Yes, But...Series: No one wants to see our everyday
This is something I hear so frequently. I also hear, "I'm worried about our home." "You don't want to see me without makeup." "Photographing the kids' bed head/rat's nests and their oversized t-shirts for PJs?"
And then those sentences usually end in:
Ok people. Let's imagine for a minute that social media didn't exist. That you didn't feel the pressure of sharing every minute of your lives.
What if, in fact, you wanted these documentary photos more from a family history stand point? What if you wanted these photos and "selfishly" kept them to yourself and within the family? What if you could just sit back, and thumb through these images in the comfort of your own home without worrying about judging eyes or getting screenshotted for Buzzfeed's next "Top 10 worst bedhead photos" post?
No one wants to see your everyday? Well guess what?! No one has to.
Nobody is forcing you to share these. Nobody needs to even know you're getting them taken. It can be our little secret. But I bet YOU will want to see your "2018 everyday" in ten years, or even five.
Today at Kroger, my two-year-old was doing his thing. Getting out of the car cart, throwing random items in the cart that he deemed worthy, stopping in the middle of the aisle to lay down and push a toy car, still in it's box, back and forth on the floor, and grabbing an apple and proceeding to eat half of it before me realizing it. I can't tell you how many times I apologized to the other shoppers, most of which were my grandparent's age. All of them smiled and said, "I remember those times."
I've always said there's a place for portrait photography and documentary photography. You may want to still find a portrait photographer to get your annual photo to share with the world. You may also want to keep the unposed images I make for you near and dear to your heart. Keep them close. Save them for future generations. Be the family historian and document what your life was like with 3 kids under 7. You can pull these photos out of your beautiful wooden keepsake box to show your grown daughter with her own hands full that she's not alone.