In The Photo

For years the answer was always no, never truly understanding the impact of that one word.

It was always, “No thanks. Not today. I haven’t done my hair. I don’t look great. No way” or “Oh no, I don’t do photos.”

Years went by and I wasn’t captured. I mastered the art of moving away as quickly as possible as soon a camera emerged. You might not have seen anyone move faster, except perhaps Usain Bolt. I was fast. I was swift. I was motivated.

I was known for not wanting to be in the photo. I’d watch on as family snaps would happen without me. I was on the sideline with a huge sense of relief, because I’d managed to avoid the photo. Someone pass me a gold medal.

It was only years ago, when Lacey started preschool that I realised the consequence of all those years of saying no. The teacher asked that we bring in a family photo for them to display when Lacey began preschool.

We didn’t have one.

Not even one. Looking back through all our photos, I realised I managed to avoid so many important moments that should have been captured. I should have had a ‘I just gave birth to you’ happy shot, as well as the first birthday, the second and the third. And even life milestones like, ‘We just bought our first house!’ photo, and even special days like my own daughter’s Christening. 

It’s like these things didn’t even happen. There are no family photos to prove it.

Gradually, I started getting back in the photo. It wasn’t easy. I didn’t jump right in, in the front row and ask to be the centre of attention. I slunk to the back row and popped my head up and eased my way in. I took selfies of us as a family on my phone, no matter how ordinary they looked or how un-frame-worthy they ended up.

I was back in the photo.

Taking myself out of the photo for all of those years because I was too fat, too un-pretty, too unready felt like a flippant in the moment decision, but the impact was and is huge. I realised that when my kids are old enough to want to look back on the big moments in their mother’s life, and even their own… it would appear as if I didn’t exist at all. I was simply not there. My parenting style is completely different, I am with them always, I am there for all the big and small moments. I am there. Just not in the photos.

Until now.

I am urging you, or gently encouraging you to get back in the photo. Not just once, but regularly. Life is short. Today is the youngest we’ll ever be again. Forget wrinkles {there’s more coming, I’m sure} and double chins. Our kids deserve to see us at every age and stage in our lives. WE deserve to be able to look back on our lives and remember, fondly, all the moments that we experienced. Photos help that. GET IN THE PHOTO.

Olympus is jumping on board and helping us get back in the photo too. I’ve been working closely with Olympus for the past two years and I’m excited to say that I’m going to be working with them again over the coming months. We’ve got some cool stuff planned that I can’t wait to share with you all. I think you’re going to like it!

But for now, back to getting back in the photo. Olympus just released the most beautiful new camera {it’s the prettiest camera yet} the Olympus Pen E-PL8. It’ super stylish, comes in three colours, it’s lightweight {it mirrorless so you can carry it in your handbag and not know it’s there}, super easy to use {shoot on auto or get more advanced – up to you!}, and best of all it has a flip down screen to make taking selfies EASY.

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I took my Olympus Pen E-PL8 camera on our recent trip to Hawaii with me, and I got in the photo.

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I was busy snapping away with the girls that I didn’t even see Hubby thinking the moment was cute and capturing it on HIS camera. Talk about overkill, but we’re totally snap happy now.

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Let’s vow to get back in the photos. Let’s give our kids proof that we lived, and truly lived with them. That we were there for all the moments, but let’s also do it for us. Olympus is encouraging us to get back in the photo too, and will be rewarding one lucky person with this beautiful new Olympus Pen E-PL8 camera, with an EZ 14-42mm lens. All you have to do is GET IN THE PHOTO. Share a photo with YOU in it, and tag it with #GETINTHEPHOTO {pop over to Instagram and share, or share here in the comments}. We’ll be looking for the best photo as judged by myself and the Olympus team. So be creative, be beautiful, be thoughtful, but most of all BE in the photo.

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Competition starts today and closes December 10th at 11:59pm.

What’s your relationship with photos? Are you in or out?


