You know you need to schedule a portrait session in a few weeks, when the family activities slow down.
You want to look better in pictures.
Right now you hate the way you look, the way the winter cold stopped you from starting your workout plan. “I’ll start monday” became a weekly mantra (confession: I’m currently saying that right now). Monday never comes and I’m currently eating donuts, I mean you, you are currently eating donuts. 😉
It’s easier to get portraits of just the kids every year and not get the family portrait.
After all they are the ones that change so much, not you. You’ll do it next year, after you lose that last 20 pounds. Next year comes around and you’re still not happy with how you look and before you know it, it’s been five years, ten years since your last family portrait. Now the kids are heading off to college, getting married and starting a family of their own.
What happens if you never make that appointment?
Will your children have anything to look back on? What message does that send your children? Sure plenty of portraits of them, they are adorable after all, but where is Mom? There will come a time when pictures are all that’s left, and your grandchildren and great-grandchildren will never know you, if you don’t exist in photographs. No one will remember why you didn’t show up for pictures but they will remember the pictures you showed up in. Your children aren’t the only ones worth photographing.
You are worthy too. Flaws and all.
We have had these misconceptions of what beauty is. Our daughters listen to society telling them how to look or how they are not pretty enough. They watch you look in the mirror at yourself and tell yourself you’re not good enough. All while telling them that they are beautiful. Yet, they look just like you. They look to you for their self image.
How you see yourself is how they will see themselves in the future.
When you are looking at portraits of generations past, your mother, father, grandmother… Looking back on photographs, we all look better in pictures than how we envisioned ourselves at the time. Everyone seems flawless, they are flawless in the photograph. All the memories flood back to you. Mom couldn’t get her hair perfect that day, she said she looks “fat,” or as my grandma says “she has old people skin.” One of the kids spit up on her favorite outfit, her “face” wasn’t put on, and her heal broke but somehow she looks perfect. She always looks perfect. Her hair has just the right amount of curl and the makeup, so natural. Remembering her beauty when she was so young reminds you of yourself or even your teenage daughter.
Do you know what your body type is? Are you choosing clothing that flatters your body type? Download our guide for ‘What To Wear For Your Body Type” so that you can gain the confidence you need to look better in pictures.
These are the moments that will last a lifetime. Moments frozen in time that will tell a story beyond our years.
I have a photograph of my Great Grandpa Tom, taken well before I was born, probably a few decades before my mom was even thought of. I’m not sure of the exact year but the photograph was black and white, it has lost its glossy finish and looks more like a piece of paper with a photograph printed on it. On the back it reads:
“Sorry I was carrying some chemicals and spilt some on the picture my love.”
He wrote those words to my Great-Grandma Goldie. She was 15 at the time and Great-Grandpa was 18. As the story is told, he left the picture by the lake tree, a large white oak tree that curved toward the lake. They did this every week, left each other notes in the lake tree, but this is the first time she would receive a portrait of him. They did this for 3 years. Until my Great Grandma moved out and married the handsome man in the photograph.
The photograph is far from perfect.
The spill marks are little white dots on the bottom of the print. It has to be well over 100 years old, faded and not perfect, but the family story behind that one picture will last through my lifetime.
The next generation will read the same words and maybe even see a resemblance in their young ones. Everyone in the family has his nose, the same nose we all hate. The same nose we all wish would look better in pictures. This gift to me and my family was something Great Grandpa Tom would have never known he was giving me.
Imagine this being your grandchildren, having just one picture can bring up a lifetime of memories and family stories.
I know it can be hard. You look in the mirror and what you see is not how you think you should look but your children see you as perfection, as the inspiring woman that gave birth to them. They want you there. They want you present, in the photograph.
It doesn’t matter if the day is a total disaster, if your hair is doing “that thing again” or if you just feel bloated and not pretty. On top of all of that you also know that the camera adds 10 pounds, which is the last thing you need to hear. What if I told you that you can overcome that extra 10 pounds and then some?
What if all you have to do is show up and the right photographer can do just that?
The correct lighting, posing, and camera position, combined with the appropriate clothing choices for your body type, will give you confidence and help you to achieve a look that you are guaranteed to love.
If you are not feeling your best or you’re nervous about how you look, ask your photographer for suggestions on what to wear, how to do your hair and makeup or other tips they might have to help you feel more comfortable. These are skills every great photographer should have. We would love to share this knowledge, so you always look better in pictures.
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It’s that time of year again. The dreaded family portrait day. 
Do you love checklists? How about a checklist that all you have to do is print it out and your entire plan is laid out for you? Well you are in luck! Download this checklist to help you prepare for family pictures with less stress.
After booking your session, you will have an idea of what you want your family portrait to look like. .jpg)
Play clothes for after the session.