showyouwerethere

‘Show you were there’ round up (week three)

by with One Comment Show you were thereUncategorized

Week three of my month-long challenge to get in a photo every day and I’m really proud that I’m still going!

It’s been another pretty wet week here in Swansea, so once again most of my photos were taken inside.  We did venture out a couple of times though, just to the local park, so I think I’ve managed to get a nice variety of photos again, which I’m so happy with.

So, on with the photos!

showyouwerethere

showyouwerethere

Notice anything different in that last photo?  I may have chopped a couple of inches off my hair this week!  What do you think?

If you’re interested you can click on these links to see my photos from week one and week two.

 

#ShowYouWereThere

I’m so, so happy to see that people are starting to join in with this little hashtag of mine!

If you have a photo that features YOU, either by yourself or with your children then please do use #ShowYouWereThere on it over on instagram.

This week I’m sharing these fab photos:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BR0m-4Whyeb/

 

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/BRyLUU7j8SB/

 

 

Thank you so much to Esther from Inside out and about, Sara from Ballsy Mama, Jo from Pickle and Poppet and Wendy from Naptime Natter for sharing your photos this week!

I’d love to see you all again next week, along with anyone else who would like to join in.

Make sure you exist in photos for your chidlren – show you were there!

 

stop excuses get in more photos

Stop making excuses and get in front of the camera #showyouwerethere

by with 17 Comments PhotographyShow you were there

There are so many reasons we can give for not getting in more photos.  I’m sure if I asked you right now if I could take a quick photo of you, you could immediately give me a handful of reasons why you wouldn’t want me to do it.

I’ve even written a list before, of 8 reasons you shouldn’t have your photo taken.

The thing is, we can call them reasons, but lets be honest.  They’re really excuses aren’t they.

Unless you have a genuine phobia of having your photo taken, you need to stop making excuses and get in front of the camera.

Stop making excuses and get in front of the camera

 

 

Why does it matter so much that you’re in photos?  Sue Bryce said it best:

“One day your children will look for photographs of you. What will they have?”

In years to come, your children will look back through the hundreds of photos you’ve taken of their childhood.  And yes, they’ll enjoy seeing themselves growing up.  But you know what they would love and treasure most of all?  Photos of YOU.

So, lets knock out some of those excuses shall we?

 

“I’ve got no one around to take photos of me/for me”

Right, lets get rid of this one first.  Yes, it makes life a lot easier if you have someone around who can act as your photographer for the day.  But not having someone to help is no real excuse for not being in photos!

Take a selfie, set a timer, buy a remote trigger, hell, go all out and book a photographer to get some professional photos taken!  There are so many options, I’ve listed them out in this post – How to be in more photos when you don’t have anyone to take them for you.

 

“I don’t have time”

I get this one.  I really do.  It can feel like a bit of a hassle sometimes, to find/make the time to get in photos.

But it really is just another excuse.  It’s been said again and again, if something is important to you, you will find the time for it.

Make getting in photos more a priority.  It doesn’t have to be every day.  But make a point once a month at least, to set aside a few minutes to be in some photos.  It doesn’t have to take long, especially if you do have someone else to act as photographer for you.

 

“I’m no good at taking photos”

Honestly, please don’t let this one stop you from being in photos.

You can learn so much about photography online these days, I’m sure if you dedicate just a bit of time to it your skills will improve quickly.  And you know what?  Even if your photos are still a bit blurry, or over exposed, or in any way less-than-perfect, it really doesn’t matter.  Think about it, I bet some of your favourite photos of your parents aren’t technically perfect.  But you still love them, don’t you?

Your children won’t care that your photos aren’t perfect, they’ll just care that they are photos of YOU.

 

“No one wants to see photos of me” or “I need to lose weight/colour my hair/hide my massive dark undereye circles before I can be in a photo”

I think if we’re honest with ourselves, most of the time it’s a mix of these 2 excuses that stops us getting in more photos.

We look at pictures of ourselves with such a critical eye.  We seem to be naturally drawn to our flaws and imperfections.

Believe me, I completely get this excuse.  And I have deleted photos of myself in the past that were just really unflattering.  But we have to get over it!  Honestly, you need to get in the photo NOW.

