Hey Moms, you need to exist in photos with your kids!

Pittsburgh Family Photographer – Mary Beth Miller

I started a project earlier this year to go through my old film prints to scan them to have a digital copy saved just in case something happened to the original print. And of course, any time I go through old photos I get really emotional and usually a bit regretful about the things I wish that I had done in the past. One of those things is that I always wish that I had taken more photos of myself with my kids when they were little.

This is an old-school selfie of me with my firstborn son in 2003 using a tripod and the timer on my old Canon ae-1 film camera. You have to understand that almost 18 years ago, we did not have the convenience of digital cameras and cell phones with cameras because they were not a common thing yet. We used film cameras and had to go and have the film developed. (Ok, I know that I totally sound like an old lady here…)

Now, hold on a minute while I go cry about my firstborn son turning 18 later this year…how is that even possible!? If your kids are little, you really have no idea how fast time flies by. I know most of you hate hearing that but it’s annoyingly and painfully true. I love this quote and it sums it all up pretty perfectly.

In 2003, it was also not common to hire a photographer to come to your home for a newborn photo session. Most families went to a photo studio like JcPenny or Olan Mills for baby and family photos. Although I was into photography, I did not have a lot of practice with babies so I took my son to a studio in the mall for his newborn photos.

It was actually a pretty awful experience because they just plopped him on a beanbag and took photos of him crying, or wide-eyed and stunned looking and I didn’t get in any of the photos with him and I’m not even sure if the studio suggested that I do so. Thankfully, I thought to take a few images of myself with him at our home while he was still tiny and new. Unfortunately, they are not the best quality images, but I still treasure them!

Although there are not enough of them, I’ll never regret getting in the photos with my children. This image with my first baby makes me teary every time I see it in his baby album. I love how a single image can trigger so many memories.

It sparks the fuzzy warm memories of cuddling my precious new baby and even the not so good memories of the struggles of being a new Mom and feeling scared that I was doing it all wrong and often feeling very alone as a new parent. Memories of our small 3rd floor apartment that we brought him home to and the endless hours I paced the floors of that apartment singing him to sleep…

Here’s another photo with me in it that recently popped up in my Facebook memories. Another image that triggers all kinds of memories.  This is me with my very chubby six-month-old Silas. My last baby.

Although my husband takes very few photos of me with my kids and they are out of focus around 90% of the time, I’m glad that I handed my camera to him on this day. And of all of the photos I took this day of my kids playing in a creek, this is one of my favorites. Even with messy hair and no make-up, this is me, and how I look 99% of the time!
 

Here’s another one I cherish, I actually set my camera on our stroller and used the timer to get this one of me with my boys!

Mama’s, although I urge you to book a professional photographer for a family photo session, if you cannot make that happen this year, at least hand the camera/phone over to your husband, partner, friend, or even your oldest child. Or use a timer or even a selfie stick. Just get in the photos! And then PLEASE print your photos! Digital files will not last forever!


No more excuses of waiting until you get your hair done or when you lose the “baby weight”. Please stop putting it off and take my word for it, you will most definitely regret not doing it sooner! I waited EIGHT years to hire a family photographer and it was eight years too long. I wish I had done it much sooner! (my brother took this one of my with my boys, the older two are taller than me now!)

Before you know it, your firstborn baby is taller than you and preparing for college entrance exams! (true story!)

So, either hand that camera over, or please consider booking a family photo session with me or with another photographer to capture memories with you and your children.  

If you decide to hire me, I’ll probably try to talk you into having your family photo session done right in the comfort of your own home so I can photograph the afternoon of an {extra}ordinary day in your beautiful everyday life. These are the kind of pictures that you and your children will love to look at when they’re adults.  

Each photo will spark the memories of their childhood with their favorite toys laying around the house to the comfy couch that the whole family piled onto each day. And most importantly, Mom and Dad will be in the photos with them.  They will be reminded of your gentle touch or the way you scrunched up your nose when you laughed with them.    

Although I can find the beauty in a portrait of a family perfectly dressed and smiling in a golden field at sunset, I really get goosebumps from the precious images that portray everyday life.  

However, if you really prefer to do your session outside at a park, we can totally make that happen! Just reach out and get on my schedule before the year is over! Because honestly, before we know it summer is over and we’re preparing for the holidays again! Time is cruel and passes much too quickly! Do not let another year slip by without having your family photo session!

Do you have any concerns about booking a family photo session?
Please get in touch to ask me anything  


You can learn more about my family sessions here,
and go have a look at my family galleries! 

Let’s connect on Instagram!

~All images by Mary Beth Miller Photography ~

Mary Beth Miller Photography has over twelve years of experience and specializes in lifestyle family photography in Pittsburgh PA and many of the surrounding areas as well as the greater Youngstown, Ohio area.