When the Red Deer Photographer get’s in front of the camera….
Being a Red Deer Photographer wasn’t a goal I set out for when I was first exposed to photography years ago. When I first picked up a camera, I was a small child and to be honest, I didn’t pick it up. My Mom gave me a little point and shoot that took square pictures (precursor to Instagram maybe) and had a little cube flash that rotated as you used the filaments up and the exposures clicked off. I took lots of pictures over the years – disposable cameras became my camera of choice as I explored both the landscapes of British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan as well as just the friendships and relationships of adulthood. I have thousands of prints stashed away that documented trips, friends I made and the adventures I experienced.
The next choice of camera I had was a digital point and shoot from Olympus (still one of my favourite cameras) and from there I moved onto my Nikon collection to which I have stayed true and dear to – all with one single goal. One day – when we had kids – I wanted to take good pictures of them. That was all. That was the soul reason that I decided to become a photographer and start practicing and working at it harder then any other hobby I ever tried in my life.
Flash forward to now.
We have four children – all of which I document extensively photographically on a regular basis. I have tens of thousands of images I have captured since each of their births and have made sure that they know where they come from and hopefully how much they were loved that I have taken the time and love to do this for them. It isn’t the only reason of course, but it has always been for them.
I also felt very strongly about ALWAYS making sure that I am in the pictures with them and this is one of the hardest and most discouraging things I hear over and over as a Red Deer Photographer. Mom’s are NEVER in the picture and that is usually just a function of who is taking the pictures. Some Dad’s I know are AMAZING at taking pictures – but most are not and the job is left up to the Mom who wants to record the image and usually makes sure Dad is in the picture. Sound familiar?
The Value of a Mother in Family Photography
I didn’t want my children to grow up not knowing what their mother looked like as they got bigger. My Mom and Dad were often in pictures with me and I wanted to make sure that my children knew EXACTLY who I was and what I looked like as they grew up. It didn’t and still doesn’t matter to me that I am not a perfect BMI – we don’t talk about weight in our house – only general size of bigger and smaller. They don’t worry that things are not perfect – they see me as their Mother DAILY looking a lot worse then how they will in our family pictures and I am going to be totally candid and honest with you…
I Love Myself
I love me and I love how I look. My body made four perfect little people and they love me (as does my husband) for just who I am, curves and all. I am not ashamed at not being ‘perfect’ as far as the media goes – I like me and I think I clean up pretty well to be honest and I think ALL Mom’s do – they just let their own minds trick them into thinking they are unworthy of happiness and rob their children of beautiful memories by not participating in images along side them.
My dear friend Reina Procee came to Calgary for a few weeks this year from her home in Montreal, QC and I booked a session with her to record this moment and time in life. I would love to send a huge thank you to her for her amazing work and most of all friendship. It is hard to convince a photographer to agree to take pictures of three year old triplets, a six year old and two adults…it is a lot of people to keep moving and capture. I love our pictures and hope that you will consider what your children are missing out on when you don’t appear in a photo with them. They love you and will treasure the memories captured by your photographer forever so give your favourite Red Deer Photographer a call and book that session. You will never get today back – ever again.
Suzie
XO
