Why you should make time for photographs
Photographs are curious in the sense that people don’t know they need them until they have experienced some kind of loss, and then they wish they had. This is summed up nicely by Katie Thurmes “we take photos as a return ticket to a moment otherwise gone.”
And because tomorrow isn’t promised.
Listen to this Podcast Episode:
Read the Podcast Transcript:
Hello, and welcome to the Photographs In The Shoebox podcast with me, Sue Kennedy.
Today, we’re going to talk about why you should make time for photographs.
But before I get into that conversation, I just wanted to talk about something I’ve put together which is free and fun.
If you are planning your baby’s first pictures, then do take my quiz to discover their picture personality.
It’ll take less than 90 seconds, and I will send you my top tips for preparing for a portrait session.
If you head to suekennedy.co.uk/quiz-baby, you can get started there. And I promise you’ll be able to answer all the questions.
Right. Let’s talk about today’s topic.
Why you should make time for photographs
It’s two pronged, it’s about capturing your children’s childhood, but it’s also about being in the photos with your nearest and dearest.
Another photographer I know, another professional photographer, has a Facebook group of photographers (she teaches photography). And she asked the question, well, she made a statement to start with, then asked the question.
“I could give you so many reasons right now why photography is important, but I want to hear what it means to you. What’s the first photograph you think of when asked this”
The floodgates just opened when she posted that. And what I noticed about the responses was nearly every ‘why’ answer involved an element of loss. So it might have been the loss of a hard drive, or it could have been lost due to fire and flood, or it could have been a loss in the sense of the passing of a parent, a sibling, grandparent, or a child.
For me, that is why you should make time for photographs. It’s not something you can do after that person has passed. And I always find it quite curious with photography in that we’re almost trying to encourage people to take photographs before they realise how important they’re going to be to them because you can’t do it when people have moved away or passed or grown up.
You can’t go back in time and capture their babyhood, or their childhood when your child is a teenager. And I know people have regrets about that and other people not so much, but that’s life, isn’t it? You have to decide what’s important to you and go forward.
It doesn’t mean that you have to have a professional photoshoot. I think taking photographs on your smartphone or another camera is just as valid. They are your memories. And as I’ve said lots of times in previous episodes, print the ones that you love.
Don’t be the person who learns the hard way.
Five good reasons to take more pictures:
- Happiness. I’ve noticed that happy families tend to display more photographs around the home.
- I think photographs tilt your memories towards the more joyful, happier times. So that’s got to be good for your wellbeing and your happiness.
- Declutter with them. So you take photographs of your children’s artwork or art projects and create an album with them, which frees up space in the loft, hopefully.
- Challenge yourself to take a photo a day. Two reasons, it fosters creativity. You can easily fit it into your daily routine. And then you’ll have a bank of memories to look back on. And, the everyday memories are just as important as birthdays, or days out.
- Journal. My approach is to do one sentence and one photograph in a journal. I use the Day One app on my phone, but I love to look back and see what I was doing this time last year or five years ago. And that naturally picks up how my daughter has changed, how I’ve changed as well. How everyone is getting older, unfortunately.
Summary
Anyway, let’s wrap this up because I guess if you’ve listened this far, you are interested in your memories.
My final thought for you is to exist in these photographs too. Children love to see you in the photographs with them and they want to have a giggle at the fashion back then, that time will come when you look back and think, “Why, why did I do my hair like that?” But anyway 🙂
Photography is a form of communication and that’s why we should continue to take photographs. It triggers memories. It represents how we saw the world when we took the photograph. So it can continue to represent our side of the story long after we’re gone.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on this. Leave them below the episode post on Instagram.
And that’s all for this episode. I hope you’ve enjoyed listening. Do give this podcast a like, or follow on your preferred podcast player. And it’d also be great if you left me a review on Apple Podcast because I’d love to hear what you think about the show.
About Your Podcast Host – Sue Kennedy of Sue Kennedy Photography
Sue is a professional portrait photographer based in Harlow, Essex and she specialises in baby, child and family portraiture. Being a parent, she understands just how special your child is to you and her aim is to produce a collection of images that are natural and meaningful to your family. No two moments are ever the same and she wants to perfectly capture those early precious memories and the natural character of your child.
For more information please call 01279 433392, or visit the Sue Kennedy Photography website.
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