Stepping into the frame: put yourself in the picture
Are you the picture taker in your family? Are you always the one behind the lens, taking precious photographs of your friends and family?
Ten years from now, will anyone know that you were there too?
I am the picture taker in my family (obviously!). For years we would go on vacation, come home, and there might be one or two lousy pictures of me hidden among the many of everyone else. I realized a few years ago that that is not fair to me or my family.
Photographs serve as a time capsule, preserving precious moments that we can revisit and cherish in the future. Years from now, when flipping through old photo albums or scrolling through digital galleries, you'll appreciate having a visual reminder of the adventures you embarked on, the people you met, and the milestones you achieved.
This was actually a slightly precarious perch…
My boys have embraced getting me in the picture - they love making me look as short as possible!
Your family and friends will want to see you too. When looking through some of my older photo books a common refrain from my young children was “where’s mom”? Over the last few years we’ve remedied this - we now have a rule that when on vacation we take one full family photo every day. Half of them are terrible selfies taken late at night, but there are always a handful that turn out well.
Clearly my pup did not get the memo to look AT the camera.
This was not an easy switch for me. I’ve always hated the way I look in pictures, and I am always critical when I see them later. But you know what? No one else looks at a photo the way you do, and you owe it to your friends and family to keep yourself in the memory.
My boys have embraced getting me in the picture - particularly making me look as short as possible now that they are giants. And my oldest son has strangely long arms, so he’s always the one taking our selfies when no one else is around to help us.
Still not convinced? Make it a game or find a theme. I’ve organized several family photo archives with fun groups of photos that we put together - hiding from the camera, holding up a peace sign, even bunny ears behind each other’s heads. You may think at the time these are “ruined” pictures, but as time goes on they become precious memories and talking points.
Bonus - if you are the one in charge of your family photographs, you decide how they are used :) But at least you’ll have them - for yourself, your family, and your friends.
So on your next vacation, family gathering, or anywhere you take pictures, step into the frame and put yourself in the picture.
One of my favorite family photos, taken summer 2022.
I first wrote about this concept here.
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