My dying sister's wedding

My sister Lindsay has lymphoma. The most aggressive kind. I won't lie, it's grim. My family has been dealing with a lot lately - naturally.

She was planning for her wedding and she was feeling more than run down. She's very into fitness and massage therapy etc. and was very in tune with her health. She was at the doctor's door immediately. The wedding was obviously postponed as we found out the extent of her illness. Jamie, her fiance lost his first wife to lymphoma 8 years ago when his daughter Raquel was 2 years old. Sadly, Jamie and Lindsay's daughter Abigail is two years old now and Lindsay is the same age his first wife was when she passed away. Tragic deja vu. Raquel, now 10, has been solid as a rock knowing that she will most likely lose her mom again. They have both been down this difficult road before.

That being said, the wedding was green lit after much debate and in one week's time we started it up again and made it happen. She's always been obsessive about her hair and with her fabulous wig she even worries about it more now. My sister has always been a bit of a drama queen when it comes to her hair.

This isn't a wedding thread. This is not a constructive criticism thread. It is not a "our prayers are with you" thread. I want every one of you to understand how important photography can be to your family or to the family or people that you are working for. I had serious performance anxiety for this one, likely less since it was family. I would have been just a mess trying to hit this one out of the park if it was a paid shoot.

I just wanted to share with you some pictures that mean a lot to me, to my family and to Lindsay's new family. Take as many pictures as you can of your family, never trash anything. When working for someone, offer the option to give them every last file you have and tell them why they might want the files or prints. My dad said to me that if he had a picture of every second of her life it would not be enough.

Understand the power of photography and what you can do with it.

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I'd comment but for some reason, I'm having difficulty seeing my keyboard right now...

God Bless and Thank You for the reminder on how powerful photography can be.

Wow man, that is very sad. I'll definitely be praying for your family/her husband.


This thread is awesome.... I really don't know what else to say.

just noticed you said the our prayers our with you thing..oh well, they still are. Don't be so modest

puts a tear into my eye. thanks for sharing.

Thanks Aiden, I just wanted to keep it on track that's all. Sometimes we're trusted with capturing images that can last hundreds of years or span generations and we are unaware of the importance of what we do.

What lens to get, what processing is better etc. seems small potatos sometimes.

Thanks for sharing, Jason.

Beautiful post Cos, as photographers it is easy for us forget how much our photos can mean to other people, and that the meaning is far more important than how sharp the photo is, or what gear was used.

cosworth wrote in post #8597143
Thanks Aiden, I just wanted to keep it on track that's all. Sometimes we're trusted with capturing images that can last hundreds of years or span generations and we are unaware of the importance of what we do.

What lens to get, what processing is better etc. seems small potatos sometimes.

You're welcome, but you're right..I could sit for hours and look at the pictures of my great grand parents, and read their love notes that went back and forth from the US to europe. Those images will definitely be cherished, photography isn't about creating the best looking pictures, its about creating memories with things and people that you love. I love this thread..awesome point you made man, pure awesome.

Words are inadequate to express my feelings after reading this thread. So, I will merely say that you did a beautiful job, your comments were exactly right, and may God bless your family.

great shot! thank you for reminding me of why I do this.

Oops, the photo has been taken down (the original)

That is a beautiful picture. Your sister is gorgeous.

I'm so in love with capturing a moment I'll never get back. It's what keeps me going. Even if you wont always have your sister, you'll always have that moment in time.

It's not a replacement, but it's some sort of solace.

I couldn't read this thread and not leave a reply, but at the same time I don't really know what to say. It looks like you did a great job photographing your sister on her wedding day and it's great to realise how much these photos can and will mean to your family.

God Bless, what a magical thread...good luck to the Bride and Groom