This past mothers day I was thinking wouldn’t it be nice to post some pictures of me and my mother from when I was little. Then I realized I have 1. One little image from an album my cousins had that she scanned and sent to me. That’s it.That, to my knowledge, is the only image we have together from when I was little. Now while I cherish it I really wish I had more. 

There are tons of reasons I hear from moms about why they don’t want to be photographed. Some don’t feel like they are at their best. Some have spent all their time and energy just trying to get the kids out of the house and didn’t have time to put themselves together. I mean I’ve heard it all. We all have our insecurities, I know I do. But sometimes you just have to fight through them, because the people that love you don’t see all the imperfections you do.

Before I started the photography business and I was doing this basically as a hobby I had a coworker that wanted to get pictures taken with her son. He was graduating from high school and they hadn’t done family pictures in a long time. I kept trying to get her to commit to a date and she wouldn’t. Finally she came out and told me she didn’t want to do it till she lost weight. I tried to tell her that you have to live in the moment.This is the “you” you present to the world every day. You don’t hide in the house right? These moments and memories are fleeting, and you have to cherish them. She was never happy with herself, so we ended up never doing the photo shoot.

I definitely was dealing with the same issues when wanting to get graduation portraits done.Yes, even I hate being in-front of the camera too! I’ve dealt with weight issues ever since I was little. Part of me was really excited and proud that I’ve manage to finish college while working and fostering a business, but the other part of me was sad about the weight I’ve gained. I talked to Bradley about it and he told me how beautiful I am and that it made him sad that I saw myself an different. Don’t you wish you could see yourself through the eyes of those that love you? I had to get a grip and realize what I look like doesn’t change who I am as a person and the accomplishments I’ve worked so hard for. And I know one day my kids would want to see pictures of what there momma looked like when she graduated and started her business. Sometimes you have to remember they are not just your memories 🙂 

The point is, take pictures with your kids. Exist in photographs for you children. Because while you think you might be getting these images for yourself so you can remember how little they were, truth is you’re the most important thing to them and they want those memories of you together.