Till this day, my girls cringe when I break out the old photo albums and boxes of prints from when they were growing up.  They laugh at their funny outfits, point at their crazy hairstyles, and joke/argue about which one is the favorite daughter.  I get such a warm feeling when we sit and chat over these images I worked so hard to curate throughout their lives, always making sure to have my 110 film ready, or my disposable at every event, be it graduation or a sunny day at the park.  Was I obsessed?  Absolutely!!! I feel justified when I observe their wonder as they flip through each envelope stack or album page.  I can actually see their secret joy!  It is OUR family legacy, after all.  Beautifully crafted handmade albums with pink lace detailing on the front cover, the first page of each starting with their sonogram printout, followed by first dinner with a spoon, first birthdays and every other birthday after that, baptisms, proms, first dates, makeup tutorials, summers at the beach, playing dress-up and model for mommy....we did it all.  So, yes, perhaps it was a bit overkill, but when I hear my friends talk about how much they regret not having any pictures of their kids growing up, I pick up my jaw from the ground and wish I was there to help capture it for them!!  Helloooo....?!

David Krauss, a licensed psychologist from Cleveland, Ohio says, “I think it is really important to show a family as a family unit. It is so helpful for children to see themselves as a valued and important part of that family unit. A photographer’s job is to create and make the image look like a safe holding space for kids where they are safe and protected. Kids get it on a really simple level.”Krauss is one of the earliest pioneers in using people’s personal photography and family albums to assist in mental health counseling and therapy. He co-authored “Photo Therapy and Mental Health” in 1983 that is considered a founding text for the use of photography in therapy.“It lets children learn who they are and where they fit,” says Judy Weiser. a psychologist, art therapist and author based in Vancouver. “They learn their genealogy and the the uniqueness of their own family and its story. When a child sees a family portrait with them included in the photograph they say to themselves: ‘These people have me as part of what they are, that’s why I belong here. This is where I come from.'”