The Stories We Don’t See: Why Every Portrait Holds a Legacy

Some stories aren’t written in words. They’re lived, carried, and—if we’re lucky—captured in a photographs. I recently found a pile of old photographs of my mom from when she was a little girl, through high school, and when she met my dad. She’s gone now, but the photos of her, my grandparents, and my great-grandparents on her side connect me to something deeper. My great-grandfather immigrated to the U.S. from Wales, U.K., and became a naturalized citizen. I found his naturalization certificate! Amazing! The stories in those old photographs and compelling.

[Right: My mother as a little girl on the left with my grandparents and my grandfather’s family, Nov. 25, 1948.]

[Left: My family, Dec. 1979 - I’m the buck-toothed blondie in the lower right. And, yes, my mother did out my brother and me in matching outfits. Don’t laugh! You probably have a photo like this too somewhere!]

Tomorrow my weekly #ThoughtfulThursday video will be dropped. It’s about the invisible stories behind every face we photograph. And if you’ve ever looked at an image and felt something stir—something you couldn’t quite name—you know exactly what I mean.

As I think about when I photograph people, I don’t just see their expressions. Behind those faces and bodies are decades of memories, struggles, quiet triumphs, and love. I imagine what they’re carrying into the frame: childhood roots, hard-won confidence, the curve of a smile they share with their daughter. I get to know a lot of my clients, and I know some of their stories.

You see, that’s the power of portraiture. It doesn’t just show us what someone looks like. It invites us to remember who they are.

And when done well—when it’s created with intention, empathy, and artistry—a portrait becomes more than an image. It becomes legacy.

Because in the end, the photographs we pass down aren’t about how we looked. They’re about how we lived.

So I invite you to pause for a moment and ask yourself:

If I were to photograph you today, what story—what truth, what history, what legacy—would we be capturing?

When you’re ready to tell that story, it would be my privilege to help you capture it.

Whether you’re looking for maternity or new born portraits, family portraits, graduating senior portraits, an engagement portrait, or just to celebrate a wedding anniversary, give me a call and let’s capture your legacy. I offer complimentary consultations!

Let’s turn your story into something timeless.

[Right: My mother as she graduated from high school, 1963.]