one of the ways i am most excited to celebrate this milestone month in my business is by sharing fifteen of the most valuable lessons i’ve learned in my fifteen years as a photographer. fifteen tidbits of magic, if you will.
this lesson is for you. (and as someone who is far more comfortable on the side of the camera that no one can see, it’s for me too.)
show up in photos.
you know how they say ‘every body is a swimsuit body’? well, the same idea applies to photos.
i often hear people saying that they’ll book their family photos after they get their hair coloured, or they spend some time at the gym, or they find the perfect outfit. and while i completely understand wanting to feel your best for your photo session (and will definitely help you to feel that way), i also want to remind you that you are worthy of being seen and remembered just as you are today (and everyday) — no haircut, diet, or fancy clothes required.
in a society that sometimes feels designed to make us feel unworthy, there is no better antidote than standing in our worth and showing up. in recognizing that we don’t need to meet some preconceived standard of beauty to be worthy of existing in photographs.
these photos i have with my own parents are invaluable to me and let me tell you, none of the things listed above ever cross my mind. (i mean, other than the occasional laugh together about how much styles have changed — whether they splurged on a new outfit or not!)
i look at them and think, ‘wow, i am so grateful to have this photo’. ‘look how much they loved me’. ‘i remember how much fun we had that day’.
i’m going to wager a guess that you feel the same about your old photos too.
and one day, years down the road, our kids will look back at photos with us and think those exact same things.
so don’t wait. don’t hide in the background. be present. laugh hard. live fully. and get in the picture.
because photos are meant to preserve our memories. to document the moments and relationships and people we want to remember, and you (yes, you!) are most definitely worth remembering ✨