Why Being in Your Family Photos Matters More Than You Think ~ Chicago and Naperville Family Photographer
One day, someone you’ll never meet will hold a photograph of you.
They’ll study it the way children do—without hurry, without assumption.
They’ll trace the edges with their eyes and ask, Who is that?
And someone will answer with your name.
I remember when my youngest child used to carry around a photograph of her great-great grandmother Edna. She spoke about her as if she knew her. As if they’d shared stories, or tea, or time. But they never met. That woman had passed long before my child was born. And yet—there she was. Known. Remembered. Loved.
Why Family Photos Matter for Future Generations
I remember when my youngest child used to carry around a photograph of her great-great grandmother Edna. She spoke about her as if she knew her. As if they’d shared stories, or tea, or time. But they never met. That woman had passed long before my child was born. And yet—there she was. Known. Remembered. Loved.
Now, my 22-month-old grandson does the same thing.
Since he was barely a year old, he’s been drawn to the framed photographs around our home. He points at them with his tiny finger and asks, “That?”—wanting to know who they are. I tell him. He listens so intently. There’s a genuine curiosity there. A need to know. A quiet recognition that these faces matter.
And that’s when it hits me, over and over again.
This is what photographs do.
They are not just records of moments.
They are bridges.
They are threads that tie generations together—long after voices are gone and hands can no longer hold ours.
What Photographs Leave Behind When We’re Gone
One day, your grandchildren—or their children—will stand in front of a photograph of you. They won’t know the sound of your laugh. They won’t remember the smirk you made when your husband teased you. They won’t know the exact way you said their grandmothers name.
But they will know something.
They’ll see your kind eyes.
Your gentle smile.
The way you leaned into the people you loved.
And the photograph will tell them what words cannot:
that love existed long before them.
that they belong to a story already in motion.
that they were always being waited for.
Why It’s Important for Parents and Grandparents to be in Photos
This is why it matters that you are in the photos.
This is why I chose to be a photographer for a living.
Not just to create images for social media or holiday cards—but preserving something deeper. Capturing proof that tenderness existed. That joy was shared. That connection mattered.
Because one day, someone you’ll never meet will hold a photograph of you—
and feel an unexplainable connection to YOU.
Family Photography Is About More Than the Moment
It’s easy to think of photographs as markers of a specific day—a holiday, a milestone, a season of life. But the truth is, the moment they capture is only the beginning of their purpose.
Over time, photographs stop being about what was happening that day and start becoming about who was there. They hold proof of presence. Of connection. Of love that once gathered in a room and left its imprint behind.
Years from now, these images won’t be measured by how perfectly everyone smiled or whether the light was just right. They’ll matter because they show who belonged to whom. Because they tell a quiet story: this family existed, and they loved each other well.
That’s why family photography has never been about perfection for me. It’s about creating something that can outlast the moment—something that still holds meaning when the details fade.
Choosing a Family Photographer Who Understands Legacy
When you choose a family photographer, you’re choosing more than a style or a session date. You’re choosing someone to help preserve your place in the story.
A photographer who understands legacy looks beyond the immediate image. They pay attention to the relationships in front of them—the way hands reach for one another, the way children lean in, the quiet exchanges that often go unnoticed. They know these are the details that will matter later.
Because long after the images are taken, long after the moment has passed, these photographs will remain. They’ll be held, studied, and wondered over by someone you’ll never meet.
And when that day comes, what will matter most is that the image feels true. That it carries warmth. That it tells them—without explanation—that love has been waiting for them for generations.
with love and light,
Alicia Staley Johnson
of Alicia’s Photography
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