Recently there was much ado in the media about Whitney Houston's last pictures published in National Enquirer. I personally find these pictures distasteful and disrespectful to the memory of Whitney. But this is not I wanted to talk about.
Post-mortem photography has been around since mid-19th century. It used to be a common practice to take pictures of the deceased family members, especially children, as a keepsake and reminder of them. Over the years this practice almost disappeared.
Nowadays child mortality rate is very low. Nonetheless, not all pregnancies and births result in joyous occasions. Some babies are stillborn, some never leave the hospital. There is a number of organizations that help the family deal with unthinkable grief and sadness that surrounds such an event. One of them is Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep Foundation. NILMDTS is a non-profit organization that consists of volunteer photographers who provide their time and services to the families experiencing death of an infant.
It takes a special kind of strength and exceptionally kind heart to be a NILMDTS photographer. Please read the testimonials on their page to fully understand the healing power that NILMDTS provides to the grieving families.
If you are a photographer and have strength and compassion to provide this kind of service, please consider volunteering your time and skills.
Thank you.
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