Family photographers…get in the shot!
Posted under People I love, Photography, Witterings
A couple of months ago I read a wonderful and very poignant post on the Pioneer Woman’s blog which suddenly made me so aware of how few photos I have of me with my boys, or MrSpud for that matter. That’s the downside of having a camera stuck to your face 24/7; no one dare wrestle it off you and attempt some snaps for fear of scorn and ridicule. Plus, many of the photos that are taken with me in them are deleted as I don’t like how I look, or it’s not a ‘perfect’ moment in some way or another…no make up on, hair looking like a bird’s nest, mountains of laundry in the background, not wearing fancy dress etc etc.
But Miz Booshay makes an excellent point that, in the future, the viewers of your snaps won’t care on jot about such details…they will just see a lovely moment in time, preserved forever. I have very few photos of me with my mother, who died many years ago, but the ones I have are so precious. So, since I read that post, I’ve been trying to ‘get in the shot’ for some portraits and also trying to get some ‘snaps’ of us just hanging out, doing the normal ‘stuff’ of life. It’s harder than it sounds, and it involves MrSpud getting regular ear bashings for ‘GETTING IT ALL WRONG….AGAIN’ (mostly for out of focus shots, sigh, how hard can it be?).
But slowly, very slowly, there are some photos of me with the boys. I can’t go back and get the shots that are missing, notably any shots of me with both my boys when Diggy was a newborn, but I can try to make sure my thick necked, speccy twat face sneaks in to a few shots going forward.
So, I challenge you all…if you’re the ‘family photographer’, then start getting in the shot. Get in there with your partner, your children, your pets, your friends, your neighbours…anybody who is important to you. YOU might not like the way you look, or handing over your camera (especially if you are a Nikon owner…Canon? Not so much, it’s no big deal for you…tee hee)…but if you don’t do it, the people who look at your photos in the future will be so sad that you’re never in the shot.
So get in there. And when you have, come back here and post a link for me so I can have a good nosey. I neeeeeeed to seeeeee you!
of course, you’re tiny and petite and beautiful and if i didn’t look like a complete cow, i’d get in the shots…sigh…it’s just that husband and child are so much prettier than me….
Julie…(1) that’s not true re bovine state and (2) you’re missing the point! YOU mind how you look, no one else does!! I don’t like how I look, pointy nose, thin evil mean lips, thick neck, bad growing out hair, wrinkles, sun spots, thick ankles etc etc etc…but the point is my boys love me anyway.
So GET IN THE SHOT!!! Or get a mountain of laundry and just peep out from round the side?
Seriously, get in the shot…your family adore you because of who you are, and how you look is a massive part of that. ie. they don’t think you look like a complete cow!
Kisses xx
I missed your post and apparently missed half of a human life by just now having any access to the internet for a few days! and yes: you are creative your office (great!) deserves the title STUDIO! and you two angels are soooooooooooo cute! cheers from ice-cold Munich Eliane
sorry, so many typos, I am reallllllllly tired!
These are lovely shots and are so candid and great. I feel the same way, I absolutely loathe having my picture taken because I hate the way I look, but will try to be more brave in solidarity with you, Spuddles.
You wise woman you! Yes, I noticed when setting up my flicker badge, how few shots I had with my face …don’t know if I ended up posting any? I will be brave and get in the shots, all those arm length photos are a bit odd…Your boys are angelic…couldn’t be any more gorgeous…I love the candid shots of you together. Kudos to your hubby. So I thought I’d forewarn you, I had soooo much fun reading your 30 secrets post, I’ve decided to copy cat and do one of my own. Think my first one will be: My Wardrobe Malfunction! I’ll let you know when I post.
P.S.: we are all way too critical about our appearance…I think you are beautiful. But don’t we hone in our supposed defects and that’s all we see! Do you read Barbara Kingsolver? I remember reading one of her characters, an American Indian woman saying something like: “when I was young I was chosen to be on a billboard but I thought I was ugly, I hated my nose, thought it was too big. Then after I had kids, hated my hips, thought they were too big, not that I’m old, I’m just grateful I can walk and my body gets me where I need to go. Looking back, I was pretty good looking…” That idea has stuck with me for years (think it’s been at least 10yrs since I read The Bean Tree (I think?)…And after 30 years that pic my husband took of me in my bikini at the beach that I was so pissy about…looks pretty darn good!
kudos to mrspud! he took some lovely photos of you and your children!! thanks for the reminder! besos!
I feel very, very insulted now.
For you to think that I don’t love my baby as much as you love yours. Shame on you.
;o) (This is for your readers who don’t know who I am)
Extra…giggle…I put that Canon bit in just for you ;-)
Diggy took the one of him kissing me, wearing the white shirt. You can see the remote control for the camera in his hand!!
Thanks for all the comments – now, where are your shots!
I’d rather the challenge be to fly to England and take pictures of you with your babies. Now THAT would be fun!
those are freaking adorable pickni. I want more pictures of me with my boys, but i’m not talented enough to figure out the autotimer on my $25 crackhead camera special.
you are very wise! not sure I’m ready to follow your advice, but it got me thinking. and such fabulastic photos of you and your boys!!
and true about the nikon/canon – no matter what ext says… ;-)
So true! Here’s a rare one of all of use together. (I actually handed the camera over to a stranger – it’s not such a great camera that I minded too much!)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/clogsilk/3562500545/
This is exactly right. I would add, post them on your blog. At least a few of them. Let us see the person we’ve been admiring for so long. And we do admire them or we wouldn’t keep coming back. Often want to tell those mysterious bloggers, “Let us see your face.” I’m figuring, if you get in the shot often enough, you’ll have at least a few that you like. Right?
Please say yes.
[...] more self portraits after the first semi-success in this one. I also recently, following reading this blog post by the fab Spud made the commitment to myself to get more shots taken of me with my [...]
Thanks for the inspiration on ‘get in the shot!’ . For a long time that I stay out of the shot ‘cos minding all things as you mentioned. I am changing from then to now, wish you can check my albums on facebook or may be I should start flickr in 2010!
Thanks for the inspiration on ‘get in the shot!’ . For a long time that I stay out of the shot ‘cos minding all things as you mentioned. I am changing from then to now, wish you can check my albums on facebook or may be I should start flickr in 2010!
P.S. how can I type my email address incorrectly for the first try !