Unlike the majority of the folks in our community, I’m in the unique position in that I am not a mother, have not been a mother and, unless the medical community makes major breakthroughs in the next couple of years, will never be a mother. That being said, I’m also in the unique position in that I don’t ever have problems being a mother that won’t get in her own photos.
Anyone else as confused as I am, yet?
As a husband and a father, that also happens to run my own photography business, I’m afforded the luxury of watching the beauty and joys of motherhood occur before my very eyes every day. My wife, the woman that I love, has twice blessed me with the joys of having a child, and not a day goes by that I don’t do my best to capture those moments with the tools of my trade.
My goal as a husband/father/photographer when attempting to capture the joys of motherhood in our own home is to collect the memories that my wife may not realize are happening, as a result of being caught up in her motherly moments. Any time that she is with our boys, I keep an eye out for the little interactions between them. I’m constantly waiting for the little moments in which she gets lost (which, with two boys running around the house, are frequent) and snap a few photos.
My favorite perspective to capture is any perspective that shows she was in the photo. If that means including her and the boys, or from over a shoulder, as long as she’s the subject, it goes that extra inch to showing her how she might appear to her children. Sometimes I don’t think she realizes how important she is to me, and to them, and capture her as the main subject allows me to show her and the world that she’s the glue that holds this family together, and we would be a pile of stinky, mis-dressed, sugar-fed boys with a lot of pee on the toilet seats!
My hope is that I can encourage other fathers to capture as many memories as possible. Mothers are so often the unsung heroes of a family, doing so much and asking for so little in return. If we can take a few moments and capture them doing what they do best, be it with a DSLR, or a point and shoot, or even a cell phone, it will all be worth it, just to show them that you appreciate them.
And don’t just do it around Mother’s Day. Moms deserve more than being recognized just one day, and if we capture the day-to-day goings-on of motherhood, we can recognize them throughout the year!
Join us in using the hashtag #momsinthepicture on Facebook and Instagram!
- Mom's in the Picture: Setting Up the Shot by Jessica Foreman
- Mom's in the Picture: Tools to Make Getting in the Photo EASY! by Gayle Vehar
- Mom's in the Picture: Photographing the Fun by Tammy Porter
- Mom's in the Picture: Photographing Motherhood by Zach Egolf
- Mom's in the Picture: Capturing Connection by Lea Hartman
- Mom's in the Picture: Keeping It Real! by Kelley Smallman
- Mom's in the Picture: Getting in the Picture with Your Grandchildren by Tina Auten
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