Introducing LEGACY SESSIONS featuring the Dumm Family | Jennifer Illig Photography | New Germany, PA
/I’ve been toying with the idea of legacy sessions for a while now. I'm not even sure these are a thing. I truly think this stage of life is highly under documented and deserves to be celebrated. Not only for them, for their families. I want to make these a thing.
Legacy sessions hold SO many stories. So much history. It’s a beautiful gift that can be loved and cherished by many generations to follow.
It’s that OLD love. A love that’s familiar and so comfortable that it seems almost effortless.
It’s the beauty in the simple routine that has become their daily life.
It’s the house you grew up in. The house that holds every memory from your childhood.
It’s the old couch in the living room that never seems to change through the years.
It’s the millions of framed photos that line every shelf, every wall.
It’s the cookie jar with the lid that gets lifted with each passerby.
It’s the front steps that you climbed each and every day for years and years.
It’s the kitchen sink where your mother stood for countless hours with kids underfoot and a full view of the kids out in the yard.
It's where they grew their love, their gardens, and their babies.
I think back through the generations of my own family and the only professional photos they’ve had done are likely very stiff, very posed, studio portraits for the church book! My own parents even framed one of these beauties for me for Christmas a few years ago. When I look around at all the old pictures of my parents and grandparents, the ones I love the most are the natural shots of them laughing, smiling, or celebrating a major milestone. I've always been drawn to the unplanned shots, the REAL images. My favorite picture of my grandma is her standing in the garden (which she loved), in her everyday clothes, with a relaxed, calming smile on her face. It was where she shined, and EXACTLY how I remember her. Thankfully, we have an over-abundance of camera-toting relatives in my family and we DO have a lot these beautiful moments captured. I look at the old photos of my grandparents standing proudly in front of their cars (why don’t we do this anymore?!) or in their front yard and I think it’s so amazing to see what once was. These are the seemingly insignificant details that can fill an image with history. I want to give families these images of their "now" so future generations can fall in love with those exact same types of images.
Here is a look at a few of my favorite images from a recent legacy session. This is my great aunt and uncle and they happen to be celebrating 60 years of marriage this summer.
Are you in State College or Ebensburg and know a couple whose story deserves to be documented? Are your parents or grandparents celebrating a major milestone this year?
Click HERE to secure one of these amazing legacy sessions and document the true heart of your family.