Over 20 years ago, they would go on grandma/granddaughter ice cream dates together. They come back to toast to those memories.
Capturing a little nostalgia for this family by revisiting Taylor’s Ice Cream Parlor, a place where Emma would take her granddaughter for a treat during those hot summers. Emma attributes her long life (102 at the time) to her love of ice cream, and watching her enjoy it was hysterical. I hope I am this cool of a person at 102 years young!
I surprised the family by asking Megan about their dates together, and was filming them during this time. I just let both of them talk while we were setting up so I could really get the story. It was great to open up our ordering appointment in their home with this video below, to hear them laughing as they watched is the reason why I do this.
A thank you to Taylor’s Ice Cream for being open to us photographing there. I stress the importance of meaningful locations, and luckily, they recovered after a fire not long ago for us to be able to work there. Please enjoy the video/photos, and be sure to contact me for your own session as well.
UPDATE:
I received one of the best testimonials from Nancy (Emma’s daughter and Megan’s mom) for this, a 2 page PDF! I sat stunned reading this, never expecting it at all. Here it is, unedited. This reaffirms why I do this for a living:
“Dear Anthony,
There are many things I would like to share with you regarding our work together. First, rather than WORK, this was a true journey…one that began nearly 3 years ago!!
I must admit that I was quite skeptical at first engaging in another family “portrait” since the last one was not at all what it portended to be. Indeed, though this competitor does a brisk business, the result was not the warm family photo we had anticipated. So when you came into our lives and our family room and took a long time to get to know us, I felt as if we were finally on the right path. In fact, the first leg of our journey together seemed to herald a bright future and a beautiful ending.
Alas!! Along came Hurricane Sandy and suddenly life, as many of us knew it changed. Happily, for you, it meant the birth of your beautiful daughter and the rebirth of your business in another location! And, to your credit, you never lost sight of those with whom you had established a vision. So you persisted and when the site of our anticipated shoot burned to the ground and took a year to rebuild, you remained calm and attentive to our desire to have the shoot take place here, at this particular place, since it held so much meaning and sentiment for us.
Your personal interest exceeded that of “vendor and client”. YOU took the time to establish a working relationship with the owners of the shop. YOU set the date for the session when you are usually at home with your family. YOU were attentive and in tune with our needs of safety for EMMA and a trusting environment for MEG – who dislikes her picture being taken. YOU were the one who talked us through it, said all the right things to put everyone at ease, made us laugh and chat and smile as you skillfully and artfully caught it all on camera!! And YOU were the one who kept repeating how we needed all three generations of women in the photo…soooo many thanks for all these things!!!
Nearly three years after our first meeting, you again came into our home and patiently took us through the results of that session. You shared stories of your family with us and listened to ours in return. It was impossible to select only one photo from all those you had taken…so you suggested a collage of images…a perfect solution! Then you sent us a priceless YOUTUBE video as a prelude to the final images. I cannot tell you how many “likes” that YOUTUBE has received and how many comments it has generated.
So now, our long awaited family COLLAGE is here. In it the bond between Grandmother and Granddaughter is immediately understood. Their love and acceptance of one another needs no verbal explanation. It is all right here for all to see and enjoy. Your “pictures” will tell their story to future generations.
I thank you for your kindness and humor, your steadfastness and respectfulness. As an artist, I thank you for the artistry in your photography and your mindfulness of even the smallest detail. Finally, as the woman representing the second generation, I thank you for urging me to “at least get in one” photograph!!!
Most appreciatively,”
Nancy Healy: Chester , NJ
Anthony is a professional photographer specializing in custom family wall portraits, and has helped decorate the homes of dozens of families originally in the northeast, but now in North Carolina. He also creates a luxury boudoir experience for women, and assists companies with their web presence through custom commercial photography. Anthony works out of his studio in Zebulon, NC, but resides in Wake Forest, NC with this wife and 2 children.
Reserve your professional portrait session today
Call (984) 212 7278 or email me the best time to contact you for a no-obligation chat.
