making visual impressions

a synopsis of a thought provoking and validating interaction: yesterday, a friend and client stopped me. placing her hand on my arm, she told me she had taken the book i'd made of her ballerina daughter to their family's holiday gathering. they were stunned by the book and asked her, "do you just look at this and cry?" i understand what they mean. they had not seen anything like it. 
these are the tidbits of detail that make every long hour, every joint ache, every night of blurry vision and neck pain worthwhile. to make a visual impression that moves a viewer to tears and emotion,to give a mother something to hold on to the child growing into womanhood, is everything valuable and authentic. and in a market that is over-saturated and overly competitive, when fast and cheap seem to replace everything fine and refined, finding the uplift of stable ground in the quicksand of this industry keeps me buoyant.