Mum, It’s Time To Be In The Photos!

How many pictures do you have of you AND your little one? I don't know about you, but I have so many gorgeous photographs and videos of my girls with their Dad and various other family members, but hardly any of me and them beyond the occasional failed selfie!

Now I’ll admit, in the past I have not particularly enjoyed having my picture taken and have been more than happy to hide behind the camera, but I’m learning to get over myself. Why?

Because when my children look back in years to come I want to be there in the family photos! Shattered perhaps and imperfect for sure. But there, trying my best every day to give them the best childhood I possibly can.

I get that sometimes we don’t feel up to getting in front of the camera. Being a Mum is exhausting at times and it’s natural to feel self-conscious and quietly step out of the frame. We don’t look like we used to do we?

We’re older. We have more fine lines on our faces and more greys in our hair. We look down at our hands on the steering wheel and gasp at how old they look (or is that just me?!).

We tell ourselves we’ll get some family photos done once we’ve lost that baby weight, when our skin clears up or we next get our roots done.

But we also don’t have time to look after ourselves the way we used to do we? We don’t get enough sleep. It’s not easy to find time to exercise. We don’t see our friends as often as we used to. We have financial pressures to navigate. And we’re often juggling work and domestic responsibilities with family life; walking around with a hundred different thoughts in our head at any given moment.

Then there’s the never-ending hormone cycle. One day we feel we can take over the world, the next we tell ourselves we’re failing at everything and all we want to do is be left alone under a blanket to binge-watch TV with only a cuppa and a packet of our favourite biscuits for company!

It’s a lot. And rather than getting closer to those personal goals we’re waiting to achieve before we book that family photography session, it can feel like they’re getting further and further away.

Taking ALL that into consideration, being in family photographs is understandably not the priority. We’re too busy to think about that right now. The thought of organising outfits, coordinating schedules and getting everyone ready can feel overwhelming.

What if it’s really awkward? What if the kids play up? What if the photos come back awful?!

What if they come back beautiful?

What if you watch them for the first time on a huge screen and as they move from one to the next, you feel a tear rolling down your face because they depict all the very best bits of your family life?

What if you breathe a sigh of relief knowing that you now have a collection of photographs with your child that you actually love?

What if you love them so much that you have them printed on beautiful fine art paper and framed to hang on your wall?

What if they make your house feel like a home and seeing them lifts your spirits every time you’re feeling low?

What if they become family treasure? A lasting reminder of this chapter in your family story; sparking joy for years to come?

There are so many reasons to step out of the frame when someone picks up the camera, or put off booking your own family photography session. But every day we put it off our children get a little older.

So from one Mum to another, I put it to you that best time to have your photograph taken with your child is now.

Because they don’t care about those fine lines, the extra pounds or the fact that you think your hands now look like your grandmother’s! All they see is their marvellous Mum, showing up every day… perfectly imperfect.

Need some inspiration? Check out my family portfolio.