Embrace the Camera

While I was excited to receive Leo's photobook, one thing that became apparent was that during Leo's first year, I didn't take a whole lot of photos of the two of us, or the three of us as a family for that matter. 

This is something I have been thinking about for a while. Since I'm the one in the family with the 'fancy' camera, I'm usually the one taking all the photos. If you were to look through various albums over the last few years on my computer, there would be a number of events where you wouldn't have even known I was there. 

Now, this is where I'm probably going to sound silly. It's not because I'm embarrassed about my appearance, or that I don't trust other people with my camera that there's not many photos of Leo and I. It's because I've been too darn polite to ask. When we've had visitors or gone visiting, I've been so preoccupied with taking photos of Leo with his extended family that I've neglected my own desire to be in the frame. But oh how I've wanted to be. Sure, there's grainy mobile and iPad pictures, but they tend to stay with the people who own them don't they? 

Then I came across the "Embrace the Camera" movement via Ashley Ann's blog, Under the Sycamore and realised I'm not the first Mum to find herself in this predicament. Ashley's posts on the topic led me to this 2008 post by Aleida Franklin. She writes:

"There is a reason why I'm posting these pictures.  Pictures that I'm actually in.  Not because I think I'm all that and a trip to Hollywood.  No.  It's because I'm actually tired of being worried about how I look and not taking or having very many photos of me with my children.  I have very few pictures of me and my babies when they were babies, and I have myself to blame.  Precious opportunities to capture on paper, lost because of my silliness.  Well no more I say!  One day I won't be here and there will be hardly any pictures of them and their mama.  So ladies, hand over the camera and get in those photos!  Please.  You'll be happier you did.

Aleida was tragically killed in a motor vehicle accident a few short weeks later. Her story has stayed with me. I want my children to have pictures of them with their Mum. Not posed pictures as such, just photos of us, of our days at home. So far I have made little use of a gifted tripod and the self-timer function on my camera but I want to change that. I'd like to aim for one photo of Leo and I a month. That seems as good a start as any for me.

Please hold me to it.  

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Below are some recent photos of Leo and I that I, or another person has taken. Three cheers for finding the courage to just ask someone to take our photo.