by Deb Evans
Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.
Proverbs 27:1 (NIV)
Don’t put off portraits….you may run out of time.
I hear it all the time…
We really want to have a family portrait, but, let’s wait until….
Let’s just photograph the kids this time…
Moms are tired, stressed out… I get it. That’s me, too. Just getting the kids together and cleaned up can be a challenge.
Anyway, it’s all about the kids, right?
There’s always an excuse NOT to have your picture taken – I don’t like my hair, I’m not dressed right, I want to wait until I lose 10 pounds. You just don’t feel pretty sometimes. I know.
But, the brutal truth is: sometimes, you don’t have forever. Sometimes, you don’t have until you lose ten pounds or you “feel” like it.
I had a lovely, wonderful client/friend who had FIVE children between 1 and 12. You think you’re tired? I taught the oldest one photography and had talked with this mom about teaching the others. I photographed her kids several times over the years. I know it was a hassle for her getting them all together and clean and happy. But, it was important to her, so she did it – and it was so worth it.
But, she never wanted to be in the images. It was all about the kids.
I never pushed her – I always gently encourage moms to jump in, but I don’t push.
I wish I’d pushed.
Last month, she died. It was out of the blue and terribly shocking to all of us who knew her. It is a terrible tragedy to lose this beautiful woman. A tragedy to everyone who loved her, but especially to her husband and children.
Today, her husband emailed me and asked if I had any pictures of her. He told me they have very few pictures of her because she never wanted to be the center of attention.
I had to tell him no.
Can you imagine what a comfort a simple image of her would be to him?
Do you think he cares if her hair was right, or her clothes were right, or her weight was right? Do you think her kids care? They just want to see that lovely face again.
And, I, who lives to capture lovely faces and freeze those not-so-perfect moments that become wonderful memories had to tell him no.
So, the next time you tell me no, I’m going to push. And the next time you’re at a party or you’re just hanging out with the kids or your friends, and someone’s snapping candids, don’t hide.
Flash your biggest smile and know that your lovely face is ALL that matters and all that’s going to matter, and in the end – no one cares what you look like, they only care that you ARE.
Deb Evans is a home-based photographer, teacher, writer, and business consultant. She is located just north of Houston, Texas in a little “town” called Cut-n-Shoot with most of her business and social activities taking place in The Woodlands and Conroe.
Copyright © 2013, Deb Evans, all rights reserved. Printed with permission of author.
Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™