Please don’t wait until you feel you look good enough.  You are good enough to exist in photos right now, just as you are.

 

So there you have it.  4 classic excuses for not getting in front of the camera, all crushed!

Have I convinced you?  Or do you have other reasons for not being in more photos?  Please do leave me a comment and let me know!

 

This post has been linked up with KCACOLS.

showyouwerethere week 2

‘Show you were there’ round up (week two)

by with No Comment PersonalPhotographyShow you were there

I’m 2 weeks into my month-long challenge to get in a photo every single day.

Last week was relatively easy, as the month started part way through the week so I only needed to take 4 photos.

So this past week was the first full one I had to tackle, and it has been challenging.  We’ve been stuck in again a fair bit, thanks to a combination of wet weather and a sickness bug.

I was quite pleased then, to look back at the week’s photos and see that I had actually managed to get some nice variety again!

show you were there

I’m pleased that I’ve given myself permission to include photos like the last one.

While it doesn’t show much of me at all, I think it still shows a lot of ME, you know?  I’m pretty sure when my children are older, one of the things they’ll remember from their childhood is me drinking a lot of coffee!

And these kind of photos add some interest to the project as a whole.  Added together, all the photos will hopefully build up a complete picture of who I am right now.  And that’s the point really.  Making sure there are enough photos of the real me, for my family, for the future.  I’ll be a different person in a few years time, it’ll be interesting to look back and these and remember who I was.

 

#ShowYouWereThere

I’m sharing some of these photos over on instagram as part of the community I’m hoping to build up over there.

I would love it if people joined in, using #ShowYouWereThere.

For now, I want to give a big, happy shout out to Nicola from Mummy to Dex for being the first person to jump in and share some photos with that hashtag!

 

 

As more people (hopefully!) join in, I’ll be sharing my favourites every week here on my blog.  So everyone, get in front of the camera and then get sharing on instagram with #ShowYouWereThere.

I’d love to see you!

show you were there featured image 1

‘Show you were there’ round up (week one)

by with One Comment PhotographyShow you were thereUncategorized

If you’ve visited my blog in the past week you may well have seen that I’ve set myself a challenge.

I’m trying to get in a photo every day this month.

This is the third year that I’ve done this, as part of my aim to make sure I exist in photos for my family.  And I’m trying to encourage other parents to get in more photos too.

I’m now at the end of the first week of my #showyouwerethere challenge for 2017, and here are the photos I have so far.

show-you-were-there

I’m pretty happy so far!  Considering it’s rained pretty much non-stop all week so we’ve not been out and about at all.

I quite like the variety I’ve managed to get in this week’s photos.  I don’t want to get the end of the month and have 31 pictures that all look the same.  I’m looking to capture portraits, moments and details.

 

Join in!

If you’d like to join in with me and jump in some photos either by yourself or with your loved ones then please do use #showyouwerethere on them over on instagram and I’ll go take a look.  I’m planning on sharing my favourites over here on my blog.

And if you’re a blogger reading this and you’d like to take part in a new guest post series about your favourite photo either of yourself or someone important to you, then please do sent me an email for more information – thisgloriouslife@gmail.com.

I’m looking to share stories of the photos we’re really happy that we are in or that we’ve taken, photos that mean something to you or that you think will mean something to your children in the future.  Or if you have a story about a photo you wish you’d taken that you’d like to share then give me a shout too.

In the meantime, check this post out if you need some tips on getting in more photos if you’ve not got anyone around to take them for you.

 

reasons to not be in photos

8 reasons you shouldn’t have your photo taken (and one really important reason you should)

by with 24 Comments Family lifePhotographyShow you were there

If you’ve visited my blog before you might have read my other post about the photos we wish we’d taken.  In it I mentioned that throughout March I’m planning on taking a photo every day with ME in it.  And even though I really want to do this, there are still those nagging thoughts and excuses that pop in to my head telling me why I shouldn’t get in front of the camera.

But, those little voices are always silenced by one really important reason why I NEED to do this.

If you’re thinking about joining me and taking more photos of yourself, here are 8 reasons you might be coming up with for why shouldn’t have your photo taken followed by my one reason you really, really should.

