Why Are Family Portraits So Important?

Many years ago (try about 40, to be more exact), Mom and Dad said to my three brothers and me, “The photographer is coming. It’s time for a family portrait.” Wherever my parents lived, from New Jersey to Florida, that portrait of our family became the first piece to hang in their new home, usually front and center in the living room, directly over the sofa.

It was a statement of family… a loving family, a caring family. It was a beautiful portrait, photographed against the background of a nearby lake. A lot of people can’t visualize dimensions when I rattle off numbers, but let me give this one a try… it was sizeable at 20 x 24 inches. It almost didn’t need a frame because the composition included mature trees that surrounded the family, nicely vignetting the portrait. And yet, it was elegantly framed.

Today that portrait lives on my wall in my living room, yes, front and center. It speaks, “I’m proud of my family!” It’s a handsome piece of art! It makes the room.

Years have passed, and we’re not all together, yet, there we are… all together! I’m forever grateful to my parents for the iconic portrait of my lifetime.