"I was Here"

A fellow photographer recently shared on one of the photography forums that I frequent that her family's most prized possession is their wall of family photos. She was looking for a quote to capture how special the wall was to her, and another photographer suggested the following:

"If these pictures have anything important to say to future generations, it’s this: I was here. I was young, I was happy and someone cared enough about me in this world to take my picture."- Robin Williams, in One Hour Photo.

The quote stuck with me, and I think it really captures the essence of the images we take of our children, or that we hire a professional to take of our children. So I ask, do you have a family portrait wall in your home? One that the kids can look at and see not only their immediate family, but past generations, and far-off relatives? I remember visiting a close family friends' house as a child, and they had their staircase lined with photo collages of family photos. I would stop and look and ask questions about which baby was which. Now in my own house I look at the empty walls of my newly-renovated basement and consider what to fill them with. At first I thought how nice it is to have a freshly-painted, uncluttered wall. But now I'm thinking that I should consider making it our photo wall. And not just the photos I've taken of the girls recently, but maybe drag out some old family photos to add to the wall, too.