Newborn to Roselle High School Senior Photography : In the Blink of an Eye

Some sessions stop me in my tracks.

Not because anything went wrong – nope. Quite the opposite, actually. Sometimes a session stops me because of what it represents. Because of the amount of time that has passed. Because of who is standing in front of your camera and who they used to be.

I first met A when he was a newborn. His mom reached out to me a few months ago with a version of the following image, one of my all-time favorite newborn images. A was absolutely brand new, with all the potential in the world wrapped up in a bundle his mom could barely put down, with gorgeous hair I couldn’t stop admiring when I met him. When she emailed me she included the photo with a brief:

“Hi Mare, remember THIS one? (screenshot of image taken of a newborn in home) I can’t believe it’s been 17 years! …I do glance at your website every so often just to see his photos – which are by far my ALL TIME FAVORITE PHOTOS in the universe!” -Nisha

Me too, Nisha. Me too!!

I saw A again when he was one – and I still remember a few favorite images from that session but most notably: him holding onto his mom’s legs, peeking out from near her knees, holding on to her pant legs with all his might.

This past weekend I had the privilege of photographing him and his family again – this time A is a high school senior photographed along with his family at one of my favorite watery Marmalade Locations! A Roselle senior and Roselle family photography session that felt less like a photo session and a bit more like a reunion. Because it was!

You know…he’s absolutely right. There’s something incredibly vulnerable about seeing yourself at the very beginning of life – before you knew you existed, before you thought about who you were going to be, before the world put any expectations on you, before you had any of your own expectations.

Just new. Just here. Just held. Just absolutely positively loved.

I think that’s exactly why creating these kinds of images matter. Not despite the vulnerability but because of it. As we become adults we spend so much of our lives building: armor and masking – becoming capable, competent, composed. During one’s senior year, especially, it becomes about presenting that version of yourself that is ready for what comes next. Ready……or not.

That newborn image? That’s the reminder of the version of you that existed before any of that. Before the armor you built. And your mom remembers that version of you and has it in her head for all these years. Because we are all, at the heart of it, our parent’s babies. No matter how tall or handsome or funny or capable we become.

Anyway…enough waxing poetic about time being the thief to parents everywhere especially at the end of senior year. Because we are pressing forward to this week: A’s high school graduation!

A is so tall now, handsome, confident. His mom and dad still look at him the same way they did when he was much smaller – like they can’t quite believe he exists and that he is about to embark upon the next leg of his life’s journey.

Time does that. It moves whether we document it or not. The difference is whether you have something to hold onto when it does.

Roselle High School Senior Photography and Roselle Family Photos : A Reunion

These “reunion” photo sessions are a reminder to me and why I have been doing this work for over two decades. While some of it is the pretty light or the beautifully coordinated outfits – and we had plenty of both – mostly it’s to be the witness for the before and after. The evidence that a gorgeous family showed up, again and again, and said: these moments matter enough to document and place this artwork in our lives.

Congratulations A. Your parents (and probably your sister too) are so proud of you. I witnessed the love in every frame.

Thank you for allowing me this brief peek into your lives, it was so very joyful to catch up in front of my lens!! <3

This is what Photography for Life looks like. If you’d like to see more Photography for Life…take a look at this and this.

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