Don’t Hide from the Camera
A few years ago I started looking for pictures of me with my family members. Guess how many I could find that had been taken in the past 10 years? Very few! I was shocked to realize that although I have great family and we spend lots of time together, we had not made a point of taking pictures with me in the picture. Now I realize that pictures preserve memories! I’m not left out of the memories because I don’t hide from the camera anymore.
Don’t Hide from the Camera
There have been some great discussions around the internet, facebook groups and mom blogs about how often we as Moms tend to take the pictures and hide from the front of the camera lens. I am one Mom who is on a mission to change that! It doesn’t matter if we are on a Kindergarten Zoo trip, a family hiking trip to the top of Stone Mountain, or having a dinner after a funeral. I always have my camera handy (or at least my phone) so I can take pictures with the people I love.
And Yes, that means that I often hand off the camera to someone else so I am in the picture as well. I am convinced that my kids have every right to look back at pictures of their childhood and see me, their Mom, in the pictures. I always make sure I am in at least one picture at the event. You will probably hear me say “this picture is to prove that I was here!”.
Image Reality Check
Now I am definitely one of the first to admit that the camera and I are not always the best of friends. That image awareness used to keep me from hopping in front of the camera. I was so concerned that my smile would not look natural or the angle would be bad that I stayed out of the photo. Now,though I am still aware of how the picture turns out, I am more concerned with the fact that many Moms let their image issues keep them away from the camera.
At a recent family get together I was talking to my brother and my Dad. I asked my brother when was the last time he and Dad had a picture of just the two of them. They couldn’t remember the last time. So what did I do? I grabbed my phone and took this great shot! My brother is now determined to take pictures with Dad on a regular basis.
Why pictures are important
Some friends of mine never take pictures. It’s not that they don’t have a camera, they just don’t see the importance of snapping the shots. Other people are so afraid they will miss the event if they are constantly looking through the lens of a camera.
Many digital cameras have a large viewfinder which means you don’t have to have your eye up close to the camera. You can basically just point in the right direction and take pictures while the event is taking place. It is worth the extra few steps to preserve the memories by taking a picture.
No one knows what will happen tomorrow. But we have today with the people we care about. So next time you’re out on an adventure or enjoying a family get together, why not grab a camera and start snapping some pictures? Just don’t forget to hand the camera to a friend so you can make sure you’re in several of the shots too!
On Mothers Day, I talked more about me and pictures with my parents.
Got any get tips or stories about how important it is to not hide from the camera? I’d love to hear!
I used to be so good at picture taking and now I slacked off a lot.
I am the same way. I need to have more pics of me!
I need to start taking more pictures for sure. I want to have plenty for my daughter to look at while daddy’s deployed again.