Tanis Katie Photography – Fraser Valley Wedding + Portrait Photographer

This is a long post, but I promise, it’s well worth the read :)

Lara and I had our first conversation online  - in a group about making friends, encouraging each other, and have awesome conversations about life + photography :) When she contacted me for some family photos just before the New Year, I was so excited! Excited for the shoot, and excited to meet her in person! See, most photography groups and forums I am a part of, you end up chatting with people from all over the world and have a slim chance of ever actually meeting them in person… so the fact that I got to go meet Lara and her family was awesome!

I arrived and was welcomed with open arms, warm smiles and a cup of tea; felt like I had known this family for ages.  Lara’s grandfather was in town – he comes from Ireland to visit every year – and one of their favourite family past times is to play card games and drink tea around the big dining table. They wanted images captured of their favourite memories… no posing, no saying “cheese”… just being themselves and hanging out. I got to hang out with the family for a few hours and capture them doing just that.

And you know what? It turned out to by one of my most favourite sessions, ever. Not only for the photos I captured, but for the memories they will forever have… and what these images truly mean to them… Lara couldn’t have said it better:

(get your tissues out folks, I’m tearing up even just putting this post together…)

“When we realized we wanted some candid family photos, we had no idea Grandpa had cancer, we just wanted some pictures that we didn’t take (family with two photographers!) to hang up on our walls. He travels here once a year from Ireland and we knew he was getting older, we actually celebrated his 88th before he passed, so we knew we should get some done. Grandpa loved photos, and we made an album of them and gave them to him on his birthday and even though he was so weak and tired, he smiled and said they were good. Now if you knew my Grandpa, you would laugh and know that he absolutely hates presents! That day was cold, not that you would ever know from looking at those photos! He looked happy and so much healthier than just a few short weeks later. At his memorial we had the album there to look at and people loved them, no posed shots, just loved ones laughing and squeezing close, playing his beloved game of 250 and drinking one of the many pots of tea we shared a day. I think that these real moment/lifestyle sessions are so important, they tug my heart strings more than any posed/studio shot could. They are honest, real and flood you with good memories. I cannot express how priceless these photos are to me, I hang the prints on my wall, I flip through the book, and I remember him and the love we all shared. Even though I do not love having my photo taken, I am so glad we did this, and I would encourage anyone to have these sessions done sooner than later. There is no use in waiting for weight to be lost, skin to clear up, the weather to get warmer or anything at all. When you look back at the session, all you will see is love and happiness and a story, not clothing, hair or anything else. We never know how long we have with each other, and when we were in Ireland going through his house, we found photos. Photos in albums, on tables, tucked into desks. We all cherish photos, invest in your memories and keepsakes.”

The image below of Grandpa’s hands could very well be one of my favourite photos ever taken. It’s simple, it’s nothing “special”, it’s probably a photo anyone could take… but it just says so much to me…After a couple games of 250, they headed outside to sit around the fire… it was cold, but no one seemed to mind…Who knew at the time how precious this photo would be…

And when Grandpa got a little too cold, they bundled him up and brought him inside, and I snuck just a couple quick photos of Lara’s sister + her boyfriend, and Lara + her hubby (& pup!)…

Lara, I can’t thank you enough for letting me be a small part in your family memories. I fell in love with you and your family the minute I was welcomed through that door… and I am so happy I got to capture these images for you. To life, love, happiness… hellos and goodbyes… new beginnings (and new friendships!)…

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