Hello, world of blog!

Wow, I finally feel like I am joining the 21st century. I know I should have done this years ago, but you can't change the past, right?

My name is Jeff Smith. I am a husband, father, music lover, avid pool player, and -- the primary reason for this blog -- a professional photographer. I have been serving the Dallas/Ft. Worth Metroplex as such for the past ten years. I consider myself primarily a Family Portrait Artist, but along with that, photograph Weddings, Bar/Bat Mitzvahs, Corporate and Private Events, and so forth.

People ask me why I named my business Heirloom Portrait Art. It's a little wordy. Doesn't just roll off the tongue. But the reason is very simple. It is what I attempt to create with each portrait session. They say a picture is worth a thousand words. How much more, then, does a fine portrait say. It says that you value your family enough to preserve a special moment for generations to come. A portrait not only captures the faces that are important to you, but serves as a reminder of a special time, place or event.

What is the first possession that people try to save, or regret not saving, in the event of a fire or flood? It's not the huge Plasma TV, the expensive clothes or jewelry, the knick-knacks that fill so many of our lives and homes. It's the family photos. Baby's first steps. The snapshot of the five generations of family, only captured once. The beautiful wedding album.

This is my outlook on each and every portrait session I photograph. I hope and pray you will see it come through in the images I will display for you here. They may not all be perfect. They may never win awards and accolades. But if they help a mother remember a lost child fondly, or show a family grow from generation to generation, then I have done my job.

God bless.