utah adoption exchange

Two Siblings Get Adopted, Featured KSL News, & Get New Family Portraits

These two siblings get adopted, featured on KSL News, and get new family portraits — all on the same day!

Photographing families and relationships is probably the most important thing I do. I love that we can capture in a single art piece, the feelings of love and deep relationships. And this portrait shoot is extra special because it’s of a new family because two siblings were adopted.

But initially, this brother and sister were in the state foster care system and needed to be adopted. I photograph a number of children each year for the state that are in foster care. It helps them to have great professional portraits that are beautifully lit to show prospective parents, rather than the basic iPhone snapshots that would otherwise be taken by social workers.

That’s when I first met these two, and here’s the image I did of them when they came into my studio. Being brother and sister, I wanted too show the love and affection they have for each other, and how the big sister looks out for her younger brother.

Soon after, the local news station KSL News, featured them on ‘Wednesday’s Child.’ In that interview, the older sister’s leg wiggles nervously and she admits that they may never get adopted.

(Here’s a link to that story and the video of its broadcast.)

Then sometime later I got a call saying these two siblings were going to be adopted. I was invited to the courthouse to photograph the event and do some new family portraits. From those images, I created this gorgeous family album. And this young lady made be a beautiful handmade gift in return. It’s very thoughtful and you can see it near the end of this video.

Here are some of the portraits from the album shown in the video above.

On the evening of the adoption, we had coincidently the big yearly gala for the Utah Adoption Exchange’s Heart Gallery. It’s where the new portraits taken of foster children throughout the year are displayed and revealed to the children. Each portrait is framed and hung on easels around the Utah State Capitol’s rotunda, and the kids get to eat refreshments and see all the photographs.

Again, KSL News was there along with these two newly adopted siblings to showcase their story.

(Here’s a link to that story and it’s news clip below.)

Here are some stills from the broadcast showing my portraits on the monitor behind the news anchors.

Throughout the story, they showed a number of my portraits.

But the heart of the story was this new family.

And there’s a quick glimpse of my profile, as I sit waiting to present my portrait to the family.

It was a great evening and event, and a wonderful time to see families come together, and how portraits are meaningful in that process.

If you’d like some wonderful, updated family or children’s portraits, give me a call at 801-728-3317. I’d love to create something inspiring for you.

And until next time, America.

Utah’s Adoption Exchange Heart Gallery on KSL News

Utah’s Adoption Exchange had it’s Heart Gallery opening Wednesday night at the Utah State Capitol. I wasn’t going to post about it publicly, but since it was on KSL News and people have been messaging me about it, I’ll mention it briefly here and then let you read more about it on KSL if you’d like.

For the last few months, some professional photographers including myself have been photographing kids in the Utah foster care program who tend to be older and often overlooked for adoption. It is a wonderful cause and especially good for the kids.

HeartGallery-1000p

Having been a portrait photographer for so many years, I really believe in the power of a great portrait. People need great portraits of themselves, and it’s not about ego or esteem or being in love with yourself, but instead it’s about seeing your self-worth.

It is good to regularly see a great portrait of yourself, something that isn’t overly retouched or covered in effects, but instead is real and honest. A great portrait should capture the sparkle and light in you and make you feel good about who you are when you see it. That’s why I said yes to this program. I especially love to photograph children, and this was a great opportunity to share with some specific kids at a very formable age, a new perspective as to who they are inside.

There are many ways to help, and I think this is a powerful one. Imagine a child for instance that usually avoids eye contact and rarely smiles, but then is given a powerful photograph of themselves that they see every day. And in that photograph they see a different perspective of themselves and they know on some level is a true version of who they are. They know nothing is fake about the photo, and looking at it they see a version of themselves looking confident, have unwavering eye contact, and smiling with a glow and sparkle in their eye.

I know seeing an image like that speaks volumes to the subconscious and helps with identity and self-worth. I’ve had past clients tell me this very thing for years, sharing stories about their child I photographed, sometimes a high school senior who came out of his/her shell after our photo shoot, or of girls who had gotten married or their dating life surged because of the new-found confidence and new way of seeing themselves after our shoot.

I hope that that these kids we photographed for this adoption project will see themselves in a new light too, and that the families looking to adopt can see them in a brighter light as well.

I’m grateful to have been able to help with this project. If you’d like to see more about it, here is a link to the KSL news story, and here are links to the Utah Adoption Exchange and specifically the Heart Gallery photographs. (And above is the video clip from KSL’s news broadcast that should play by clicking on it.)

Until next time, America.