Your Biggest Reasons You Might Forget Today / Roanoke Lifestyle Photographer
Your Biggest Reasons You Might Forget Today
Your life. It's happening. And fast.
We know we want...need to document today. But life just keeps happening.
We've seen documentary work floating around and know it truly is beautiful. Capturing those authentic interactions or the unusual situations. We want our wedding day documented...every second! We never want to forget any part of it!
But what makes today different?
Is this not a season that will soon be gone?
Any...maybe...even more so coveted?
Don't let these excuses let your days pass by undocumented...
Don't let them keep you from remembering today.
1. HAVE YOU SEEN MY INSTAGRAM? I TAKE PLETNY OF PICTURES.
Remember floppy discs? MiniDiscs? Cds? Nobody cares anymore.
Maybe you're one of the good ones. You remember to upload you pictures to your computer every so often. You might even print out one or two here and there when shutterfly has a deal. But for the most part, you're like the rest of us. All of your pictures live on different social media sites that will one day be obsolete. On different CDs/DVDs in a case...somewhere. Did you know many computers are now made without any sort of CD/DVD reader? Yup. It's already happening.
Nothing compares to that breath of fresh air when you turn the corner and see your family portrait that's almost as big as your TV on the wall. The one that makes you stop, half smile, and think of the days that once were. The way he used to smile like that...but you thought you wouldn't forget. But you kind of did. Only for a second. You get to relive those feelings daily. And not only you, but they get to see themselves. They get to see the family that loves them. They see how important they are, how cherished they are. Flipping through a flash drive could never give those feelings.
2. Maybe we'll schedule when it's nice outside. Or after I lose a few more pounds. Well, at some point.
Do you remember the day you realized their knuckle dimples were just...knuckles? Or the day that they you looked up and they were swinging themselves and you realized "When was the last time they asked me to push them?!" What about the day they actually said "spaghetti"...and not "zgetti" and you discovered you never again would hear them say "zgetti".
Today is almost over and tomorrow they will be different. Maybe not much, but they will.
And you, Dear Mama. When they see photos of you...they don't see your clothes, your hair, or your waist line. They see the woman that they loved first. The woman who used to rock them as they cried. The woman who encouraged them a dozen times a day and stayed right beside them as they'd fall. They don't care how you look. They just see you. Love them and give them you.
3. MY HOUSE ISN'T PRETTY ENOUGH, BIG ENOUGH, OR ALL THAT GREAT
The way you kissed their head as you read books on the couch. Their fuzzy bed head as you flip pancakes and sip your coffee on a cool Saturday morning. The way you sing their favorite silly songs together as you scrub all of the days ickies out of their hair.
This. This is what is important. This is what you'll treasure.
This is what they'll treasure.
I'm not here to document your house. I'm here to document your love and the memories that are created daily that deserve to be treasured. And who says we have to stay at your house?
Have a favorite park? A trail you visit often? An ice cream shop you stop at every Friday after Daddy's off of work?
LET ME JOIN YOU DOING YOU.
4. LETTING A PHOTOGRAPHER INTO OUR LIFE FEELS JUST..UNCOMFORTABLE.
This is where consultations are awesome. Bring the kids, let's chat over coffee, let's get to know each other while my camera sits on the counter. Not only does this help everyone get comfortable...but it helps me learn more about you and your vision.
I try to be a fly on the wall...but I've found, it's always a little awkward. But only for a minute. You'll eventually realize...I'm just like a friend, enjoying life along side you. Beautifully documenting you as you just keep on living. Dad's usually have the hardest time wrapping their mind around it. But I promise...it's easy!
5. BUT ..WE.. DON’T REALLY DO ANYTHING EXCITING
Remember when you caught him sharing his favorite toy with her...the one you never thought he'd let anyone even glance at? Or the look she gives Daddy when he enters the room...like he's the BEST person she's even seen. Almost like he's a superhero or something! The book that he begs you to read...what feels like a thousand times a day? Or how she has to use her entire hand to hold your one finger as she walks down the stairs.
Life isn't always exciting. It's what happens in between the lines that means the most.
