Parents, Take Bigger Pictures of Yourself
There are many reasons why parents – and yes, especially moms – avoid the camera. We haven’t slept well at night in years, as evidenced by dark circles under our eyes. Or we just woke up and our pajamas were full of holes and our hair was disheveled. Or we haven’t lost weight all these months or years later. Also, you might say that this will be an unflattering angle.
Stop that. Join your kids. Let them (or your partner or your friend) take a picture of you lounging on the couch with your dog or dangling your legs in the pool.
How many of us grew up with parents and grandparents who avoided any kind of photography? I personally know one mother – I will not name names! – who raised her hand to block her own face every time someone dared to try to take a picture. The same mother eventually became a grandmother and continued to shy away from photo sessions with her grandchildren. Until one day I noticed that there are very few photographs in which she is depicted with her grandchildren, if any.
Didn’t she think that one day her grandchildren would want to photograph her? Wouldn’t they like to remember how she was involved in their lives? Wouldn’t they have looked at a bad angle and could instead keep happy vacation or vacation memories?
Fortunately, this guilt did work on her, and I regularly spend this guilt for myself (and now for you). As a rule, I don’t like photographs of myself, especially candid ones. But one thing I noticed is that photography that I hate today is photography that I usually don’t mind too much a few years later. Maybe time makes you kinder to yourself, or maybe you look back and think, “Wow, I thought I looked a little rude THEN; look at me now! “
In any case, take pictures with children. Have a photo of you. If you hate them, you don’t need to post them. But leave them for the children to cherish later.