I wish I had a dollar for each time I heard "Who wants a portrait of me?" when suggesting a portrait of a parent with their kids, alone or with their spouse.

Several years ago after just a bit of coaxing, I photographed my parents, George and Audrey Buschauer in my studio. It was a delightful experience being able to finally tell them what to do:)

Actually we all enjoyed it very much. Except dad din't like the part when the makeup artist asked him to sit down in the chair. You see dad's always been the rugged type. The thought of a makeup artist applying makeup to his face didn't sit well, but didn't complain. Well that was fun to watch. Under normal circumstances I don't have makeup artists put makeup on the men, but in this case the opportunity for a good chuckle was too much to resist.

In our family there are five children. I'm the second oldest. I always told my parents they should have stopped at two. But growing up Catholic... well no need for an explanation. I have an older sister Mimi, one brother and two younger sisters.

Portraits always meant a lot to me growing up and I appreciate having them... makes sense since I now do this for a living! When Christmas rolled around that year I knew my older sister would enjoy and find great value in owning one of the portraits of mom and dad as much as I did.

 

The other siblings received a sack of coal from me... kidding, but I gave them each a gift other than the portrait of mom and dad. Surprisingly, they all showed their disappointment, and happily sold one to each of them! 🙂

Of course there's a lesson here:

Consider those that love you when deciding who to include in your next portrait. When the family is photographed, parents, have some portraits done of you individually and together. Your kids will appreciate them even if you don't think they would.