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Since this was the first portrait I had commissioned, I didn't know what to expect, but I envisioned a portrait of my children, full of color and expression. Michael Blessing met and exceeded all of my hopes.

Michael came to meet my children and take some photographs, since I did not have a picture that I felt particularly represented what I had in mind. After taking several pictures we started talking about the house that my children and I had moved into recently. I mentioned that we spent a lot of time in my room, where it was sunny in the afternoon. I also noted that besides the sunny window, the lamp on my bedstand, which had been my mother’s, was important to me. Michael felt this was the room to take the pictures. The photographs which Michael took enabled him to merge all of my wishes into a beautiful portrait. He shifted the room and sizes a bit, while keeping all of the important aspects in view.

Not only did he show respect for all of my wishes with color and subject, but he captured my children’s faces and personality with such an exquisite touch. I can’t imagine anyone could capture a child’s face and personality in a portrait like Michael does without knowing and appreciating my children. Each time I look at the portrait I simply feel happy and that I could, with a little effort, pick my children up out of the portrait and hold them as they were in that moment of time.

I must mention that throughout the entire process, Michael kept me in the loop, letting me know timeframes, allowing me to comment on the initial pictures and the portrait as it progressed. His professionalism, mixed with his amazing talent, has enabled me to highly recommend  Michael to anyone who is even slightly considering commissioning a portrait.

- Pamela Westphal