Will your children have any pictures with mummy?
This is one for the Mums. Are you guilty of not being in pictures with your children?
I recently put together the website for my new family and pet photography business in Henley-on-Thames, and my husband suggested I put a picture of myself and the kids on my ‘About Me’ page. 'Great idea', I thought. But then it slowly dawned on me … I have NO decent pictures of me and my two children together, apart from a handful of blurry iPhone selfie pictures, where one of us is no doubt pulling a funny face. As a family photographer, my children and husband always have a professional on hand to take images of them, but this means I am the one behind the camera and therefore absent from these pictures. I don't really help myself as when someone goes to take a picture of my children I often purposefully step out of the camera view, my first thoughts being 'I haven’t got any makeup on' or 'my hair’s a mess' or 'I’m wearing clothes covered in the baby’s lunch'!
The thing about photographs is that they don’t always need to be posed and perfect. Pictures of the sweet and simple everyday, with a bit of mess and realness thrown in, are often the best. They provide this amazing way to freeze a moment, and when you look back at a photograph it unlocks memories and provides a wonderful insight into the love and connection between family members. And there is no stronger bond in this world than the one between a mother and her child.
I absolutely love pouring over old photos of my mother and I when I was little. The picture below is one of my favourites because of the sheer joy captured in that moment. To me, she is BEAUTIFUL. And yet the funny thing is, when I showed this picture to my mum she smiled, but then said… oh, my bra straps are showing. I did not even notice them. Guess what, your kids don’t care!
One day, when you are not around, your kids will look back on pictures of you together and be transported back to that exact moment. They won’t care if you have messy hair, or if your clothes were a bit thrown together. They will remember you, providing of course that you're in the photo to start with.
And so it was because of this that I launched my 'Mummy and Me' photoshoots earlier this year, which are a bite-sized version of my family photoshoots held a few times a year, to celebrate motherhood. These sessions are so very personal to me, and it seems they are to other mothers too as I received a lot of enquiries after the launch. I had the privilege of capturing some beautifully real images of mummies and their dearest set against gorgeous nature backdrops in Henley-on-Thames.
In this blog I have posted a few of the photos from one of these sessions, with the lovely Ceara and her daughter Ceitidh. Ceara is a little camera shy, and was as guilty as me for not being in many photographs. My photoshoots are informal, super friendly and a bit silly. I strive to capture what it feels like, not what it looks like. I know that Ceara had been a little bit anxious about the photoshoot, so it was lovely to hear afterwards that they had just had a great time together, laughing and playing. I was delighted when I heard from her that it didn’t feel like a formal photoshoot at all, and I hope the pictures convey that.
“Rachel has a real gift capturing the special moments in the most natural and beautiful settings. Her style was completely unobtrusive and it really comes across in the relaxed and natural reactions of both my daughter and I. Her photos are truly magical and we are so pleased with the results. We really enjoyed our mummy and daughter shoot and we will be booking her again soon for a family session”
So mummies - whether you take some selfies with your kids, pass the camera to your partner for once, or hire a professional photographer, let's all try and be more present in our family photographs, so that your children can see how beautiful you were and how much you loved them.
If you’d like to enquire about my next released dates for Mummy and Me photoshoots, I’d love to hear from you. The sessions cost £40 and include:
- 30 min session of mummy snuggles at a set outdoor Henley-on-Thames location
- One medium print
- Digital images are available to purchase from a private online gallery
These sessions make the perfect gift, and I can provide a gift voucher - I know I would be over the moon if someone bought me something like this!Fancy receiving one as a gift yourself, and need to give a hint? Then share this blog post on Facebook!