6. I HATE GETTING MY PICTURES TAKEN
Did you ever see that episode of Friends...where Chandler and Monica went to get photos done? Chandler would smile great, then the photographer would go to snap the photo and his face would just morph into that crazy, awkward smile? So forced and just...hysterically terrible?
Well...that's real life. Most kids, especially. When forced...oh boy... the fake smiles just kill me!
But that's the beauty of unposed photography. Documentary captures your genuine joy...and you don't even need to look at the camera! Authentic feelings are captured throughout the entire session!
Unlike that picture your Aunt Nelly tagged you in on social media that makes you look twice while saying "THAT's what I look like?!"
But that's not how we should look at the pictures of us. We should see them the way *they* see them. They see our arms and think of how tight we hug them. They see our hair and think of the way they would cover it with hair clips and bows and play "dress up". They see our torso and think of just how much they loved bedtime cuddles and hugs. See yourself the way they see you, and maybe you're realize just how beautiful you are.
7. I DON’T REALLY NEED PICTURES...
"I'll remember the big things. That is what's important...right?"
Well, sort of. If you're an elephant, maybe. But our minds tend to morph things. Circumstances, names, timing, you name it. Especially us moms...we have SO much to remember. We start to do things like "Wait...was she 6 months or 7 months when she tried green beans?" or "I clearly remember SHE said 'Mama'....No, it wasn't 'Dada' it was 'Mama'!"
Things start to get a little fuzzy.
And that's ok. That's just part of how we're hard wired.
Don't you want the opportunity to remember things exactly how they were? The way his t's didn't sound like t's, or the way she hides behind your side whenever a stranger glances her way.
You think you'll remember exactly...and you might. But what if you don't?
8. I DON’T HAVE TIME
You know the best part of documentary photography?
It's easy. You're just living life.
No fancy clothes shopping, no hair styles to whip up, no bribing good attitudes.
Your documentary session would be a part of your normal life. At home or where you frequent often. Because if not now...then when? It'll be 15 years from now when they're graduating high school and you'll realize...when happened way too long ago.
9. It's pretty cool, but kind of out of our budget
I get it.
We're parents. We've got diapers, little mouths, safe carseats, and all that to take care of. So it seems a little tough to just add "one more thing".
But if it isn't documenting this season before it passes...what is that "one more thing"?
Sometimes it's that trip to the beach, the latest geek-lovers game, the Ladies Night every week, the $700 stroller that you found after elevnty-thousand hours of research online, the latest techy whatchamakalit, the date night at the most expensive place in town because...well...no kids finally.
We spend money on what's valuable to us. Sometimes momentarily...sometimes everlasting.
Put yourself in the shoes of the 58 year old you. Your kids are long out of the house. Your spouse doesn't quite look the same anymore. You don't quite look the same anymore.
What is it, that 58 year old you, would cherish the most?
The crappy, out dated piece of technology sitting in a box in the attic? Or the album of the days that you think you sometimes still hear...when you listen quiet enough. Of the days where you felt needed, and wanted, and cherished.
Sometimes...we don't realize what our priorities should be. But maybe we should.
Lastly...10. It's a fun concept, but just not really me.
I sometimes lay in bed at night and think about the greatest gifts I can give my children.
Sometimes it's that I want to bless them with lots of siblings. Or that we homeschool and they do things just a little bit different. Or that they have the opportunity to learn about a Savior that really loves them.
But sometimes... I think about the gift I give them of memories.
I don't remember my dad so much. I was 9 when he passed. I only have a few pictures of him...but sometimes I think I remember the way he used to look at me. Or the way he used to cuddle me on the couch. Maybe I've just grown to image it...but I would never replace the little glimpse of memories I still can cling to.
I just want my children to have more. To see the way their siblings love them. To see how strong Daddy was when he would throw them "up to the clouds". To see that they belong, that they're valued and that they are part of something that will never leave them.
I document my life for my children. When I'm gone and they can't listen to my stories any longer...they'll have these images to hold on to. To show their children.
To remember "that time" that they also wish could come again.