A Note from Philip Bermingham about Family Portraits:

"As a dad, I understand the desire to have photographs of my daughter. Parents want portraits of their children so they may remember them at the various stages in their lives. This kind of assignment is certainly the easiest to deal with. Children do not have reservations about being photographed. We, as parents, put them in the appropriate clothing, pick the best time of day for them and voila!

On the other hand, having your portrait made for your children is somewhat akin to a root canal. The irony of this is that it is the most unselfish act, and one of the most appreciated gifts that become more valuable with the passage of time. I made sure that I had photographs of my parents. I told them that we were having dinner at 7p.m. at a very nice restaurant, we stopped by the studio and I kidnapped them for a session before our 8p.m. reservation.

Why do we resist having our own portraits made? We feel vulnerable. We are always waiting for the perfect time and we are our own worst critics when it comes to the selection process. In contrast, those people close to us appreciate the image more because it is a true likeness, not he mirror image we see of ourselves. At the start of a slide presentation from a family portrait session, we lightheartedly say that we have one rule: you cannot say you do not like yourself. This adds a little levity to the session and I cannot tell you how many times Mum sacrifices herself because the rest of the family looks good: yet everyone else thinks Mum looks terrific. It has been thirty years since I came to America and started my business, yet I have never discovered a way to help people overcome this reticence and appreciate how well received a portrait of themselves is."