One of my first days here working for William, he told me a story that really interested me. A while back, William had noticed he was getting many referrels to his studio from a certain doctor. This was not one of his past clients, so he was surprised that this doctor was recommending him so often for portraiture services. Eventually, curiosity got the best of him and William decided to investigate. He gave the mysterious doctor a call and discovered that he was a psychiatrist. He explained to William that he believed family portraiture to be a truly life-changing experience for children and their self-esteem, and this is why he had been recommending him to so many people. When a child goes through the portrait process with their family and then sees the family's portrait hanging prominently in their home every day, with them in it, this gives them an incomparable sense of security and unity with their loved ones. Because of their heirloom quality and timelessness, William's portraits are ideal for achieving this in families.

Interestingly, a photographer also recently shared with us an article about how getting family portraits done can build kids' self esteem. The simmilarities between the facts presented in this article and the story William told me were unbelievable. This is a subject near and dear to our hearts and we know it to be true through experiences with clients and their children. However, we have never seen the research behind it until now.

In 1975, a study conducted by Jerry Fryrear of Tulane University and Mary Ammerman with Murfreesboro City Schools was conducted on photography, children, and self-esteem. The results of this study showed a 37% increase in the self-esteem related behaviors of the young students who partipated. This relationships suggests that photography really can improve self-esteem in children. Here is a link to that study. Although this particular study was done quite a while ago, many experts believe the findings to be just as true today as they were then. You can read the full article with quotes from various experts here.

Let us know what you think! Do you have any stories about the effect of family portraiture on your children?