Oklahoma Family Portrait Garners National Attention

An Oklahoma family portrait is capturing the hearts of people across Oklahoma and around the nation.

After the tragic passing of the child's father last summer the mother wanted to make sure he was still part of their first family photo. The photo shoot was intended to capture baby Taos at six months. But now the family has a picture of a moment they never thought they'd be able to create.

“My heart just dropped. I mean, it was just an amazing thing to see,” said Sierra Sharry.

It's the first and only family photo Sierra Sharry and her son Taos will have with his father Lane Smith. Sierra was 8 months pregnant when Lane passed away after an ATV accident in July 2014.

“The last things we said to each other was I love you,” said Sharry.

But thanks to photographer Kayli Henley she has a memory she thought would be impossible to make.

4/2/2014 Related Story: Photo Of Oklahoma Family Capturing Hearts Across The Nation

“I was so upset that he wouldn't be able to be in a picture with him. I mean, of course he didn't even get to meet him. That's hard. That's very hard,” she said.

Sierra came across the idea to Photoshop Taos' father into a picture on Facebook a few days before the photo shoot; an idea Kayli thought of too.

“She didn't tell me that she was going to do it. Like she just did all of our pictures and then whenever she sent me all of the pictures that one was in there and I was just like, ‘It's amazing,'” said Sharry.

Using a photo from the couple's pregnancy announcement, Kayli gracefully Photoshopped the father in the background - Lane now the guardian angel watching over his family.

“Even though Lane is not here with us physically, he's always watching out for us and that's what I want [Taos] to know and him to see,” she said.

The photo was posted Wednesday morning and already it's been shared over 170,000 times by Thursday evening.