3.31.2011

embrace me

i am sure you have seen this button before, right?




why is this girl so darn cute?
she claims to have greasy hair....yah, right.

but i have been thinking a lot about this idea to challenge yourself to be in photographs.
i have been thinking about how it really is true that when i look back on photos of my mom, i never think about if she has a double chin or her tummy.
i look right at her eyes and wonder how she felt that day.
what was happening in her life?
how did she feel about my dad?
was she in a fight with a friend?
was she frustrated in her job of being a mother?
was she embracing her life or disappointed....
that makes me want to take more photos of myself...somehow.
to give my kids the gift of a visual image of their mother that lasts beyond my life.
that idea means something to me.
i am a visual person and i love photographing relationship.
and love looking at photographs that capture relationship.
so it isn't too far a stretch to think that my kids might find value in that too.
i am not sure how i will accomplish this though.
a tripod?
teach my kids more about photography so that they can help?
yah! i like that idea!
most pictures you see of me on this blog are from photo booth or taken by tiny ty (my 5 year old).
but here are a few taken by my reedo when we took a family walk up in the hills the other day.
i gotta say...not too shabby huh?
 this one(below) is my favorite.

ok ok, i took those last two.
but here is one that i didn't like my face in, but am adding anyway.
this it the one that inspired the thoughts about how silly it is to think so hard about double chins and weird over perfectionist ideas about how i look.
it's fine, right?
good hair. good arms even!
and i am running and playing with my girl.
but still, i'm thinking i want to get rid of it since my face isn't my favorite expression? dumb.
i tell you people! it's always something!
so i am stamping down those controlling, self conscious feelings and posting these babies and i am promising more to come.
more self portraits.
i promise.
for my babies.


and for now here are some i took up in the hills too....

 um. he is so so handsome, i know.
he is easy to photograph too since he doesn't change his expression when he sees me coming.
i make weird faces when i see a camera coming.
he stays just. the. same.
in fact i think photographing him needs to be more common as well...
since everything i said above applies to their daddy too....
plus, it's fun.
as long as he likes me at the moment :)
hmmmm.



and here is one i took of myself that day.
i am trying, see?



22 comments:

  1. Beautiful post and so very true. Nice photos!

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  2. delicious. simply delicious. xoxo.

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  3. Those are fantastic, friend. I've been so convicted/inspired by Emily's embrace the camera challenge. I have aunts and other family members who have already started giving me pictures of mom and I am cherishing every single one; not giving a single thought as to whether she looks tired or fat or strange. I'm just thankful for them.

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  4. Oh wow Im totally on board with this idea. Although I rip myself apart in any photo Im in, I also hate the fact that my girls dont have many pics of their "momma" as they call me. May we all be more intentional about hopping in front of our cameras more often!
    Hope you have a great weekend Shauna:)
    XO,
    Sarah

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  5. I'm terribly guilty of staying behind the camera... never in front of it. I soooo need to work on that!

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  6. i love seeing your face in photos..you are so stinkin pretty it is sickening!! i have been trying to use my tripod for the same reason. i was putting Jude's pictures from year one and two in albums and i noticed that i was only in like 5 pictures. so...as you said..here comes my double chin and wrinkles. i too want little Jude to be able to look back at mom through the years. have a blessed weekend Shauna xoxo oh and I hope you are having the same weather we are up here (about 1 1/2 north of you.)

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  7. I am so guilty of this as well. As I went through last years pictures for our annual "gift" calendar to the grandparents, I found that I was only in a few pictures...out of 3000 taken in 2010, I was in a few!! Need to be better about this!!

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  8. You are so beautiful!! I've only just started letting myself be photographed in the last few years - and lately forcing my mum to let me take photos of her. She doesn't like having her photo taken at all - but recently realised there are no photos of her hardly at all and when she is gone one day, no memories captured of her with her grandchildren etc. Such a great idea to get over ourselves. xoxo

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  9. such a beautiful family. you are gorgeous

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  10. love.them.all. your children will love you for this.

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  11. you have such a beautiful family! these pictures are stunning!

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  12. Fantastic! I love these and your honesty at trying - it is hard, no? I agree with your second assessment of you and your baby girl - great arms, awesome hair, and the expression on your face? it's a smile with a little concern behind it, grabbing hold of her hand it's like i can see the joy in your face, but also the momma in you - the one who doesn't want her girl to fall. in the walk. or ever. thanks for the inspiration!

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  13. Shauna- you are beautiful inside and out and it shows in these photos of you. funny thing though-it doesn't matter what anyone else tells us, we still have to believe it ourselves, huh? that's the struggle and it's not easy. i love that second one, too, it is just so good!!and it's so true, i wonder the same thing when looking at family photos and i want my kids and grandkids to wander one day as well. and go reedo, he did a great job!

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  14. you are gorgeous!
    seriously, wish I was HALF as pretty as yoU!
    these are stunning, amazing beautiful photos!
    great job daddy and you too!
    I have been putting myself in front of the camera lately too, lots. cause i agree with everything you said!
    can't wait to see MORE!
    tara

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  15. You and your family are beautiful!

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  16. T has a remote for his camera - I don't think it was very expensive.

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  17. Lovely. Just lovely.

    I've been trying to include myself in photos more too. Thanks for the inspiration. xoxo

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  18. love this post so much. i have felt self conscious of posting too many pictures of myself on my blog...like people may think i'm too big for my britches or something. you have really inspired me to get myself in more pictures and to post them, double chin and all. because i know my children will want to see that...to remember how things were...to be in those moments again. thank you so much for these thoughts. i love how real you are. love your blog. the end.

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  19. Hi there! I am a fairly new follower of yours and I am hooked! I am good friends with your friend Heather G. ;) She told me about you and I like what I read! You are real and fresh and I just plain like you.

    Just wanted you to know.

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  20. I love this post and you and your family are gorgeous! You certainly don't need to worry about how you look in photos! This is true in my family too - my Mom hates her picture taken and I have trouble digging up a photo with me in it for a profile shot on facebook. It's bad, but such a hard one to break. Thanks for the inspiration!

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