Photographer Adds Deceased Father To Family Photos And The Result Is Beautiful

Something I cannot fathom is being pregnant and losing my husband before our baby comes. That is the horrible situation a young mother in Oklahoma found herself in when the father of her child passed away unexpectedly as the result of an accident. Once her child was born, a photographer found a way to incorporate the baby’s deceased father in his first professional photos and it’s incredibly sweet.

Sierra Sharry was eight months pregnant when her partner, Lane Smith, fell and hit his head. He was rushed to the hospital where he tragically died. A few weeks later, their son was born. Little Taos, now six months old, will never know his father and though that sad reality obviously won’t change, a photographer was able to create a keepsake for him that he will always have — a picture of him, his mom and his dad.

kayli renee

(Image courtesy of Kayli Rene Photography)

What an amazing thing for this mom and her son to have — an image of their little family together, even though Smith is gone. I can’t imagine what this means to Sharry after what she’s been through. Kayli Rene, the photographer, got creative with the image and found a way to incorporate Lane into the photo. From CNN:

“They asked me if I would be willing to ‘play around’ with capturing their first family photo by editing Taos’ daddy in one of their pictures,” Kayli Rene’ Photography posted on Facebook.

“I just got to thinking, we don’t have a picture with Lane in it,” the new mom told CNN affilaite KOCO.

The photographer wasn’t sure it would work, but they found just the right picture of Smith — one that has him looking over his family’s shoulder.

What an incredible keepsake for Sharry and one day, for Taos once he is old enough to understand what happened to his father. It would be amazing if this became something photographers could routinely provide for people in this kind of situation. I actually know a few women this has happened to — that lost their partners while pregnant. I’m sure it is a pain that will never go away but having this kind of photo to see their whole family together when it wouldn’t have happened otherwise must hold such meaning for them.

This reminds me of Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep, the wonderful organization that provides photography for families of still-born infants or babies born and not expected to live for very long. Maybe something similar can take place for this kind of event — losing a loved one and wanting them in one last photo with their family. What Kayli did for this woman is priceless and I’m glad to see the story going viral so maybe more photographers can follow her lead.

(Image: GettyImages)

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