Moms, Get in the Picture
A few weeks ago I was Downtown with one of my clients, Kat. She told me how she had been thinking about having me come take photos of her girls when the azaleas were in bloom. I immediately jumped at the idea. One, Kat and her family are genuinely fun to work with and I always love seeing them. Two, her girls are the cutest and imagining them surrounded by Charleston’s beautiful azaleas? Count. Me. In!
I loved the fact that Kat wanted to do these photos for no reason other than to capture her girls RIGHT NOW. To take a morning and get in the picture with the girls versus being the one to take it. So much emphasis is put on getting your photos taken for that “perfect” Christmas Card. Or to hi-light a big event, like the birth of a baby or that baby now being a high school senior. When children are very young a matter of a few months changes so much. I just saw these girls back in October for Holiday photos but they’re already such different toddlers than they were then. I know when I see them again this fall they will again have changed so much!
Like typical Charleston session planning, we had to let Mother Nature take control of when we could book our session. Not too early in March so that the azaleas aren’t in full bloom, but not too late, and gosh forbid a cold snap could come at any time and take these precious blooms with it! There is no good rule book on when to book the perfect spring bloom session… but I’ll save that for another post.
We chose a Saturday morning mid-March only for it to be rainy, so we crossed our fingers for the next week and as luck would have it the weather was AMAZING!
A few days before the session Kat messaged me to show me the adorable outfits she got for the girls from Shrimp and Grits kids. She also told me she had decided to “Get in the photos” with the girls. I LOVED this idea! It’s all too often women, moms specifically are the ones never in the photo. They’re the first to pull out their phone to capture their babies with their significant other. They’re the ones capturing them playing on the beach or taking those first steps. Sure there’s selfies in today’s world but it’s not the same.
in 2016, when my now husband, Allen, lost his mom I remember sifting through the albums and boxes of photos searching for photos of her and Allen to frame. There were plenty of him and his dad, grandparents, cousins, but when it came to sweet solo pictures of Allen’s mom, Linda and her only child, there were so few. The few that there were were very candid, mis-matched outfits, or one of his favorites, him in a Coca-Cola shirt etc. While they are perfect in their own right, I so wish she had taken time to step in front of the camera with her only baby.
In my own family it was always our mom taking the photos. She was the one with the 35mm Canon film camera taking great shots of us. Christmas card photos done by her on the beach in the Outer Banks for our Holiday cards, birthdays etc. Often a guest appearance by our dad in a few, but rarely her.
It’s your turn to get in the picture!
These thoughts mixed with some of Kat’s spiraled into a great conversation leading up to and during our session. It inspired me to try and get more moms in front of the cameras with their babies. Sure, there’s always a few candids from family sessions but… Make it about you and your babies. Treat yourself and your babies to having cherished photos of you together. You do not need to always be the one BEHIND the camera!
Give them the gift of having these sweet memories of you. Not many ladies actually “enjoy” being in front of the camera, myself included, but I promise, it’s so worth it. Capturing these sweet moments. Kisses, hugs, sharing a lollipop, they’ll only happen for so long. Don’t let the dads be the only ones you have documentation of the cute moments with.
Now, through May 2022, in honor of Mother’s Day, I will be offering 10 special sessions. These series of sessions will be at a discounted rate for Mom’s and their babies (whether they be infants or teens). In talking with Kat, that beautiful morning we kept referring to them as “mommy and me” and then she came up with an idea even better! She called them “Get in the Picture”. It describes my thoughts and reasons for these sessions perfectly. So mommies, it’s your turn. GET IN THE PICTURE!!!
Inquire today and a “Get in the Picture” Session. Or any other session of course!
In case you think this would be a great idea as a Mother’s Day gift, feel free to share this link with your hubbies!
Thank you Kat, for giving me the necessary push to help make this idea of “Get in the Picture” become a reality! In case you’re wondering where her beautiful dress was from, because I was it’s from Mulberry and King!
