October 29, 2018 | Posted in blog

Do you know how important it is to be present in photos with your children?

How many of us parents snap away pics of our kids on mobile phones, the photos uploaded directly to social media without another thought? How many of us get in front of the camera to be IN the shot with our children?
Yes, we live in a digital age, however being absent from photos of our children is not just limited to our generation.


“My father never accompanied us. But he wasn’t absent, merely hiding behind the lens of his Nikon… My chief feeling when I look at those photos is sadness: that most of the people in them are now dead; that the times they commemorate can’t be retrieved.”
~ Blake Morrison, Author of The power of photography: time, mortality and memory

As mums we are guilty of hiding behind the camera.

Mostly because (with the exception of a few) it’s mums that stay home with the kids upon realising that their paying job would only just cover nursery fess…
But also because of our insecurities.

So many women are self-conscious of their bodies, which have endured such traumatic changes that even 10 years down the line we can’t let go of the hope that our 25-year-old bodies will return as quickly as they were taken away from us.

I’m not about to lecture on body positivity (although it is a totally valid concept), but by avoiding the camera’s gaze, what record will your children have of you in 20-30 years time?
Imagine them looking through photos passed onto them to show their children, and not finding any of you in them.

Even photographers miss out on these special times…

“I thought I could do it myself, but I underestimated the importance of this change in our life and I miss having a good portrait of the three of us together… Since then I realised how important self-love is for us and our children. Very important. However, it might be a long and difficult journey towards loving our new bodies and ourselves in general, and that’s fine. In the meantime, you need to learn to accept who you are the best you can and get into photos with your children, for your children if not for you.”
~Johanna King, Photographer

Last week during October half term, a whole lot of Momtogs got together to photograph each other and our children, thanks to my photography mentor Nina Mace.
– It was so lovely to be in front of the camera for a change, to be in pictures with my children.

Mum with boys
My boys and I…
Huge thanks to Dyan from DKN Photography

Here’s some I managed to get of other Tog Parents with their kids:


Having your photo taken doesn’t mean you have to display the largest form of it for all to see – it merely represents a record of the time in your lives when you marvelled at your child’s tiny hand against yours.

Don’t fall into the trap of waiting for circumstances to change or for the perfect body – your children won’t one day turn around and say, “I wish you had waited until you lost weight.”
If you keep waiting for a better time, you will never do it. 

Tiny details change so quickly. Children grow. We get older… It’s inevitable. And we don’t know what tomorrow holds.

Stop hiding behind the camera. Be present in photos with your children. Freeze those moments, and look back on them in years to come, fondly reliving the emotions of that time.


Buy someone YOU love, lasting memories of the ones THEY love.

For Mums… Dads… New parents… and Grandparents.


Get in touch today to book your 2019 family session at 2018 prices, 

or  purchase a gift voucher for someone you love.


2 Comments

  1. Katy Parsonage
    October 29, 2018

    As a photographer, I couldn’t recommend Kelly enough. She makes you feel so at ease and gave clear direction while making you feel as natural as possible, it really is her niche! All my photos were snapped while I was interacting with my little darlings and I way prefer them over the smiley ones of us ❤️
    Thank you Kelly, and your blog definitely rings true! Xx

  2. Kelly
    October 29, 2018

    Oh my goodness Katy, thank you so much for these lovely words!

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