Everyone Deserves to Be in the Picture
There is something truly powerful about seeing yourself in a portrait—the way it can capture a moment in time, celebrate your journey, and remind you of the love that surrounds you. That’s why I believe that everyone, no matter their age or ability, deserves to be in the picture.
I’m honored to share that I am trained and certified through Hearts & Lens to work with and create portraits for individuals with disabilities. This certification is more than just a credential—it’s a reflection of my deep belief that photography should be inclusive and accessible to all. I want every person I photograph to feel valued, seen, and celebrated.
Let’s create something beautiful together. Because everyone deserves to be in the picture.
The Honoring Mother’s Project Continues…
I’m excited and proud to continue the Susan Ogar Photography Honoring Mother’s Project. Susan Ogar Photography is again honoring and spotlighting Mothers and offering free portrait sessions to deserving Mothers of children with special needs. As mothers, we all love our children, encourage our children, and fight for our children. How we go about that day-to-day might look very different. Some are encouraging their little ones to be brave enough to make a new friend, try out the goalie position in soccer, or read out loud in class. Others are navigating the world of special services and health care. We all strive to provide the best and most meaningful life possible. And to show them the love that is in our hearts. To learn about the project, please see this post and read the stories of some of the Mothers we have already honored.
Susan and her beautiful children..
Laura and her girls amaze me…
Jessica and these two have officially stolen my heart….
Paula is so calm and takes on the world with a smile…
And below are some of my favorite Mother images that I’ve taken outside of the official project. I just love these moms with their children…
Honoring Mothers: Mothering with grace & love
Meet Paula and her three beautiful children. Paula pushes beyond the challenges of mothering and finds strength and joy through her children. She says “she does what needs to be done.” I was able to see her do that and more with such grace and love.
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People always say you’re a “Great Mom, Paula.” Which is sweet, but I’m not sure why they say that because I just do what needs to be done. Of course, I don’t feel like a great mom when any of my children are hurting. For example, when my oldest daughter, Isabella, can’t communicate what is stressing her out even with her sign language. Or when my son Jacob just can’t stop bouncing with noises because he is hurting emotionally. Jacob, although very verbal, can not understand why “friends” sometimes say or do things that hurt him. It’s so frustrating to tell him that sometimes children or adults say things without thinking about what they are saying or doing. Jacob lives in a black and white world. It’s amazing to see the things he understands better than other children. He has such great empathy for others. He will do his best to make his sister, friends, family, and others happy because that makes him happy. He is always worried about pleasing others. I think he does this so he can be “normal.” I only wish more people had his heart… It’s just hard to see him hurting–wishing to be “normal” like his peers.
I wish I could take Isabella and Jacob’s hardships away. I would take that burden from them any day. They are the heroes in my family. I see this through my youngest daughter’s eyes. Rosalie adores her siblings. She is a typical child, but also so aware that her siblings might need an extra minute or a sensory break. Rosalie will try to calm Jacob down with a hug or run to get him a squishy ball for him to squeeze. She tells the others that Jacob was just born bouncy and that it’s it. Isabella was born without a voice, which stinks and that is why she talks with her hands. It’s just the way life has always been for Rosalie and I think she is growing up to be a wonderful little girl with a special understanding that not all people are the same.
No one expects to have children with challenges and even Rosalie get nervous in front of others. It’s her big brother who rescues her and always lets her join in to play with his friends. Of course, there will always be strangers who give the awkward stares when Isabella laughs a little too loud or Jacob starts his bouncing noise episodes, but that is when I hold them tighter and wish I could switch places with them. I think my greatest strength is given to me by my children and I am lucky each day to have them in my life.
Honoring Mothers: More Alike Than Different
This month Laura and her girls are in the blog. Four beauties…and another one on the way!
I’m learning so much from each mother that I spotlight through our Honoring Mothers project. I’m even learning from their children. I love the dynamics between siblings. Its sweet to quietly watch as they play and laugh and also take care of each other. And it’s even nice to see them argue and struggle too…as that is part of being a sibling. I think we learn about how to interact with our peer and friends through interacting with our siblings. It’s like a “safe zone” because all is forgiven moments later.
These beautiful girls laughed, played, smiled, and even argued during our session. And they wiggled their way right into my heart. As Laura said, “they are more alike than different.”
On December 7, 2010, I gave birth to my beautiful daughters, Jillian and Leah. Jillian was born first and before Leah was born, doctors had expressed concern about Jillian. I was told that they suspected Jillian had Down Syndrome or maybe just “looked squished” because she was a twin. She was brought to the NICU for testing. Doctors stated that they thought she had Down Syndrome because of her “abnormal” features. After I was situated in the recovery room, the nurses asked if I wanted to see my daughters. I said yes but secretly hoped they would bring Leah first because I was so nervous to see Jillian. Nurses described Jillian as looking “abnormal” which terrified me. The nurses did bring Leah first but shortly after arrived with Jillian. The nurse handed her to me and I immediately fell in love. Jillian looked up at me with her big blue eyes. She was so beautiful.
