Photographer Behind Viral Picture Saving, Changing Lives

DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - Her name is Brandy Angel, and some would say based on what she has done for others, her last name fits her perfectly.

Angel uses her camera, her heart, and social media prowess to save lives and remember the lives of those lost too soon.

You may have seen her work.  Her most recent viral photo shows a family of five, taken on the couple's wedding day.  It's a combination of two portraits  -- one of them shot after the ceremony with the bride, groom and two of their children dressed in wedding attire.  The other is a portrait taken several months earlier, of 8-year-old Lake Bozman before he died from leukemia.  Angel beautifully blended the two photos together to give his mother, Anna Bozman, a complete family photo from her big day.

"Although I felt his presence that day and I was actually happy, it was almost unbearable to take family pictures without him. I could feel my emotions taking over after the ceremony when it was time to take pictures. I became anxious and almost irritated but I knew these pictures had to be taken," wrote Anna Bozman in a Facebook post featuring the picture.

"She wasn't going to post it because it was really personal," said Angel.  "She wanted to share it with those who love Lake and miss Lake."

The reaction was immediate and overwhelming.  On the CBSDFW Facebook page, it's been liked nearly 200,000 times and shared more than 50,000 times as of this writing.  National media organizations, including Time magazine and Inside Edition have picked up the story.  Angel thinks so many people can relate to the picture because everyone has lost someone.

"It just blew up.  We were trending number one over the Kardashians," she laughed.  While that's an accomplishment Angel's two young girls can appreciate, she doesn't do it for the recognition.   Her connection with the people on the other side of her lens have changed and even saved lives.

This is Angel's fourth picture to gain national attention.  The first helped find a kidney for Georgia police officer Raleigh Callaway.  The 49-year-old father of two was suffering from Stage 5 kidney failure when Angel's picture of his family went viral.  A complete stranger, who lives in Texas, stepped forward as a donor after seeing Angel's pictures online.

Since then, Angel's also taken pictures for Sara Chandler, a wife and mother of 3, suffering from polycystic kidney disease and also in need of a kidney.  Two weeks after Sara's story went viral, she too had secured a donor.

Next, came Henry Shepherd, a young boy fighting bone cancer.  Henry's wish was to be famous.  Photos taken by Angel and a hospital visit from Jennifer Garner helped make Henry's wish come true.  Entertainment Tonight and People Magazine featured Henry's photo.  But Angel says he was most excited to appear on the cover of the hospital's magazine.

The services Angel provides are priceless and she donates her time and efforts to patients who need organs and people who need comfort.  She started doing it three years ago, for a mother of two teenage girls, who was dying from cancer.  Angel spent hours with the family, snapping pictures the young women could hold onto long after their beautiful mother was buried.  Last year, she started a non-profit foundation, Be The Change-Brandy Angel Foundation, to further her efforts.

"I feel like what I did for her was so little, but for her it was huge," said Angel of Bozman and the most recent viral photo. "Anything you can do for somebody can change their life."

She hopes her story will encourage people to be more compassionate and thankful for what they have.