is not one of them. Moments in time are here for just that long, a moment. So many of the moments we preserve with photography are accidental. However, to achieve that perfect memory...to capture that once in a lifetime image (and that's what they all are, they don't repeat themselves)...requires a highly skilled professional artist/photographer and the desired members of a family to come together just once before the camera.
Making such moments happen sometimes takes work, particularly if one or more of those who are to be in the portrait are out of town. Someone has to take the lead. It can come in the form of a surprise. Mom calls the kids who live away and requests a very special birthday present...a portrait of her with the family. How can she be turned down, especially if others are willing to pay for a plane ticket. The organizer makes sure this golden moment happens.
If the planning is far enough in advance, say six months, and a strict committment is made, the reality of a perfect portrait can materialize. Who could possibly turn down mom for her birthday...or dad for Father's Day?
If you have a group you want to get together but are having difficulty getting everybody in town or to a specific place at the same time, let us know. We specialize in making portraits happen and we'll go the extra mile for just that reason.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
First Post on My New Blog
We've made a lot of improvements to our web site, including this blog. You'll now find our site easier to navigate and with new images and features.
My blog will be changed about once a week and feature details of what's going on at the studio, interesting people and their portrait sessions, specials that we may be offering and other bits of information that will help you better understand how the portrait process operates and how wall portrait decor is becoming a significant part of the interior design landscape...for both homes and offices.
I recently returned from a vacation to Peru, from which I had to return early because of a minor illness. I do hope to get back to the beautiful country at some point. Travel is important to me and I'm able to bring back images, such as the ones from Cuba featured on this site, that people enjoy and want copies of to display in their homes.
We are grateful to our many customers who have returned for new portraits as the years have passed and to our new clients who have seen our work displayed or won a portrait session gift certificate and called for an appointment. We encourage you to call us for any portrait needs and we promise that every session, every portrait...every moment of your experience at Pepito Masterpiece Portraits...will be memorable and productive for you in every way.
Have a great day and please let us hear from you soon!
My blog will be changed about once a week and feature details of what's going on at the studio, interesting people and their portrait sessions, specials that we may be offering and other bits of information that will help you better understand how the portrait process operates and how wall portrait decor is becoming a significant part of the interior design landscape...for both homes and offices.
I recently returned from a vacation to Peru, from which I had to return early because of a minor illness. I do hope to get back to the beautiful country at some point. Travel is important to me and I'm able to bring back images, such as the ones from Cuba featured on this site, that people enjoy and want copies of to display in their homes.
We are grateful to our many customers who have returned for new portraits as the years have passed and to our new clients who have seen our work displayed or won a portrait session gift certificate and called for an appointment. We encourage you to call us for any portrait needs and we promise that every session, every portrait...every moment of your experience at Pepito Masterpiece Portraits...will be memorable and productive for you in every way.
Have a great day and please let us hear from you soon!
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