I’ve never forgotten an invaluable piece of advice that I heard from an older friend right after my first child was born. She told me, “One of my greatest regrets about my children’s childhoods was that I didn’t have more professional pictures taken.”

“You didn’t take many pictures?” I asked.

“I took tons of pictures,” she said, “but the fact is, professional photographs are so much better than even the best snapshots.”

I absolutely agree—professional photos are better. And keeping her advice in mind, ever since my daughters were born, I’ve been zealous about getting their photos taken professionally at least once a year.

While it’s a lot of fun (and also a pain) to take pictures myself, it’s terrific to have some pictures that are truly excellent. These photos don’t take the place of the on-the-spot pictures that I take myself—I still take scads of photos at birthday parties, first days of school, on the slide, with a popsicle—but these pictures memorialize my children’s childhoods in a different way.

Plus they make great family gifts. I can never figure out a good present for the grandparents and great-grandparents, but they always love to get a really great photograph—especially the relatives who don’t often get a chance to see the girls in person.

Also, research shows that one way to boost your happiness is to reflect on happy times, and looking at photographs helps keep memories more vivid.

It’s a splurge, of course. Professional photos aren’t cheap.

However, I figure that the money I spend on these photographs will strengthen family bonds, enhance happy memories, and capture the fleeting moments of childhood. They give me more pleasure than practically any other purchases that I make. That strikes me as pretty good happiness bang for the buck.
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That last paragraph is pretty powerful and I couldn’t agree more! If you were forced to run out of your house with only a few seconds to grab some prized possessions, most people state they would grab their photographs and it’s not hard to understand why. Your photographs are your heirlooms that will be passed down from generation to generation.

Here’s a special moment between a mother and daughter that I was honored to capture. The little girl was loving on her mom’s shoulder and her mom was gently rocking her. She looked up at me for a split second and I quickly snapped the picture. Love this…

Until next time…

Well, along with summer comes the beginning of the busy season. I only accept a limited amount of sessions each month so if you’re considering getting portraits taken, I’d recommend reserving a date now. And in the spirit of new seasons and new portraits, I thought I’d leave you with some clothing examples I threw together. All of these outfits came from Old Navy (www.oldnavy.com). You can get an idea of how to coordinate outfits for your whole family easily while looking cohesive and fabulous!