Mother’s Day is coming up soon
and it’s the perfect time to share something
that’s been weighing heavy on my heart…
This isn’t going to be the most eloquent thing I’ve ever written,
But I feel like it’s something we ALL need to hear…
Please know, this is addressed to the Mama’s out there,
But it really does apply to ALL women
One thing I’ve noticed since I became a photographer,
is that we {as mother’s & women in general}
are VERY hard on ourselves…
{can I get an AMEN?!?!?}
I’m almost 100% sure that each one of you reading
this today can think of at least 3 things you would
immediately change about the way you look…
Some of you feel so strongly about these things
that it actually causes you stress
over the idea of having your picture taken…
and this just makes my heart & soul hurt!
We find all kinds of reasons to avoid being in the shot…
“I hate my chins”
{ no double chins in sight }
“My face is so fat (or butt, or thighs… you pick)”
{ definitely not fat }
“I’ve been wanting to book a shoot with you,
but I’m trying to lose ten pounds first”
{ perfectly curvy human }
“Ugh… my teeth! My forehead! My arms, my legs, my tummy…”
{ nope, not a thing wrong… }
“Don’t take my picture, I haven’t had a chance to wash my hair today”
(or yesterday… come to think of it… when was the last time I washed my hair???)
{ well… considering how windy it is here, even if you DID do your hair,
it would blow all over the place one you stepped outside…
so just embrace it! }
and the list goes on and on with things that
we pick apart about who we are & what we look like…
WHY ARE WE SO HARD ON OURSELVES???
Would you say these things to your family? or friends?
NO WAY!
I don’t know about you, but I have some pretty incredible friends
who are absolutely stunning (you know who you are 😉 )
and I know that they struggle with these feelings of insecurity, too…
Why can’t we see ourselves the way that our loved ones do?
{ SPOILER ALERT }
There is NO SUCH THING as “PERFECT”…
Life is NOT perfect!!!
BUT Mama… please believe me when I tell you…
You ARE beautiful
You ARE strong
You ARE loved
❤
As a photographer,
I am given the opportunity to know you… in detail.
And I know you are beautiful.
sooooo breathtakingly beautiful,
in spite of and because of every imperfection.
And guess what I see instead of the imperfections you see…
I see the way you hold their hands…
I see the way your children look up to you for guidance…
I see the patience that you have with a gazillion and one questions…
I see how safe they feel in your arms when they are a little bit shy…
I see those sweet smiles and little laughs…
I see the chaos of Motherhood…
I see the chaos of life in general…
and it is BEAUTIFUL!!!
How boring life would be if each of us was a ‘perfect’
carbon copy of the next???
And really now, what the heck does ‘PERFECT’ mean?
Who gets to decide this???
If I had to choose between the media’s idea of perfect,
my vision of perfect in my head,
and my 4 year old’s idea of perfect…
You can bet your bottom dollar that I would choose my 4 year old!
He loves every single squooshy inch of me,
and he tells me that I am the Best Mama in the World!
He could care less what I look like…
and it would be an absolute tragedy if he grew up
and there were no pictures of us together.
When he is all grown up, and sees an image of us when he was young…
will he look at that shot and say,
“Oh wow, Mama should have washed her hair and
lost 10 pounds before she let someone take our picture!”
OR
will he look at that shot and say,
“I remember how much fun we had that day!”
“I loved when Mama held me like that…”
And so… Please hear me when I say…
Please Mama’s… BE IN THE SHOT…
Let someone capture these fleeting moments…
These days of baking cookies, snuggles, board games & bubbles.
Our children are growing up before our eyes,
there’s no stopping it…
And I’m sure you have lots of pictures of them…
but how many of those shots have YOU in them?
Please hear me when I tell you… Don’t Wait!!!
This is a precious part of the story of your life…
And somewhere in that future that seems soooo far away,
I really hope that you have images to look back on that
capture YOU in the story of your life…
Thank you all so much for taking a moment to read my BLOG
If these words strike a cord with you
or this is a message that someone you love needs to hear,
Please feel free to like, comment & share…
And I hope that you take a picture today…
❤
Sally-Ann Taylor, Photographer 
Too many memories lost cause I couldn’t stand in front of the camera, so many pictures of my boy but so few of me with him. Times I can never undo, truly and completely too late. Regrets that can’t be undone.
Yet still I hide with only one left, can’t take that step, ever inch measured, assessed, judged and self criticized.
What a world of haters, inside and outside of our lives, does to damage our hearts and self image.
So well put and hits home with tears in my eyes.
You are a beautiful women and a beautiful soul.
Xx
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Oh Lisa!! Now I’m crying, too!! These are exactly the kind of stories that break my heart… we can’t go back and change the past, but we can try to move forward with a different mindset!
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Awesome 😎 🎉🎉🎉💞💐🙏
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