After the session, you’ll receive your imagery and it’ll come the time of choosing your photos. It’s always a beautiful process to go through your gallery, but it can be also a bit difficult to pick which ones to include in your album, prints, or to simply download.
We tend to look at our recent photos thinking about the now and we lean to the ones in which we feel more comfortable with our own image. But in this case, you’re not choosing photos for your Instagram and these aren’t photos you took with your cell phone. Your imagery holds your family’s story and you weren’t posing for others, you were enjoying time with your loved ones.
These will be the photos that in 20, 30, 40 years you’re children and grandchildren will look at to learn about their own story, and when choosing your photos I encourage you to think and dream about that.
And to keep in mind that even in this digital age of instant gratification, in which everybody is taking pictures of everything, I can assure you that few things in this world grow their value with just the passing of time as the photos of our little ones.
Other things you might want to consider
Whether to print and hang on your wall or to be part of your album, the selection is a process that can be carried out in different ways and taking into account different things.
You can consider where you’ll place them. If it’s for an album, you can sometimes choose images that add to the story of that day (pictures of little or big details or some that include more of the environment within the frame).
You can also consider which colors combine with the rest of your wall art if you’re thinking about hanging them.
But the most important tip I will give you is this one: always choose images that you think your children will love to gaze at when older. Images that tell your family story, that show how happy you are no matter how untidy the house is or how messy your hair looks.
Choose the emotions over the pose.
And trust me: in 20 years you won’t care about your double chin but the smile your kids release when seeing their childhood photos.
Displaying photos of our children at home is proven to boost their self-esteem.
Not only their portraits to show how proud we are of them but also images where we’re together, creating a sense of belonging, showing that they are part of the team, that we want them there with us.
This is the reason why I like to always deliver at least one family portrait.
Even when it’s not a posed photo or when we don’t get to have everyone looking at the camera, a picture in which every one of you is in the frame is a photo that shows your children where they belong.
And it’s a photo that always makes parents happy because it also shows you how beautiful you are when you spend time together.
Your children today
Besides a family portrait, choose photos that show your children’s uniqueness.
How they are now, what things they like to do, what they learned so far, what they enjoy the most.
And because time with children lasts so little and our routine changes fast (especially during their first year), do yourself the favor of choosing images of those things that are now part of your everyday life that will soon become part of your memories.
Think about your own childhood: which moments would you like to frame? which photos of your earliest memories do you love to contemplate now? what things do you care to see? which moments do you cherries the most?
What things of last months you’re not doing anymore and already miss?
The answers to those might (and should) affect your choice. Because as parents, we want to give our kids the things we missed, and many of the things you do: the way you play with them, how you comfort them when they’re sad, the food you offer, the stories you read them… all those things are molded by your own story, your fears, your love, and values.
CHOOSING YOUR PHOTOS IS A PERSONAL PROCESS
All the people I met through my work are different and unique. Yet they do share very important values: they raise with empathy and respect. They build loving homes and they’re present for their children.
In this issue, you’re not an exception and I’m proud that you chose me and trusted me your loving memories.
But your choices might differ from what I would choose. That’s why I don’t make that final decision: you do. It’s not only a matter of taste or technic but a matter of inheritance: your imagery will become part of your visual legacy, it will be part of your children’s memories, a family treasure.
I dream that in 20 years, the kids I’m portraying now will be happy to see the love and effort you put to raise them as happy human beings.
That’s why, if in doubt, just pick the ones that make you smile. I’m sure they’ll make them smile too.
