What Does #ExistInPhotos Mean?

You take the pictures. You save the memories. But are you in them?

Most of us have thousands of photographs.

Our children growing up. Vacations. Holidays. Weddings. Horses and pets we have loved. Birthdays, graduations, and ordinary Tuesday afternoons that didn’t seem important at the time—but somehow became precious years later.

But when you look through those photographs, there may be someone noticeably missing.

You.

That is what #ExistInPhotos means to me.

Someday, They Will Look for You in the Photographs

As women, we are so often the ones behind the camera.

We photograph our children. We make sure everyone is dressed for the family picture. We document Christmas morning and birthday candles. We take pictures of our husbands, our parents, our grandchildren and our friends.

And then someone turns the camera toward us.

“Oh, not me.”

“I need to lose a few pounds first.”

“I hate having my picture taken.”

“Maybe after I get my hair done.”

“I just don’t photograph well.”

So we step out of the frame.

But years from now, the people who love you aren’t going to look at those photographs and wish you had been thinner.

They’re going to wish you were there.

Your children will want photographs of their mother. Your grandchildren will want to see what Grandma looked like. Someday, a photograph that you almost didn’t allow to be taken may become one of someone’s most treasured possessions.

You Don’t Have to Wait Until You Look “Perfect”

There is a strange thing that happens as we get older.

We look back at photographs from 10 or 20 years ago—the photographs we hated at the time—and wonder what on earth we were so worried about.

We see ourselves differently.

We see youth. We see strength. We see the life we were living.

And chances are, ten years from now, you’ll look at a photograph of yourself today and feel exactly the same way.

So why keep waiting?

You don’t need to lose ten pounds.

You don’t need to be younger.

You don’t need to know how to pose.

And you certainly don’t need to be “photogenic.”

You just need to exist in the photographs.

A Portrait Is About More Than What You Look Like

A beautiful portrait shouldn’t simply document your face.

I want it to capture something about who you are.

Maybe you’re a mother who spent decades taking care of everyone else.

Maybe you’re a grandmother who suddenly realizes there aren’t many beautiful photographs of you with your children and grandchildren.

Maybe you’re celebrating 40, 50, 60, 70—or beyond.

Maybe you’ve gone through a major life change.

Or maybe absolutely nothing monumental has happened.

That’s reason enough, too.

You don’t need a milestone to deserve a portrait.

Your Children Deserve Photographs With You, Too

This is one of the reasons I love mother-and-daughter portraits so much.

It doesn’t matter whether your daughter is five, twenty-five or fifty-five.

One day, those photographs will mean more than you can imagine.

And if your mother is still here, get in the photograph with her.

Don’t wait for the perfect weight, the perfect haircut, the perfect outfits or the perfect time.

Take the photograph while you have the opportunity.

Photographs Should Be More Than Files on a Phone

Part of #ExistInPhotos is also about creating photographs that actually become part of your life.

A framed portrait on the wall.

An album your children can someday hold in their hands.

A folio box filled with beautifully printed photographs.

Something real.

Technology changes. Phones get replaced. Social media accounts disappear. Hard drives fail.

But there is something incredibly powerful about holding a printed photograph of someone you love.

That’s why I believe your portrait experience shouldn’t end when I press the shutter.

I want to help you create photographs that will outlive us.

So, What Does #ExistInPhotos Mean?

It means stop disappearing from your own family’s story.

Hand someone else the camera.

Book the portrait session.

Get in the photograph with your mother.

Get in the photograph with your daughter.

Let yourself be photographed at 40, 50, 60, 70 and every age after that.

Print the photographs.

Hang them on your walls.

Put them in albums.

And someday, when the people who love you go looking for photographs of you, make sure there are plenty for them to find.

You are part of the story, too.

A Lesson That Has Stayed With Me

There is another, much more personal reason that #ExistInPhotos means so much to me.

Years ago, our family was reminded in a very painful way just how quickly life can change. My son’s friend Tanner and his brother experienced an unimaginable loss. Their little sister Marlee was also a friend of my daughter.

I won’t tell their story here because it isn’t mine to tell. But knowing and caring about this family changed something in me.

It made me understand that photographs aren’t really for today.

Today, we look at a photograph and notice that we don’t like our hair. We wish we were thinner. We see wrinkles, an awkward smile, or an outfit we wish we’d chosen differently.

Years from now, none of those things will matter.

The people who love us will simply be grateful that we were there.

They’ll want the photograph of Mom laughing. The picture of Dad standing beside his kids. The photograph of siblings together. The imperfect family picture where everyone was there and life was still wonderfully ordinary.

Some photographs become precious for reasons we could never anticipate when they were taken.

That experience taught me something I have never forgotten:

Don’t wait to be photographed. Don’t always be the person behind the camera. And don’t let the things you dislike about yourself today keep you from leaving photographs for the people who love you.

That, more than anything, is what #ExistInPhotos means to me.

Exist in photos. Not someday. Now.

If you’ve been putting off having your portrait taken because you’re waiting for the “right time,” I’d love to photograph you exactly where you are in life today.

Portrait sessions are designed to be more than simply having your picture taken. From wardrobe and styling guidance to posing and beautiful finished artwork, I’ll guide you through the entire experience.

Because you deserve beautiful photographs of yourself.

And so do the people who love you.

#ExistInPhotos