10 Reasons You Should Take Annual Family Photos

I don’t know about you, but I am starting to lose track of time. Has it been a year since the last election? Four? It is so cliche, but time is flying by me so fast that I can’t keep up. Between our busy schedules and endless to-do lists, it is easy to forget to have family photos taken. I am terrible about scheduling important appointments. Annual doctor appointments, dentist visits, and even getting my hair cut—as much as I love it when I do—don’t make the cut on my to-do list priorities as often as they should. We can all come up with one million excuses for not to making the time for annual family photos, and we may even forget why it is important, to begin with. With one of my kids in college and the next one rapidly approaching her senior year of high school…I recognize how short my window is. Every moment you have together as a family is priceless, and there is no better way to catch up with time than with a family photo.

Here are ten reasons or reminders why getting your family photos taken should be a higher priority than even getting haircuts (I won’t say higher than your annual visit to the doctor, even though my track record for doctor visits would confirm my sub-par priorities on that! haha).

1. Create memories. Let’s put the most obvious one first, shall we? Past experiences form us into who we are today. I do not have very many photos of myself when I was young. In fact, I have so few photos of my childhood that I can vividly recall the handful of photos I have seen immediately in my head. Families grow and change for reasons such as marriage, birth, loved ones passing away, and others moving far away. Yearly photos capture these changes, creating a timeline of milestone events. I love looking at pictures of my kids when they had curly hair (before that dreaded first cut that took away the curls), braces, missing teeth, the too-cool-to-smile phase, etc. These pictures bring back a flood of memories of my kids and my family’s life that are absolutely precious to me. Even if you are in a moment or stage of life you think you don’t care to remember, you will be grateful you have those memories in the future, I promise!

2. Infinite Worth with Exponential Growth. Looking through old albums is a fun way to reconnect as a family and remind ourselves of life's stages and phases. Our children, grandchildren and even great-grandchildren will have these precious heirlooms forever! How many things can you think of that become more valuable to you with every passing day? There are few things besides perhaps my home (which can increase or decrease with market changes) that increase in value over time. Only my photographs are guaranteed to become more valuable to me year after year. The newborn photos of my children were a treasure to me the day they were taken, but as the kids grew and changed, with every new step, every new tooth, haircut, every new word, and every new milestone along the way, life drastically changed. It became harder to remember the days of nursing and toothless smiles, chubby cheeks and belly laughs, but those photos take me right back to that time. One day soon, my kids will all be out of the house (insert sobbing gasps here). My home will no longer be filled with the sound of busy childhood, teenager shenanigans, etc. I know that one day, devoid of all of the perhaps forgettable, mundane things happening daily, I'll look at those photos, and they will be worth infinitely more to me than they were at the time they were taken.

3. Document Growth. That newborn outfit fit your baby just last week, didn’t it? Babies turn into toddlers, and toddlers turn into teenagers honestly faster than I ever could have imagined. Family portraits are a great way to document their growth progress and watch how much they change from year to year. Also, looking back on past trends and styles will surely provide a laugh in the coming years (don’t ask about the amount of Aquanet required for my awesome hair in my senior Prom photos!). Families are never the same; they’re constantly growing and changing.

4. You Never Know When the Last Chance for a Family Photo Will Be. Life is short and unpredictable. Unfortunate things happen without warning, and loved ones may pass unexpectedly. Take advantage of the time you have together now and cherish this family blessing with a permanent reminder of something fragile and unpredictable. This is a hard thought, but it is an important reason to take photos each year. We never know if we'll get one more year, one more week, or even one more day with each of our precious loved ones. With the blessing of seeing families grow and change comes the tragedy of taking the last known photos of some of my client's parents, grandparents, and siblings. Unfortunately, I've seen firsthand what a gift it can be for families to have had a recent photo session when one member passed away unexpectedly. Sometimes we want to wait until we have lost five pounds or have time to coordinate our outfits better before we schedule our session, but there is no time like the present to document this beautiful life in this very moment. 

5. High-Quality Photos to Last a Lifetime. Professional photos may seem less of a priority in today's world with selfie sticks and Snapchat. Hiring a professional is an investment, I understand that. Ask a friend to snap a picture if you can’t afford a professional. It is still worth the effort, even if it isn’t as perfect as you would get with a professional. You do generally get what you pay for in quality, however. When you invest in quality portraiture, you are investing in something that will be valuable for a lifetime. The second you create it, it has value and will become more valuable every year. Most of us spend so much on things with little or no value but fail to invest in the things that mean the most.

6. Everyone is back home from school, travels, and, most importantly, mom is in the photo. Travel is easier than ever. Living in different states and countries seems to be a norm nowadays. But, even in regular day-to-day life, how often do you come together as a family and do something all together? You wake up, go to work or school, come home late from carpools and activities, make and eat dinner, sleep, and tomorrow is another day. Before we know it, our kids are grown, and our parents are getting old. Life changes fast. Holidays and events that bring the family together are a great time to schedule your family photo. Mainly if one person always takes the pictures and is never actually IN the picture. When you look back on the images of the last year, it’s almost as though that person wasn’t there (in my family, that is me!). It’s something that I’m working on and takes constant effort to change. But, one of the ways we get everyone in the picture is through annual family pictures. Prioritizing it requires a little planning and effort, but then someone else is in charge of the camera!

7. Family Portrait Sessions are kind of fun. This may not be a universal belief, but getting together for pictures can be fun if you find the right photographer. This does not need to be a dreaded experience. As a professional photographer, I understand why some people dread family portraits. Choosing outfits and getting everyone to cooperate can seem daunting. However, if you can find a photographer who enjoys the experience and can take the stress off, family photos can be a great experience where kids get to be silly and have fun and be themselves while the photographer captures those genuine interactions. Make it a fun family tradition, go out to dinner or dessert, and make it something even dad looks forward to year after year. (Okay, that might be a bit of a stretch, but be creative. Make it an event to look forward to as a family!).

8. Photos Make Great Gifts. I am sure I have given my dad more framed photos than anyone should ever own. Of course, he is impossible to buy for, but man, he LOVES pictures of his grandkids! He has pictures in his office at work, his home office, his wallet and even as bookmarks and mugs. (Yes, I have actually gotten that desperate).

9. Portraits Make Awesome Home and Office Decor. Do you have a giant blank wall you don't know what to do with? I love coming into a home with tastefully hung personal photos. You immediately glimpse who this family is and what they care about based on the art on their wall. Get your family photos printed, find some trendy and affordable frames and shake things up with new pictures and a different display on that wall. Make your house a home with family portraits as some of your decor.

10. Life isn’t perfect, but it is still beautiful. I often hear people say something like, “We’ll do family pictures when..”, or “We have to wait until…” Don’t wait. Maybe you want to lose some weight, get your hair done, life slows down, or maybe after your 14 year gets her braces off. If you wait until whatever it is you’re waiting for arrives or changes, something else will take its place, and you’ll have missed out on a lot of life. Imperfect is real, and real life is beautiful, meaningful and worth documenting.

Annual family photos are pretty important. Not just because you are important (and you are!) but because our messy, imperfect, chaotic lives are a beautiful part of who we are. It is part of who our children are, and all of that is worth remembering. I would love to help you capture your family memories this year.