One of my goals this year is to take more pictures of my family — including myself. Recently a post called Feeling Too Fat to be Photographed? has struck a nerve amongst moms all over the Internet. Yes, I admit, I sometimes feel too fat (too uncombed, too badly dressed, too un-powdered or glossed) to want to be a picture. Yet, I also feel sort of sad as I cull through the thousands of images I take each year, and find so few with myself in them. Even worse, as I edited our summer vacation photos in search of a Christmas card image, I saw that a pudgy, middle-aged woman had photobombed our pictures.
Well, that experience was a wake-up call to two things: to start taking better care of myself and also to start taking more pictures of myself.
I’ve been inspired by the photography by the ladies at Clickin Moms, as well as some fantastic blogger-photographers. Here are some of my favorite posts:
Veronica Armstrong is running a series on iPhoneography each Tuesday.
Lisa at Expandng shares some images from a studio photo shoot.
Adele at Four in the City is working on close up portraiture with some amazing shots of her kids.
And show yourself and your family some love. Need a last minute Valentine? Canon has a Frame Factory app on its Facebook page, where you can upload your photo and print out your own heart frame like this.
While I’m a Canon girl (7D, Rebel XT and PowerShot), I was not compensated for this post. I just love Canon cameras ;)
First, THANK YOU for sharing that article on BlogHer. Read it and totally understand! We don’t want to leave this earth, our kids, and have them wondering, where are pictures of mom? What was she like? It’s so easy to not get in front of the camera though. Have to make a real effort to get in front of it. Thanks again for sharing. And THANK YOU for listing my blog and that post among such WONDERFUL photographers! I am so flattered!! Hey, so here’s to 2013 where we get in front of the camera, because truly, people love to see who we are and don’t see the flaws that we see.
PS You don’t look pudgy at all!
Haha. Thank you. Believe me, this is AFTER I starter cleaning up diet and exercising more. In a way, seeing pictures of yourself is a good reality check.
You’re welcome! Tracy really hits on something I think a lot of moms feel. I’ve said before – in our generation, the moms are ones with the big expensive cameras and the dads don’t know how to use them ;)
You look good! But I know how we ladies can be. I’m that way sometimes, feeling like I don’t want to be photographed because I’m not looking my best.
Thank you. I know, we are our own worst critics, right?
Hi Grace, you look great! But I know how you feel. Since becoming a stay at home mom, the focus on appearance has diminished a little bit more each day. I live in yoga pants and a ponytail. And I don’t like to be in front of the camera because most of the time I don’t like what I see. Thanks for your post and a reminder that I have to remember to also take care of myself.
Thank you, Chrissy! It’s good to remind ourselves that we are important, too. And that our loved ones probably don’t see us the way we may see ourselves.
See I already loved you but you’re a Canon girl AND linked to me? You’re the best. I love your new goals. I’ve been attempting the same. So hard to lose oneself in motherhood but you’re doing the right thing. It sets a great example for our kids and leaves them with wonderful memories. Thanks again!