The Invisible Photographer

There’s a photographer in every family. There’s usually one person who instinctively reaches for their phone to capture the moment. They’re the one taking snaps on a daily basis and filling their camera roll with memories.

Does that sound familiar?

In our family, you’ve guessed it, that person is me. I suppose it’s bound to be really!

Family pictures are truly priceless in my opinion, however, there is a downside to being the one always behind the camera.

I’m not in many of the pictures myself.

Now, like many parents, my focus when taking family pictures is always my child. I love taking pictures of William and capture every little thing from eating his breakfast to feeding the ducks.

In some ways I’m not bothered about having photographs of me, it’s not just not my priority.

Any of this still sounding familiar?

But, when I look back through the photographs (which I now print and put into albums; more on that in another blog), I’m not there.

I have hundreds of pictures of William having fun with his Dad, sitting on his Gran’s knee reading a story or with his friends on a play date. But I’m not there.

And this is wrong, because I was there. I was there for every moment of that.

Maybe that’s ok for us. We know we were there.

But what about our children?

When they look back, in years to come, what will they see?

The photographs we have are the story of our past, they bring back the moments we’ve forgotten.

Can you remember much of your early childhood? Or are the memories you do have tied to the pictures you’ve seen.

I want my boy to know I was there.

So what can we do?

I’ve started to ask my partner to take pictures of me with William. I give him my phone to use, instead of his own, so that I have the pictures in my own camera roll to print.

I’m not a selfie taker, but I have started to take a few when it’s just me and Will. Nothing that’s going to win me an award, and often cheeky chops pulls a daft face, but there we are together and that’s what counts.

Be a part of your family’s story, if not for yourself, for your children and the generations to come. That’s how we live on.

I hope this has inspired you to take more photographs, everyone deserves to have beautiful memories of their family.

Happy adventures!

Jen x