I’m an ambassador for Olympus. You can read about our relationship here. Competition closes 1st December at midnight. Open worldwide. One entry per person, per day.Save

35 thoughts on “In The Photo”

  1. As a wannabe photographer i’m never in the frame. A while ago i made a vow to make photo’s with my girls and myself in the frame. With a little help from a tripod we try to do this every month. We have so much fun doing that! Love this idea of Olympus. Is it open worldwide?

  2. I can totally relate to this! My mum passed away recently and trying to find a photo for her funeral with us all in it was impossible. It absolutely devastated me. She always hated photos. I’ve noticed I do it myself. Especially this year as I’ve been ill and have been out on medication which has made me gain a LOT of weight so I’m extremely self conscious about how I look. I took this on the spur of the moment the other day. All I see is my big fat head but when I look passed that I see my beautiful family all together at a special stage in our lives, I’m glad I took it and will try be in more x https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/6f0e14a0be898dfee2ad50368e882529c0189b58adf37690c678c1a6a608e32f.jpg

  3. Before I became very sick there’s little evidence I existed. It wasn’t until I needed my boys to know I was here, to know my ‘story’ that I realised I wasn’t in the picture. Four years on and I’m mad for getting in the picture and encourage women daily to do the same.

    The more you snap the easier it is and the less you care, it’s just a moment in time…captured.

    I’m in love with that Olympus camera…I feel an upgrade coming on.

  4. I always love being encouraged to get in the photo. I think it really brings it home to you when a loved one passes away and you realise how amazing it is to go through photographs of their life and special moments you shared. I want my son to have that one day. I don’t always feel confident or attractive, and sometimes I feel embarrassed taking a selfie for the sake of just loving how I look one day (but I know if I don’t, no-one else will). BUT…I’m starting to take some shots that aren’t for social media but just for myself and my family. They’re not perfect, but in years to come I will see them with rose coloured glasses and be glad they exist somewhere. Now, when anyone asks me to be in a photo, I will always say yes and feel honoured because they want to remember that moment because I was in it. Sure, I might end up being nothing but chins or thighs or whatever I feel uncomfortable about, but at least there’s evidence I was there!

  5. I actually love taking photos of everything and being able to go back and remember all those moments! (So much so that I have no room left on my phone because I don’t want to get rid of any because I like looking back at them all) .
    I quite like jumping into photos, proof I was there! But I’m also really bad about photo bombing…. I seem to be in the background of so many random people’s photos – so I join in with a big smile! I did it so often to a group in front of me on the plane they actually asked me to take one for them just to get me out of the shot haha!

    I love my selfies, I’ve taken one with my besties little girl on nearly every visit, I love seeing how much she’s changed in them, and the same with my twin nephews although it generally tends to be a pic with just one of them.

    I used to be the best at taking selfies…. I always got the frame right, generally got my face and double chins ok, not Too much arm…. they were great! Did a huge trip with my
    Mum 9 years ago (facebook keeps reminding me about it ATM!) across Italy and Canada with a stop over in Singapore! We took selfies everywhere we went….. and I look back at them now and remember when we went to Rome and found the best gelato shop, or saw the pope, or stood in the most remote little town in Canada to see polar bears and froze our faces off in -30•… or went dog sledding. It helps me remember all the things we did and places we went.
    I think I printed all the selfie shots from that photo as a present for mum and there was well over 50… possibly 100 of a month long trip.
    Sadly I have lost my selfie skills a bit …. whether that’s because I’ve gotten sick and that with a combo of medication has meant massive weight gain so I just don’t like how I look in the photos…. or I’ve just lost the art, but I’ve decided that you know what!?!? Who cares! I still take my selfies and I will be able to keep those memories, double chin and weird angles and all!

  6. Over the past few years I went to such extremes to be out of the frame that I now find I am in no photos in any of my families houses – I took it upon myself to always make sure I took the photos so I didn’t have to be in them. I live in regret now as in a small way it does make you feel out of the loop when looking back on happy memories. What an inspiration to make sure I start getting myself back in photos too!

