When a Picture Really is Worth a Thousand Words

by Skip Cohen

​If you've followed me for even the shortest amount of time, you already know that on Sundays, I run amuck and rarely write about anything related to business and marketing. It's my day to just share whatever's on my mind.

I recently started working with a remarkable group of people, which I briefly mentioned in last Monday's post about giving back. The group is focused on supporting families and patients dealing with Alzheimer's. We have a private social media page exclusively for communication between the member companies. 

My thoughts this morning have little to do with my excitement about working with this dedicated group but the power of photography. For our social media page, I decided to share an image each week that somehow related to telling the Alzheimer's story. I typed "Alzheimer's" in Adobe's search box, and the image above was one of the first to appear. There were hundreds of photographs, often worth far more than a thousand words.

Most of you are working professional photographers or aspiring to be, and every click of a shutter tells a story. So, I went off in search of some of my own images that tell a part our family's story.

We were just into the first year or two of Mom's Alzheimer's when the two photographs above were captured. Mom's memory was going, but we just thought it was typical aging. At this point, my folks had been married for at least fifty-five years, and these are two of my favorite photographs*. I can't help but wonder if Mom knew more than she let on when, in the photo on the right, she leaned into Dad and he probably whispered, "It's okay, I got you!"

Approximately six years later, I grabbed the shot on the right of Sheila with Mom. It was Mom's birthday, and Mom had one of those moments where Alzheimer's stepped back and let reality in. Mom was worried about what was going to happen to all her things when she was gone. At this point in her life, she had become very close to Sheila. My mother was convinced that she and her "good good friend" had been doing volunteer work together for decades.

When I look at all three photographs, it becomes so obvious how many words it takes to tell the backstory behind our pictures...and the great ones are certainly on the 1000-word scale!

That brings me to my point today—we're part of an amazing industry, and your responsibility when you have a camera in your hands is to never compromise on the quality of the story you're about to capture. As imaging artists, you're the magicians who stop time and turn intangible memories into tangible photographs we can cherish and savor forever.

My folks passed away a long time ago, but one look at an old photograph and so many memories start to flow. Sheila had made one of Mom's favorite desserts, pineapple upside cake. Mom was seated at the head of the table when the first tear rolled down her cheek. Sheila was always in tune with what Mom was feeling and was right there for support.

Alzheimer's is a horrible disease that sneaks in and steals our loved ones. I couldn't be more proud to be involved in the fight and support for families in the battle...as well as photography and the artists who never compromise on the quality of an image!

Wishing everybody a day ahead with the people you love the most. Don't forget to grab a shot or two - today's memories become tomorrow's most cherished throwbacks. Go for those eleven-second hugs I always write about. And make it a day without compromising how full your heart is for those special people in your life.

Happy Sunday...or Monday if you're on the other side of the world.

*Cantrell Portrait Design

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