Father poses for a family photo from beyond the grave after he died in an accident before he could meet his son

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When Lane Smith passed away in a freak accident last July, he left behind his heavily-pregnant girlfriend and their unborn son.

But now, nearly eight months after his passing, the young Oklahoma family has been reunited in their first ever family portrait, thanks to some clever photoshopping by a local photographer. 

Kayli Henley was snapping pictures of six-month-old Taos and his 20-year-old mother, Sierra Sharry, when the young mom asked the photographer if she could make their family complete.

So Henley took a photograph of Smith from the family and, with a ghostly filter, fitted the image around his girlfriend and son, as if he were standing over them.

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Family portrait: A photoshopped image shows Sierra Sharry holding her six-month-old son Taos with her boyfriend, the baby's father, Lane Smith, standing behind them. Smith passed away before his son's birth

Sharry called the ghostly final picture 'amazing'.

'Lane's not physically here with us, of course, but that picture represents to us that he is always watching over us and he will always be there for us no matter what,' she told KOCO.

After sharing the image to her Facebook page, the photographer found that other people thought the image was amazing too.

It has been liked more than 200,000 times and shared more than 25,000 times, and Henley has been inundated with requests to create other pictures for families who have lost a loved one.

In a post shared on the Facebook page, Sharry explained that in July 2014, she and 26-year-old Smith had been nervous about the impending birth of their son.

'We were scared as any new parents would be but ready for the adventure together,' she said.

Excitement: 26-year-old Lane Smith, pictured with his girlfriend in the couple's pregnancy announcement, died after hitting his head in an accident in July 2014. His son was born just a few weeks later

When she was around eight months pregnant, they went to jet boat races in El Reno, she recalled. But the weather was too warm for Sharry, so she left her boyfriend there with his family.

'When I left Lane that day I had no clue it would be the last time I'd see him,' she wrote.

But in the early hours of the next day, she awoke to a call that Smith had been rushed to the OU Medical Center in Oklahoma City after he had fallen and hit his head.

She and her mother raced to his side. They never considered his injuries could be life-threatening, but once they got there, they were given 'absolutely no hope that Lane was going to make it'.

'July 13th 2014 was the absolute worst day of my life,' she explained. 'I lost my best friend. The father of my unborn child. And since that day I have felt so empty inside. A part of me will forever be missing. I loved that man more than life itself.'

Strong: Sharry said that part of her has been missing since the death of Taos' father but that the photograph allowed her to see her complete family for the first time. She is pictured in another image from the shoot

Missed: She said she knows that Smith, pictured left, will always be watching over her and their son, right

Their son was born just a few weeks later and when he approached six months, Sharry asked Henley, who is baked in Yukon, if she'd be able to put together a family photo.

'I just got to thinking, we don't have a picture with Lane in it,' Sharry explained to KOCO.

So Rene created the photo that has since been shared thousands of times online.

'It brought me to tears,' Sharry wrote about the photograph. 'This is how I picture us. Taos and I living our lives the best we can with Lane ALWAYS watching over our shoulder.'

Rene said she was happy to be able to help.

'As soon as I met Taos, he had a smile that was so contagious, the happiest baby boy, and he instantly captured my heart,' she said on her Facebook page.

'[I] never knew if I could make this reality for them. So glad I could and they can cherish this forever.'