8 reasons you shouldn't have your photo taken

 

 

8 reasons you shouldn’t have your photo taken:

 

1)  You need to lose half a stone.  Or a stone.  Or just those last few pounds.  Yeah, you’ll have your photo taken once you’ve lost that last bit of tummy jiggle.

 

2)  Your hair is in dire need of a cut and colour.  Seriously, no one wants a photo of you with greys sprouting up in your parting and split ends everywhere.

 

3) You don’t have the time to do it.  You have far more important things to do with your time than bother setting things up to get in a photo.

 

4) You haven’t had a full night’s sleep in 3 years and you just. look. tired.  Pale skin and dark circles under your eyes isn’t a look you really want to have on record.

 

5) You don’t photograph well.  You just don’t.  You pick apart every photo of yourself, wondering why the camera hates you.

 

6) No one wants a photo of you, in this moment, you’re not reaching any milestones worth capturing like your kids are.  Every little thing your baby does is worthy of a photo, but you managing to drink a whole cup of coffee while it’s hot isn’t really a moment that’s worthy of being recorded.

 

7) You’re more comfortable behind the camera than in front of it.  Now this I get.  Life is pretty good from behind a camera.  Who needs to come out from that place and step in front of it?

 

8)  You just don’t like having your photo taken.  End of.  (Does anyone still say ‘end of”?  No?  Oh well!)

 

So there you are.  8 reasons (excuses) I’m sure we’ve all used at one point or another to not have our photo taken.

Reasons that feel perfectly valid to us and keep us safely out of the way of any cameras that might be pointed in our direction.

But, here’s why none of that matters and why you should really, really just get over yourself and in front of the camera.

Your children will want those photos of you.

They will want those photos of you regardless of how you look.  They honestly do no care about the extra weight you’re carrying.  They couldn’t care less about the greys in your hair and the bags under your eyes.

They won’t see those things.

They will just see YOU.

In years to come they will just be so grateful to have photos of you.

Sue Bryce said it best:

“One day your children will look for photographs of you. What will they have?”

 

Don’t let your insecurities about how you look and excuses about lack of time stop you from existing in photos.

I mean, by all means take a few minutes to do something with your hair, put on a top that you feel more comfortable in, get some bb cream on your face to brighten that pale complexion, but then GET IN FRONT OF THE CAMERA.

No more excuses.

This isn’t really about you.  It’s about your children.

Make sure that when they look for photographs of you in the future they have plenty to find.

The photos we wish we'd taken show you were there

The photos we wish we’d taken – #showyouwerethere

by with 19 Comments PersonalPhotographyShow you were there

I’m pretty sure we all have them.

The photos we wish we’d taken.

The moments we wish we’d recorded.

The people we wish we’d captured while we had the chance.

The photos we wish we'd taken show you were there

 

Over the last year or so I’ve found myself becoming very aware of how few photos I have of my parents.  My visits to see them are normally so rushed, so full-on, so busy with children underfoot, that I often don’t end up taking any photos at all.

I like to just ‘be’ in the moment, enjoy everyone’s company, take in the little details of home.

But then, after I leave, I kick myself for not taking 2 minutes to take a few photos.  To capture forever the way my parents look at each other.  How in love they still are.

So, as I was packing up my bag ready to head back to Wales at the end of my last visit home, I grabbed my parents and my camera and we headed out to the back garden for a quick photo session.  And I’m so, so happy that I took that opportunity.

 

I will never regret taking these photos.  But I know had I not, I would always wish I had.

 

These photos mean so much to me already, and in years to come they will mean so much more.  So, thank you to my parents for humouring me, stepping out of your comfort zone a little and getting in front of my camera.

 

It means the world to me that you exist in these photos.

#showyouwerethere

#showyouwerethere

#showyouwerethere

Last year for the month of March I challenged myself to get in front of the camera and in a photo every day for the whole month.

I want to be sure that I exist in photos for my children too.  I want to show them that I was there.

So this March I’m doing it again.  Every day I will step in front of the camera, and I would love as many people as possible to do it too.

I’ll be posting my photos using #showyouwerethere on Instagram and on my Facebook pages for this blog and for my photography business.  If you fancy joining in please tag your photos with that hashtag so I can find them.

Don’t end up wishing you’d taken those photos.  Just do it!