I know what you are thinking-I hate being in photographs, or i hate how i look in photographs, but think of this, does your family hate how you look? No. They LOVE you. they are proud to call you mom, or dad, and your kids need that sense of family. They love and accept the beautiful person you are, flaws and all. The 5 pounds you think you need to lose, it doesn't matter to them, because to your family, you are perfect.
My son was 6 months old. We were in the mall at the time and there was a photo place that has long since gone out of business. We were also living in Connecticut at the time. We decided, aka i convinced my now husband, then fiancee, to get family portraits done. We sat did this and that, The man sat D down next to a miniature bike prop and made him giggle. click, click, click. we walked around, they edited real quick, and showed us the images. I hated every one of me, except one. we still bought the disc. I printed them out regardless. The years passed, we moved, and lost most of the images, some on accident, some on purpose. I managed to keep and secretly get rid of the one i hated most in the large size, but the little one, i had stuck in an album for my son because he loved it. Fast forward to today, my son is now 6. He looks to that picture for comfort every time he feels sad. Literally. that is *his* picture. He holds it when he is feeling blue, and still shows it to his friends that come over. I still despise that picture, but i won't tell him that. He thinks I look beautiful, my daughter says, "mommy is pretty" and she lovingly points out mommy, daddy and Derek every time she finds it. I make sure that nothing happens to that picture because to my kids, its wonderful. I never want to break that little bubble. I never want to show my daughter what not fully loving oneself looks like, because i want her to love herself unconditionally, i want my son to be proud of himself and every quirk or imperfection he may find along the way.
Now that, that obstacle is out of the way, you need to print your photos, and display them. Ok maybe you are thinking, but i shared them on social media...I get it, every one saw them and liked them and yay for getting them done this year! (I know its a task and a half most days just to get the kids dressed so family picture day was extra tough for sure.) But your kids most likely don't care about social media and you sharing with the world your glorious family photos. They will care, when they see you have them framed on the wall. Its like an award almost, something to be proud of.
Get those digitals into prints and put them on your walls. Your kids want to know you are proud of your family, and when their friends come over they are going to point out that picture on the wall, and people will notice that you hold your family in high enough regard that you have your portraits on your walls. Yes, printing a portrait says all that. It simply speaks of love.
All in all, those silly things we find to dislike about ourselves in life, aren't worth hiding from the camera, we are too important to our children, to our families, and to the memories. When you have a family portrait created, it is essentially, a family legacy being captured and will be passed on for generations. Don't be left out of the memories, create new ones regularly.
