Okay - it's true, I'm a photographer, I make my living as a photographer, and convincing you to take a family portrait, well would be beneficial to me. But surprisingly this post is not meant as a way to convince you to book me. It's just something I thought about and realized I just had to post it out there.
As parents, we naturally spend so much of our time doting on our children, as I think we should. We want to record all the moments of their lives, and technology these days had made this so easy and affordable to do. No one should ever have to miss those moments, because when you look back, each moment is significant in the lives of children. Video recorders, digital cameras, web cams, skype, facebook, myspace, and the list goes on, has made it so easy for us to do this. To let family miles away share in the birthday party - to see all the pictures as the children grow, and boy, do they grow up fast. So, I promise, I'm getting somewhere with this. For Peyton's 1st year, I made her a scrapbook, the "old fashioned" way. Hand made - I cut and pasted and coordinated and bought fun little sayings. I devoted many hours to documenting her first life in a non-cheezy type of way. And I have every intention to continue to do so, but really, I'm so much more inclined to do it digitally. Now nothing against scrapbooking - I have seen AMAZING books and it's really sweet to have that handmade touch, but for me, I just don't have the time. Or rather, I would rather be spending time devoted to scrapbooking to doing other things such as photographing or spending time with the family.
And point - while starting to go through photographs I would like to include in Peyton's first chapter of her next book, there are sooooo many pictures of her. Pictures of her with specific family members, playing in the yard, playing in her room, playing outside.......etc, etc. But as I look, there are rarely any pictures of OUR family, the three of us: Rory, Peyton, and me. Not to say that we don't have any family pictures, we do. We have an AWESOME beach photograph in canvas hanging our dining room wall (side note: CANVAS and BIG is really the only way to go with family pictures. Come see my wall if you disagree. :) ) But as I started to create this book, I realized it's partly for me to remember my baby as she grows, but also for her and her children to look back to see how she was, how she grew. I think to see your parents in family pictures with you is so important. As Peyton's children look through her albums, I hope that they see what kind of relationship her parents had with her. To see the fun we had together, the laughing, the playing, the faces, the fun.
With this, I don't mean, hey let's set up portrait settings every 3 months and let's all smile for the camera. Although I like those sometimes, it's not the point I'm making. The interaction is what makes the photo. Those spontaneous moments where you are laughing and joking, and doing something fun in the yard. I know it may not be the easiest thing to do in the moment, set up a self timer or ask someone standing by to take a few pictures, but so many people overlook the importance of these moments. When I look back through my childhood photos, there is not one picture of our entire family, professional or not. There are lots of candids of me and my sisters, but not one of our family. Lately, I have been trying to change this, taking opportune moments at holidays or family dinners to get everyone together to take a snapshot. We may not all be looking, the kids might be crying, someone might have shown up in their pajamas, but in a couple years none of that will matter. Those photos will just bring back the memories of those days - laugh about what we were wearing, talk about whose kid was unruly that day. That is why those photos are important.
Photos are what we live our children behind to remember us by - to visually see us, to spark that memory of our lives, to remember what moment was happening. Of course, I am completely convinced of this. I'm sure there are lots of arguments to this note, but why wouldn't you want to leave your children, or grandchildren, or nieces and nephews photos of your life - together. So the next time you are out, think about that. Not to take away from the moment to grab your camera - but sometimes a few seconds to capture that feeling is way that you can be reminded over and over again how it felt that day. And yes - because I have to say it - if you look at your family picture over the mantle and it's been 2 years, 5 years, 10 years since you have had a family picture, maybe you should think about scheduling one. :)
Posts
