Jenkins family

No one more than a mom through this life understands how quickly the years pass us by.   It weighed on Susan that she hadn’t had family portraits created with her whole family.  Meanwhile, son after son was passing her in height and most markedly, her oldest Alex was entering his last year of high school. 

Anytime the topic of portraits came up, she was met with strong resistance.  I always joke it’s women who keep portrait traditions alive…if it was up to the men in our lives there would be a lot of pictures of cars!  It’s the moms of our world that we are to thank for the precious recordings of our families generation after generation.  In our busy and chaotic lives it’s easy to miss the significance of recording this time…unless of course, you are a mother. 

So it was last Christmas season and Bob decided it was time to quell the protests of his boys and make happen what his sweet bride had been requesting for years.  He came by my studio and said, ‘we’ve never done this before and I’ve only heard wonderful things about you.  Tell me what everyone does and that’s what I want to do for Susie.” 

We talked about the package that just about every client begins with when I create for them.  Bob said, “great, let’s do that and than when she comes, she can get whatever else she wants.”  It’s pretty rare for a husband to realize the significance of something like this for his wife, but the Jenkins family breaks the mold in a lot of areas of life.  Starting with a family of 5 boys!

I have to admit, I was bracing myself prior to their session as I am very familiar with the ‘lack of enthusiasm’ (to put it mildly) that just about every guy who comes to my studio enters with initially.  I was facing this time 5.  I know I can always win them over, but it was going to be harder with a larger group.  Once I met this group though, I realized I could lay my fears aside! 

This is a family that realizes the significance of making memories and laughing together.  Not just do they understand the importance of this, but they make sure it happens.  I knew I would need to keep the portrait process moving and engaging to capture what mom and dad so clearly love about their boys.  When we incorporated a trampoline for their sky shots, I loved it that mom and dad wanted to join in as well!  “Oh we are trampoline people!” mom said as she jumped in delight! 

And can I go back to Susan for a second…when I sat with her in the pre-consult and she talked to me about each of her 5 boys…I wish her boys could have been a fly on the wall to hear how she beamed about each of them.  As she progressed down the list, she started each child with an ‘ooooh, my Alex is…’ and went on to describe in tenderness what she loves about each of them.  She especially is sad to know as Alex is heading off to college in the summer that Austin will be missing his best buddy and she wanted that captured in portraits. 

Susan had high hopes, but she also understood the reality that she had a large group that was resistant to coming for portraits.  Susan said, “if you can have 7 people looking good at the same time you are a miracle worker.”  Needless to say she loved her gallery!  Not to mention her boys loved the portrait time as well which was a huge bonus!  They all did such an awesome job I told Susan privately they could jump in the pool at the end if it was ok with her.  She said, “sure” without a second thought.  Making memories is first on Susan’s list for her boys! 

Perhaps sweetest of all were the moments at the View & Choose that 5 year old Austin provided.  He just loved seeing his family in the gallery and kept remarking which portraits he wanted for his room and what should be around their home.  He loved seeing his mom and dad together.  He loved the fun he had with his brothers.  Then he said, ‘we should have done this sooner!’  Such a pleasure to work with you all Jenkins family!  Enjoy this marking of time of your precious family!