Take the Picture: Your Life Is Worth Remembering

For years, I was much happier behind the camera. Somewhere along the way, I learned that photographs aren't really about how we look. They're about the life we were living.

For a long time, I was much happier being the person behind the camera than the person standing in front of it.

Maybe you know the feeling.

Someone pulls out a camera and suddenly you're thinking about everything.

Where do I stand?

What do I do with my hands?

Is this a terrible angle?

Can I just be the one taking the picture instead?

I certainly wasn't someone who naturally thought, Oh good, a camera. Point it at me. 😂

And when I look back, there really aren't that many photographs of me from those earlier years.

At the time, I didn't think much about that.

Now I do.

Then I Said Yes

One of my early steps in front of the camera came when my daughter and I did a photoshoot together.

Having her there made it easier.

I wasn't standing alone wondering what on earth I was supposed to do. We were doing it together, and somehow that made being photographed feel a little less intimidating.

I didn't suddenly become someone who loved having her picture taken.

But I had said yes.

And that mattered.

Something Started to Change

By the time I did another photoshoot in 2020, I could feel that something was different.

I was becoming more comfortable in front of the camera.

Maybe I was also becoming more comfortable with myself.

I've come to think there's something powerful about learning to embrace who we are, rather than constantly measuring ourselves against some version of who we think we're supposed to be.

There I was by the lake in my navy sweater, jeans and — naturally — boots.

Because apparently some things about me were already very well established. 😂

The photographs weren't about trying to turn me into someone else.

They were beginning to feel more like photographs of me.

And I liked that.

By 2025, It Felt Different Again

Then came another photoshoot in 2025.

Barefoot on a log.

Crouched in a field of daisies.

Laughing.

And, apparently, sticking my tongue out at the photographer.

That last one might actually tell the story better than any of the beautiful portraits.

Because I wasn't thinking quite so much about the camera anymore.

I wasn't trying to figure out how I should look.

I was just there.

Being me.

And Then I Started Seeing the Photographs Differently

This may be the part that has surprised me most.

When I look at photographs now, I don't immediately see all the things I once would have picked apart.

I see the place.

I see what I was doing.

I remember how I felt.

I notice the people who were there with me.

I see the woman I was during that particular chapter of my life.

And sometimes I see just how much has changed since then.

The photograph becomes less about how I looked and more about the life I was living.

I wish I'd understood that sooner.

We Are So Hard on Ourselves

I think many women know this feeling.

We look at a photograph and immediately start evaluating ourselves.

Our hair.

Our smile.

Our appearance.

Our age.

We notice the thing we wish were different before we notice the joy on our face.

But years later, those are rarely the things that matter.

You don't look at an old photograph and think about whether everything about you looked perfect that day.

You think:

Look how young my daughter was.

I remember that trip.

That was our old house.

Look at Marley.

I loved that day.

Suddenly, the things we once worried about become almost completely irrelevant.

What matters is that we were there.

Maybe That's One of the Gifts of Getting Older

At this point in my life, I don't need every photograph to be flattering.

Do I appreciate a good one?

Absolutely. I'm not that evolved. 😂

But I don't need every photograph to prove something about how I look.

I'd rather have the slightly messy photograph.

The laughing photograph.

The wind-in-my-hair photograph.

The ridiculous photograph.

The one where I wasn't quite ready.

Because those photographs contain something perfection never could.

My actual life.

And I want to be in the record of it.

So, Take the Picture

If you're usually the person who steps out of the frame, perhaps stay in it next time.

If your first instinct is, Oh no, not me, maybe say yes anyway.

Don't wait until you think you look different enough.

Don't wait until your hair cooperates.

Don't wait until you feel younger, more confident or somehow more “ready.”

You are already living the life you'll someday look back on.

And years from now, I suspect you won't care very much about the things you're worrying about today.

You'll see the people.

The places.

The experiences.

The laughter.

You'll see yourself in the middle of your own life.

And perhaps that's another reason it's worth taking the time to think about what truly matters in our lives.

You may be very glad someone took the picture.

Your life is worth remembering.