Donnie & Maya Schacht and Children

Jon's thoughts: One of the ways I meet new clients is by displaying at Home Shows. At a recent show I met a young couple that wanted a portrait created with their three beautiful young children. While chatting with Maya I learned that Donnie was afflicted with a severe cancer, their previous year having been occupied with surgeries and treatments.

In my years of photographing I have several times created portraits for people with serious illnesses. They all have wanted portraits for their family because they are unsure of their future. I have always felt the sorrow and the fright they felt and I have not taken lightly their trust in me to create something special for them.

At my first meeting with Donnie and Maya they seemed on purpose, knowing what they had to deal with and they dealt with their health issues positively. There was something about them that was so likable and I thought of them daily until we met to create their family's portraits. In their interactions I saw a family filled with strength, love and determination. They wanted a traditional family portrait but I knew there was more that I was going to create for them. At the portrait session I felt so much affection for their family. It was so easy to capture the love that they feel for each other. I created three different compositions of their family and then everyone had a turn to be photographed with Dad. In a short time I became very close to this family and will keep in touch.

Following is a slide show of the beautiful portraits that we created together. Click on the "full screen" button bottom right for a larger show... ignore that the first few images will show as blurry. 

From Maya:  I had wanted a professional family portrait for a while. Then when my husband was diagnosed with brain cancer, I knew that there was no time to wait. Jon takes the time to get to know you before the session. During our session Jon didn’t just take pictures, he told a story. He captured the love and life in our family. He made it so much more personal and was wonderful to work with. You can go anywhere and have a picture taken and that is not what we wanted. They were incredible. Jon’s photography session brought tears to my eyes. He is truly a talented photographer. Our family will cherish these portraits forever. I would highly recommend Jon Wolf to anyone looking to have a masterpiece taken.  

- Maya and Donnie Schacht