The importance of getting family portraits taken...my perspective!

Growing up in my house I was always surrounded by photographs. There were no professional photographers in the family, but there certainly was an appreciation of photographs. One of my earliest memories of photographs was looking through albums my mum had and seeing a photograph of her, taken by my dad, at Dromana bridge.  I fell in love with that bridge.  I remember being on holidays in Tramore many years later and going into a shop to buy a postcard with a picture of Dromana bridge on it!  Little did I know then that later as an adult I would end up living only minutes from it!

Dromana gate/bridge

There was always a camera in our house, dad usually the photographer as mum always cut off essential body parts like heads! But, Mam would have been the leading force behind guarding photographs and organising professional photographs. We didn't have much spare cash growing up but special occasions were marked with a trip to the photographer! I remember being brought to Rory Wyley in Dungarvan after my first holy communion for my session. Rory had also taken my parents wedding photographs and my age one photographs. After this I remember my sisters communion photographs were taken by John Tynan in Dungarvan and her age 1 photograph was on display in Rory Wyley's window for ages!

My parents on their wedding day 1976. I'm not sure who took this but it was definitely set up by Rory Wyley

  

Photographs like this one above are important. My grandfather passed away when I was only 2 months old, just over a year after this photograph was taken.  He is on the right of the photograph above. I obviously never knew him but I know what he looks like. I know what his brothers looked like as my mum has rescued photographs from my grand parents house after they had both passed away! My children will also know what he looked like as I have scanned and saved these photographs before the hard copies fade much more.

Photographs were obviously important to my grandmother (dad's mum above). She had so many of them framed at home. I remember her telling me about how she and her sister would occasionally get dressed up and go to get professional photographs done when she lived in London. She worked as a lady's maid and when she got married the lady she worked for gave her the most amazing piece of jewellery when she was leaving her service. I know these stories because I would look at all the photographs in her cabinet and ask her who all these people were. She would then tell me not only who they were but the stories that went with them. I know there is a photograph of her with her sister and their husbands (who were also brothers!) somewhere, I think my aunt has it. This was of great importance to my grandmother as her sister was killed in an accident some time after. Without this photograph I might not have known the story.

My grandmother photographed in London some time in the 1930s I am guessing.  The photographers' stamp can be seen on the bottom right hand corner! I have this framed on my wall at home. I love it! They put so much effort into getting ready for these photographs

My first professional shoot was when I was 1 day old (below)! Back then (1977) it was the norm to have a photographer within the hospital come around and take photographs of the newborns if the parents wished.  I remember it still happening when I was a student in nurse in Dublin in the nineties. Now, because of phones etc this no longer happens. However, there are amazing newborn photographers out there who are so skilled at there work! They like to do newborn shoots between 5-10 days old so the baby is still easy to get into poses.

Me age 1 day (photographer unknown)

Me age 1 taken by Rory Wyley

My sister age 1 taken by Rory Wyley

After this there are confirmation photographs, debs ball, nurses graduation ball, nurses graduations (I have a few!), my wedding (below, taken by Robert Power) and now it's my childrens turn to be documented in detail! From the first photographs we took ourselves to pixiphotos of the girls when they were babies to their communion photographs which I shot myself. From my son's first shoot with the amazing Eileen Hyland at Creative Images Portrait Studio which also turned out to be our first family photo shoot, I don't think there is a stage of their lives that I haven't documented with photography! We have a long way to go yet!

                 My daughters above and below for their communions taken by me! 

I guess what I am trying to say is never underestimate the power of a photograph. It can trigger memories, inform us of who we are and where we are from, and educate us on our past.  There is more to a photograph than a piece of wall art. Value your photographer!

My mother for her communion. (photographer unknown)