We’re probably all guilty of refusing to be in a photo because we don’t feel like we look great… some people more than others. In fact, I have a family member who very very rarely wants to be photographed and while I can certainly understand the desire to be behind the camera rather than in front of it, one day I’ll be really sad that I don’t have many photographs with that family member.
When a friend shared with me earlier this year that she had cancelled her first family photography session since her child was born because she hadn’t lost the weight she was hoping to lose in time, I shared with her something I think we all need to remember: her son won’t care how much she weighed in the photo, he will just be glad to have these pictures one day.
So whether it’s a scheduled photo session — maybe your first since giving birth or your first since going through a really stressful time — or just a spontaneous shot someone who loves you caught on camera, remember that you don’t have to love how you look in every picture, but having the memories to look back on in the future will be priceless.
We had our first family photo session two weeks before my son turned one. The photo used in this post is from that session. I would have liked to have one sooner but between it being the middle of Covid-19 times when he was born, my exceptionally long healing time post delivery, and a move… it just didn’t happen. That being said, did I love how I looked in every single picture? No, of course not. My body is softer now, sometimes it doesn’t feel like my own. But, this body carried my son to 41 weeks, birthed him all on my own, dances with him daily, rocks him to sleep, carries him around the house… and all the other things mom’s do. So especially now, I will choose to take all the photos and hold them dear… one day, they will hold fond though distant memories.
Photo taken by Prickly Pear Photography.
