When is the best time to plant a tree?

Is it in the spring?  Is it in the fall?  By the light of a blue moon? :)  Ask that question of any landscape professional and you'll get an answer you'll probably never expect: "Thirty years ago."  You might think it's funny, but it's true.  When you buy your first home and you plant that first tree in your new front yard chances are you'll never truly enjoy it's full beauty.  The fact is, most of us don't live 30 years in the first house we ever buy.  Don't get me wrong, where I live we may be the exception to that rule but, in general, people move around several times in 30 years.  They have starter homes, get transferred by their jobs, move closer to better schools for their kids, or move out of the city they enjoyed as newlyweds into the suburbs to raise their families.  So, when most people plant a tree they are giving a gift to the next generation, but chances are it will be a perfect stranger.

I know, I know.  I'm NOT a landscape professional and I know you're wondering what planting a tree has to do with a photography blog.  So, I'm going to tell you.

Ask yourself the same question, but let's talk about portraits.  When is the best time to invest in a portrait session?  Lately I've had several people tell me they want portraits, but they want to wait just a bit longer.  Some want to wait until their child is a senior in high school.  Some want to wait until their kids get their braces off.  Some say they're too busy in the fall and want to wait until next spring, but then they're busy in the spring so they need to wait until fall.  And of course nearly all of them are waiting until they lose some weight.  So now I am begging all of you readers.  PLEASE, don't wait! Find a photographer and record your memories for those who are around 30 years from now to enjoy them.

We purchased our first house a few years ago.  It was built by my husband's grandparents.  They didn't gift us with 30 year old shade trees to enjoy.  And unfortunately, they didn't gift us with many photographs either.  But we have a few.  My daughters look at them often and remember their great grandparents.  Paige sees the dimples that her great grandma passed down to her.  And for Lexi the ringlet curls.  But you know what?  Neither of them ever have said to me, "I wish great grandma would have lost some weight before she had these pictures taken."

Just last year my Uncle was visiting and before he could sneak out of town I snapped a quick photo of him and his love in the studio.  He was home just a few weeks before he was diagnosed with stomach cancer.  And just a few weeks later he had surgery from which he never recovered.  So if you ask me, "When is the best time to have portraits taken?" I will answer you with a resounding TODAY!  Thank you Uncle Boyd for the beautiful shade tree you gave me. <3