In May, Atlanta resident Anna Bozman Thompson lost her son, Lake, to leukemia. In October, she got married, and the prospect of wedding photography made her anxious: she'd never taken family photos without Lake before.
But thanks to a creative and compassionate photographer -- and maybe a little magic -- Lake ended up in the photos after all.
"Although I felt his presence that day and was actually happy, it was almost unbearable to take family pictures without him," Thompson wrote on Facebook. When it was time for the shoot, she said, "I could feel my emotions taking over."
After the wedding, Thompson's friend Brandy Angel, who runs a nonprofit photography business for families that have children with terminal cancer, took a look at the photos. She was amazed by a bright, unchanging light to Thompson's left -- it was "unreal," she told New York Daily News.
Thompson's reaction? "I knew my baby would show up."
Angel also teamed up with wedding photographer Paul Woodward to create the family portrait of Thompson's dreams. The original photo captures Thompson, her husband and her two other children. In the edited version, an ethereal image of Lake stands beside his sister and new stepdad.
"This is my family," Thompson said.