I just lost my mom to colon cancer, so this post might be a little emotionally charged, but I feel that it’s an important topic. I’ve recently noticed a trend. Moms bring their baby in for a newborn session, but don’t want to be in any of the pictures. Some want sibling poses, but most moms decline being in any photos during the session. I get it, I’ve been a self-conscious postpartum mom. Stretch marks and baby weight can make you want to shy away from the camera. But from a place of love, I encourage you: get in the dang picture.

Let me explain. 

My mom was incredible. And she valued photography. She made sure our lives were well documented. I mean getting professional photos of us done multiple times a year, and more frequently between birth and our first birthday. My siblings and I each have volumes of beautiful scrapbooks that she lovingly created for us.

But like many of my clients, she was self-conscious. For years, I remember her saying, “I’ll get in the pictures when I lose 50 pounds.”

And she eventually did. Over the last several years while she fought cancer, she lost a lot of weight. Toward the end, she was dropping 10-15 pounds every 2 weeks between doctor appointments.

We had an extended family session a few months ago, and I will always cherish those pictures. But I wish I had pictures from when she was healthy and vibrant, from the times when she didn’t want to be in pictures.

Get in the Dang Picture

As her daughter, how much she weighed wasn’t important. When I look at the few pictures I have of her, I see my beautiful and loving mom. That’s what matters.

Someday, your child will want to look back and see you-all of you. They won’t care about the, “imperfections,” you are so concerned about. They will just want to remember their mom and how much you loved them. To see the way they fit into your gentle hands.

So as a daughter, I ask you: please, get in the dang picture.

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