Suzette Cook
There is a folder on my home computer desktop named BACKUP.
Inside of that folder are a dozen folders named after various topics such as travel, action, portraits, school, etc. The one folder that gets opened the most lately is filed under PERSONAL and is titled: MOM PICS. In this MOM PICS folder are the results of a half hour shoot that took place in my studio 15 summers ago.
My mother was here visiting from out of state and we decided to have some fun in the studio. We matched outfits, fixed our hair and had a blast. We posed together, and we posed separately. My mom was such a sport. She wore boxing gloves, cowboy boots, sat in a movie star chair, and even decided to get out her favorite antique ring and show it off.
Some of these photos are too serious, some are too silly and some are just right.
We sat in front of a white background with two studio lights facing us at 45 degree angles. We both looked at the camera, posed cheek to cheek, hugged and laughed. It is probably the only time we have actually sat still and focused on each other and us as mother and daughter.
My favorite image is of mom alone looking off camera with a soft side light. She had just declared, “I am the family matriarch.” The look in her eye is one of pride and strength. As a widow who took care of my Dad through his battle with cancer, and now the single parent of three grown daughters she is the head and heart of our family.
I will always be honored to pose in a photo with her.
On this Mother’s Day or any day real soon, I urge you to either schedule a formal sitting with your mom at a local studio, or at least get out your own camera gear or phone and choose a location that has a simple but complementary background. You can borrow a family member who has decent photography skills and ask them to try to capture a portrait of you and your mom or set the timer. Make sure you get solo photos of mom to study later and please, let her be herself. You might shoot a digital movie of her as well.
Mom and I have continued this tradition all these years later even though we now live a few miles from each other and see each other frequently. She is now 79 years old and I am 53. We are both older and wiser, and that shows in our photos.
Each time I announce that it is “selfie time” she fusses about posing but after we take the snapshot I show the photo to her and she approves.
If your mom is the shy type and says she doesn’t want to be photographed, just remind her of how beautiful she is, and tell her what she means to you and how these photos are as much for you as they are for her. Then quick… take the photo before she wells up with tears.
Tags:none
Subscribe
0 Comments