The Gift of Self for Tracy on Mother’s Day

Tracy’s portrait session came about via her husband who wanted to give her something extraordinary for Mother’s Day. He came to me after seeing the video for Mother’s Day and we talked about how important it was for mothers to have their portraits made. When does a woman get the chance to have a portrait of just herself, alone? A portrait that reveals her true self? He understood my philosophy about the importance of creating a tangible reminder of his wife. Portraits are a way for their children to connect to their mother in the future. They can be passed down to future generations.

At her reveal, Tracy was overwhelmed with her images. She was initially drawn to the smiling pictures, which is how she’s used to seeing herself, but didn’t know how to feel about the more serious images. As she began to explore herself and really spent time looking at the pictures, her feelings changed. She became more drawn to the serious and darker images. Ultimately, Tracy ended up selecting a variety of images that reflected the depth and multi-faceted nature of her personality.

Tracy did feel some guilt about selecting so many photographs of herself. Her husband reminded her, “the people who love you will want to look at you.” He even mentioned their young daughter and his desire to do this for her when she is older. He saw the session as an invaluable experience and something from which his daughter could benefit in the future. Obviously, Tracy has an amazing and caring husband.