You hate having your photo taken. 

Seriously. You grow older, have kids. And when you see yourself in photos, you don't see yourself anymore. But it doesn't have to be this way.

A good professional photographer knows that flattering portraiture requires the right lens, angles, and posing. Subtle beauty retouching in Photoshop also helps.  

But with all of that said, the goal of a family portrait session is to capture your family's love and connection — that’s the subject of the photo. Not any one person. The magic of family portraits is that somehow, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. And when you're with your people, laughing and having fun, you look and feel your best. 

I'm also a mom who wants to be in the photos, and I've found that this mindset helps me approach my own family's photos from a place of fun and positivity, not perfectionism.

Several years ago, Australian photographer Sue Bryce started the #existinphotos movement. The gist of it is that we owe it to ourselves and our kids to be photographed -- to leave a legacy. Not just to be taking the photos but to be IN the photos.

When your kids look at their family photos in 20, 30, 40 years, they aren't going to notice the baby weight you haven't lost or the dark circles under your eyes (I photoshop those out by the way). They are going to look at your smile and the care you took with selecting their outfits, and they will remember that you did these things for them.

There is beauty in every stage, and if you wait until you feel that you look "perfect," your children will never have photos of you.   

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A selfie with my kids