“What if we changed our mindset about family photos and decided to allow our family to show up as they are. That getting photos of them as they are is good enough. What if we prioritized getting photos of our love over our perfectly dressed, fake happy faces?” –Megan Osburn
Scrolling through social media this holiday season, I see post after post of mommas sharing how family photo day is so dreadful (granted, none of my clients…but I have a sneaky suspicion even some of my families felt the same way, despite our efforts to make it fun and easy). It seems social media is telling me that, while family photos were a necessity and everyone was happy once they got them back, the experience was not one anyone looked forward to or even really enjoyed once they got there. One…way to go mommas for making it a priority, despite your family’s feelings of dread. Second…as a momma myself…I get it. We are being told how important family photography is and we are all longing to hold onto those cute little chubby cheeks and gapped toothed grin. We want just one picture of all of us looking at the camera and smiling. We see images of everyone perfectly dressed and perfectly coordinated with their perfect smiles. You’ve invested in this one shoot. This one 20 minutes to 2 hours. It’s a lot of pressure. But, what if we flipped this way of thinking on its head? We let go of the pressure. We let go of the expectations.
What if we told our family we love them and we just want to capture that love? Tell them you have no expectations except for you to just take the time of your shoot to celebrate your life together? Just the way you are. Today. No pressure. Here’s the thing…these photos are absolutely not for you in the today. These photos are for you, your babes, and their babes twenty years from now. When you look back on your childhood photos, my guess is while you think the photos of you perfectly dressed with your “picture smile” are cute, funny and you’re so glad you have them, your favorite photos (or the ones you wish you had) are those that show your personality, your zest for life, your connection with your mom, dad, grandparent, siblings, and close friends. There’s a place for the super cute, everyone look at the camera, pictures that show how you and your littles look today, but they aren’t the whole shebang or even the main show. They should be the byproduct of a fun shoot, not the other way around. Come to me with your desire to show your love. Come to me with your open heart to love on your family. Come to me with your desire to show your kiddos wild personalities. Come to me with your chaos. I will embrace it. I will encourage you to embrace it. I want you to snuggle up and flip through albums of your love story AS IT IS. I want you to look around your home and see your love as it has been through the years. I want your home and your hearts to tell your love story. The pressure is off. Let it all flow from your heart and into your littles and throw the stress away. Let them wear clothes that show who they are. You wear something you feel comfortable and beautiful in. They won’t put down their favorite toy? Awesome…keep it in…you’ll want to remember that in twenty years. They didn’t want to smile. Cool…that’s okay too. They wanted you to hold them the entire time? Shoot…I bet they won’t next year. They ran and jumped and acted “insane” the whole session…man…I bet we had a good time and got some really authentic shots. I’m here for all of that. Let’s embrace that chaos. Guess what. It’s so beautiful! Let it go and I know you will feel better…your family will feel better…and the images will even be so much better. I want to scream this from the rooftops because I want this for you…I want this for me.
So much love my sweet friends,
Cilla
PS…Mark your calendars, 2020 calendar release, new pricing guide and once a year savings coming December 9th! So many wonderful things to come in the new year and I can’t wait to share them all with you! xoxo
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