“I wanted to have the portraits demonstrate what defined these families to be who they are, kind of like showing these families in their elements. I thought that this idea would help differentiate my work from the original artists,” explained Ratner.
Ratner spent a ton of time and effort putting the exhibit together. It took her a lot of time to get a photo for each family, and one family even invited her over for a Cambodian themed dinner, because their son was adopted from Cambodia.
Despite some printing difficulties and the snow delaying the process, Ratner had a great experience putting the exhibit together and “learned a lot about what it is like to work with other people.” She says she was very thankful for how welcoming all the families were to her, allowing her to go into their homes and photograph them.