The Value of a Photograph - Comment by Stephen Hoff

In late July I wrote a post about the value of images.  We all take for granted the true power behind so many of the photographs we capture.  Stephen Hoff wrote the following comment:

In 2009, I shot a small wedding and the groom's parents didn't want to pose for 'pictures'. I respectfully asked if they would allow me to take a few with their grandson. They agreed and ended up loving the images. 

About a month later, the father/grandfather died in a freak accident while at work. The mother of the bride asked if I was able to provide a framed image to the family for the memorial service, and I was happy to be able to do so. 

I recently shot the bride's sister's wedding and the groom, whose father died, said that they are so happy they have the images of the family together. At the time I took it, I didn't realize how important that particular image would be to them. 

To this day, every time I look in the viewfinder, I realize the importance of the people and images we capture and the responsibilities we have as photographers.

Thanks Stephen, your story makes such a strong point about the value of every image. You never know how it's going to be used or its value later on.

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