Almost four years later, Jillian has grown into an adorable, funny, sweet preschooler. She attends public preschool and is in an inclusion classroom with her sister. Although sometimes it takes her a little longer, Jillian is able to do everything that a typical child can do.
Being mom to a special needs child is no different than being a parent to a typical child. In our family, Jillian is treated the same as her sisters. Is Jillian a challenge? Yes, of course, so is every three year old. I’ve learned to realize that Jillian is more like other children than different. My biggest fear when Jillian was born was what the future would hold for her. She has taught me that nothing is impossible and with her strong-willed personality there is nothing that she can’t accomplish.
Motherhood: The Journey with 4 Teens
As many of you know, I’ve been photographing and blogging about mothers and their children. Right now, I am focusing on Mothers whose children have special needs. I have truly been inspired in different ways by each of these mothers. This month, Susan and her four teens are in the blog.
Can you imagine being the mother of 4 High Schoolers? Susan’s oldest daughter, Kristen, is developmentally delayed and physically challenged. She also has a contagious smile, a love of horses, and a vibrant spirit. It was my pleasure to photograph Susan and Kristen as well as their entire beautiful family. Each and every mother that I photograph for this project inspires me. You give me energy and fill my soul. On that note, I want to mention Susan’s work as Vice President of an amazing organization called SMILE Mass. SMILE Mass has a mission to create day trip or a vacation opportunity without barriers. This foundation seeks to enable individuals and families with a disabled member to enjoy a getaway similar to those who have no special needs. Please visit their Web site to learn more: SMILE Mass
And enjoy these images and Susan’s story.
I am a mom to 4 teenagers. My “claim to fame” is that I had 4 children in less than 3 years, as I never expected my third pregnancy to be twins! Although those early years were somewhat of a blur, they were fabulous and I wouldn’t change a thing.
When my second child, my oldest daughter, Kristen, was 3 ½, she needed brain surgery to stop her seizures. Although the brain surgery stopped her seizures, it left her developmentally delayed and physically challenged. But, she is now happy and healthy and amazes me each and every day, as do my other 3 children – Justin, Caitlyn and Shannon, each in their own way.
My life is not so different that anyone with a couple of kids. It is a balancing act – each child has schoolwork and their own activities so I am pulled in many directions, hopefully not too many at the same time. The only difference is that some of those directions are to physical therapy appointments and the fact that Kristen was in an out-of-district school for many years, sometimes giving me 3 different school calendars to keep track of. Although, this year, for the first time in 8 years, all my kids are in the same school, if only for 1 year. I’m thankful for the little things that make life easier.
I’m sure anyone with teenagers knows, these years are crazy and wonderful and I’m going to be both extremely proud and a little sad when my oldest leaves home next year to go to college. Their childhood goes by so quickly; I’m just trying to cherish each and every moment.
Honoring Mothers…
Over the past several years, I have been inspired by an amazing group of women. It is a group we all know–one way or the other. Many of us are in this group ourselves. If we aren’t, we certainly know many who are…Mothers.
Last year I was inspired by an article I ready about mothers getting “into the picture” with their kids. Too many among us are self-conscious and miss the opportunity to get precious photographs with our children while they are still young. I spent the year encouraging mothers to get right in there in front of my lens with their little ones. It’s been a wonderful experience. Moms, Give Your Child a Treasure. You.
During the Winter Olympics, Proctor & Gamble created and Ad that is an amazing tribute to mothers of athletes. I’m sure many of you have seen it. It was about picking your child up, literally and figuratively and sometimes being the only one to keep them going.
Watching this ad, reminded me of a childhood friend of mine whose son has special needs. She literally picks him up so that he can experience the world around him. Her son is just 4 months older than my own. It all seems unreal to me. All of a sudden, it hit me that as mothers, we do everything we can for our children—whether they are Olympians or children with special needs. At that moment, with some added inspiration from an amazing Connecticut photographer, Lynn Damon, I realized that I wanted to pay tribute to mothers of all types through my photography.
As mothers, we all love our children, encourage our children, and fight for our children. How we go about that day-to-day, might look very different. Some are encouraging their little ones to be brave enough to make a new friend, try out the goalie position in soccer or to read out load in class. Others are navigating the world of special services and health care. We all strive to provide our children the best and most meaningful life possible. And to show them the love that is in our hearts.
I often create photography projects and goals for myself to keep improving my craft…and building on what I love….Capturing Moments in Life. My goal is to photograph 5 to 10 mothers who have a child (or children) with special needs in the spring and summer of 2014. I’d like to feature them with all of their children, if possible. I hope to capture their unconditional love for each other. Some of these children may have visible special needs while others may not to be obvious in a photograph. Part of this project is to provide these images to the families and also to encourage all mothers to “get in the picture” with their children. Another part is to create a fundraiser for children with special needs. Mother’s Day 2014 will be the kick-off of the project.
Please contact me if you know of a mother who would like to be involved. info@susanogarphotography.com
Also, please visit Our Promise to Nicholas to learn more about one family’s story and struggle with a rare neurodegenerative disease called Batten Disease. Nicholas and his family are a true inspiration and will be featured in the Honoring Real Mothers Project.
More to come…