When my son was born, I was on the "photo shoot every month" train. I kept it up for a full year. I have hundreds of shots of him (and some of him and my husband). But that was it. I set up a session with another photographer for family portraits, but my son was cranky and uncooperative, and the best shots were of him alone. So basically there are no "wall-worthy" photos of me and my son together during the first year of his life. -NOT GOOD-
Last year, I read a little blog post by an amazing photographer. She talked about the importance of being in the photo, especially with your family, and she gave some great tips. This was the motivation I needed at just the right time.
Enter the set-up: bed with a plain blanket and pillows, a bare white wall, and some gorgeous window light. I threw on some jeans and a white tee and put my son in a simple onesie. I had my tripod and remote in hand, and started snapping. And this is my result:
I L-O-V-E this picture. Everything about it. The light, his vulnerable expression, how he's clinging to me I needed this.
I did another photo shoot wit my son the past January. The result didn't elicit the same heart-tugs like the first one, but I'm doing it. I'm being part of the moment, not just capturing it.
So now it was time for an official family photo. We had the outfits, my hair was behaving, and it was a beautiful day. There were some hiccoughs with the location (as in no shade whatsoever, except for this little 10x10 spot) but I made the most of it. And wow, I am happy!
I took some shots of just the boys.
And then I handed the camera to my hubs, with everything set, and got these.
And for good measure, I spent an recent afternoon updating my personal profile picture for my website and all of my social media.
Life is too fleeting to exclude yourself from the moments with your family. So get out from behind the lens. Join your loved ones, or strike a pose alone. You are worth being documented.
-Stefanie
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