Be in front of the lense as well as behind it

Although I do think that you should take lots of pictures of your baby/children as they change and grow up very quickly, this post is actually all about taking pictures of yourself.

We are very lucky to have the technology that makes it possible to have a high quality camera with us at all times, in your pocket, to capture those adorable moments.

Probably you take most of the pictures as you spend a great deal of time with your baby especially in the beginning when on maternity leave. At least, this is how it is in our family.

When looking through the photos recently to make a photo book to document the early years of my children’s lives I noticed a recurring theme in each picture – I’m not in them.

When my children are older and use the pictures to look back at their childhood I am going to be absent from all of the scenes. They are either on their own or from habit of whipping my phone out to take a picture, my husband is the one in the pictures.

In fact the only pictures of me are when I am glammed up to go out out, which doesn’t happen that often. Mostly I am on my own and occasionally with the children but these photos are very staged.

When I am old and my children are grown up I want to look back at photos of myself and the children rolling around on the floor or covered in paint and mud. That’s when we have the most fun, not when we are dressed up in our finest clothes. In years to come I want to be able to look at a picture and instantly be transported back to squeals of delight and such overwhelming joy that I thought my heart would burst.

In fairness to my husband when he has got the camera or his phone out I have shied away or moved out of the shot as I was covered in dinner, snot or other delightful children’s substances. My immediate response in this world of perfect selfies and Instagram pictures is not to be captured looking rough and ropey.

The truth is my children don’t care how I look and as mentioned above that is how we have our most fun. So from now on I am going to demand my husband takes more pictures of me and the children having fun so we can document real life, not a life of filters and editing.

Honestly, if given the choice of looking like a yummy mummy all of the time or creating memories and experiences for my children but looking messy I know which one I would choose.

#messymum #dirtyfun #messyfun #photos #pictures #reallife #memories #capturingmemories #photobooks