I’ve heard all the excuses.

• My <family member> hates having their picture taken…
• I need to loose <x> pounds first!
• We just want to wait for <whatever> season before we take pictures
• It’s just SO expensive!

SO many excuses.

Here’s what I say to that. Phewy.

• So your husband hates having his picture taken. That’s my job to address and work through!
• Not happy about your weight? No worries. I’ll show you how to stand, and find the most flattering angles to photograph you.
• This is Alaska. We have 2 seasons. Winter and Summer. I can make gorgeous images in either. Trust me.
• It’s expensive. Yes. It’s an investment! So is getting your hair done every 6 weeks, but ladies – most of us are sitting in that salon chair anyway! And let’s use the same analogy – ladies – are you getting your hair colored and cut at great clips? Probably not. Because you recognize that you get what you pay for!

Here’s what I also say.

Your time together as a family can change in an instant. As I write this post I have two friends in mind who recently lost family members suddenly and tragically.

There is NOTHING in the world they wouldn’t do to have one more day with these loved ones, and if they did – you had better believe they would be snapping away during those moments.

I even had the privilege to capture family photographs for one of those families just a year or so before they lost their mom. It was a humbling experience to be at the funeral and see my images plastered all over as the last memories they documented as a family. And every single one of the kids thanked me for those precious pictures. I was, obviously, moved beyond tears, but it drove home to me how IMPORTANT this is!

But there is SO much more to the story than just taking the pictures.

I read a great article from Design Aglow recently that talks specifically about how displaying family portraits helps to boost kids self esteem. This makes total sense to me. Your child’s world is shaped by their familiar surroundings, and what’s more familiar than the family home?

I know personally, my kids LOVE looking at pictures of themselves – they are still too young for me to think of it as vanity – I think it’s more about recognition and triggering memories – but perhaps too, it’s about experiencing value. The printed photograph is valuable, especially in a digital age, and when your children see you invest in that, with their image, they know that they too are valued.

I also see how images trigger memories for them – how they’ll talk about what’s happening in a picture – and smile. They always smile when we are looking at family pictures.

More from the article, and psychology here: http://www.designaglow.com/blogs/design-aglow/17493452-how-family-portraits-boost-your-child-s-self-esteem

While of course, I advocate for and personally display massive amounts of family portraits on our walls – I think it’s equally important to have albums. We sit and look at albums together as a family almost once a week. My kids adore it!

Find a photographer who’s images speaks to your style and your soul and get the ball rolling!! Most full service photographers will do all of the leg work for you – we get to know your family, plan a session that will capture the important things in your life, find the location, props and provide suggestions for wardrobe, etc. It’s really pretty easy!

So there you go. No more excuses.