PSA: Get Photos of Yourself

I love photography. Duh. But another thing I love is giving someone a photo of themselves they go “wow, I am awesome”.  As a person with a camera around her neck a lot (I won’t say photographer), I hear the doubting statements all the time. “I am not photogenic” “I never take a good picture”. The running from the camera. The hands over their face. Well you are never going to get a good photo thinking that way or acting like that. That is just a fact.

When you get a good photo of yourself, you are radiant. It is awesome to see your awesome self on “film”. I know it is hard to break out of your comfort zone but it is so worth it.  20 years from now do you want your kids wondering what you looked like? Hell, will you?

I have made it a point to take pictures of myself at highs in my life.  Like before baby when my best friend and I went and got portraits.

Then when I was giant and preggo, I went and got maternity shots. They adorn the shelves in Landon’s room now.

Then I lost all the baby weight training for a half marathon and met my new awesome friend Laura and we swapped family photos.

I recently even had Laura take some gorgeous photos of me for Kevin’s birthday.  Post coming some time with the PG-13 rated ones 😉

I cherish all of these photos. They will stand the test of time and I can look back with my kids and grandkids and remember such happy times in my life.

To go a little further in my crusade to get people to live in the moment and shout it from the rooftops, I love The Bloggess’ Traveling Red Dress.  Carpe Diem to the max. So when Laura said she had a friend who had bought a red dress and was wondering if I could come do makeup, I couldn’t respond YES fast enough. So last night, I packed up my ridiculous amount of makeup and headed to Laura’s for some fun with Michele and her red dress. Laura used her fancy ass camera (hell people pay her) and got these amahzing shots. I  brought my camera along to play too. Magic hour with a gorgeous field and a gorgeous woman coming out of her shell? O HELLS YEAH

The BOSS

Then I took photos of the grass because DUH! DO YOU SEE THIS LIGHT?!?!?!

THEN when Laura was taking belly shots for me, Michele grabbed my camera and got this gem. THIS is why you can’t be afraid of having your photo taken. I wasn’t posing.  I didn’t even know she took it. I think this is one of my favorite photos of all time of myself…and it couldn’t have come on a better day…

8 thoughts on “PSA: Get Photos of Yourself

  • March 6, 2012 at 9:13 am
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    Love this! I love great photography – especially family photography. My husband and I made the HUGE mistake of not hiring a professional photographer for our wedding (still makes me cry to this day), so we make an effort to splurge on professional photos at least every other year.

    I think it’s also important to find a photographer that you’re comfortable around. Even if he/she takes great pictures, if you’re not comfortable around him/her you won’t get good photos of you and your family.

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  • March 6, 2012 at 9:20 am
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    Love the post! Thank you so much again for Sunday. It means so much to me, and it all turned out better than I even imagined.

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  • March 6, 2012 at 11:42 am
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    Love this post! I feel a little less guilty about how much I love love love our engagement photos and wedding photos and how we proudly have them displayed all over our house!

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  • March 6, 2012 at 3:25 pm
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    Send me that photo of me when you can! No photos of me shooting that don’t include my butt!

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  • March 6, 2012 at 3:45 pm
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    Wow! Simply gorgeous photos and a great reminder to step in front of the lense. I agree our children need photos of us too 😉

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  • March 6, 2012 at 5:16 pm
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    Beautiful! I love the Traveling Red Dress project. Thanks for the reminder that I need more pictures taken.

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  • March 6, 2012 at 5:28 pm
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    Love the location! Where is this in Raleigh/Cary?

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