  7. I am usually soooo unphotogenic! Thank God for digital! Now there is a lot of deleting going on, but I usually can find one photo that ‘will do’!

  8. I feel sad that you don’t have photos of you for all those times. I’m the opposite, always happy to be in a photo but these days it’s my teenagers who run when I try to take photos. I keep saying to them ” you’ll want these photos when you’re older!” But they don’t care whenever I do manage to get a snap of them no matter how silly or out of focus or if it’s not quite right I keep it because I want to remember them exactly as they are right then.

  9. As a teenager feeling less-than-attractive, I would try to hide and stay out of pictures. My friends would try even harder to take my picture, and the ones they got were hideous! Then one time at the beach, I had leaned back to say hi to someone with a big cheesy smile on my face. When the pictures were developed (yup, I’m that old!), I absolutely loved that picture. I still have it somewhere. And I figured out, if I smile really big and pose, they’ll take a cuter picture, and then I’ll be done. So I’ve done that ever since, through thick and thin, bad haircuts, no makeup, whatever. They are not always great pictures, but my smile balances it all out.

  10. Oh gosh, i need this reminder.
    While we are not sort of selfies, especially snapchat filtered selfies, I’m usually the one behind the camera.
    Searching through the years, I have loads of “in the moment” pics of Sadie with her Dad, but not so many with me.
    My intention over the next few weeks is to capture a moment, and maybe even set a monthly reminder!!
    Love the last pic of the fam bam – just GORGEOUS xx

  11. I was just thinking about this over the weekend when I was desperately trying to find photos to put together an album for my son’s school graduation in a couple of weeks. It hit me that I am in so few photos and it made me really sad. Sad for him and sad for me. I can’t get that time back again. My beautiful baby boy is nearly a man and ready to head off into the big wide world and I feel like I’ve missed so many photo opportunities because of my silly vanity. *sob* I’m now absolutely determined to be “in the photo” from this moment on. I will be sharing approximately 60 gazillion photos of me and my boy at his graduation. Promise. Thanks for the reminder.

  12. I could have written this myself… there is none of birthdays with my 3 boys – eldest 7… Christmas’s or just our family in general. I often think (Badly I know) but if I died tomorrow… what photos would my boys have to remember me by. Really sad! Time to create and keep memories in pictures forever! An olympus would be amazing! Here’s two special #getinthephoto One from my 30th birthday with Hubby this past weekend and one with my other 3 boys. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/591c27e544ffd40852efb561e10e72ab8966e4dcf43c3e74ee15473d1ebfc8ad.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/e5db84c6d41957bc93da7c8b23fa39c08fd3f3d784cbd5ecacb12456cf2030d8.jpg

  13. This is my biggest regret, I have never liked photos of me so avoided them. We have been foster parents for 20 years now & I can probably count on one hand the number of photos we have with me with our babies. We now have a nearly 14 year old that has been with us since she was 6 months old. I think I have one photo of me with her when she was about 2 years old, so many memories are missing. I really need to change that for the future

  14. At my age I don’t care…Lol
    I try and stay young and love clothes and makeup.
    I always “Get in the Photo” with the grandchildren !
    I often “Get in the Photo ” with a glass of something in my hand !!
    Ok…I’m a wine drinking grandmother with an attention seeking personality.!!

  15. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/513fc00a1d8c0b012d529347967f1ea59ddea00fd922c753c6e6c2fc206b6003.jpg This photo was taken a few days again on a sunny Saturday that was spent playing outside, riding scooter and chalk drawing on the footpath. I am SO glad I took this picture as it will forever remind me of my kids saying ‘Thank you for the best day ever!’ I have thousands of photos of my kids but not many of me or my husband. This post is such a great reminder to be present and make memories!

  16. Wow!! This story is about me. I avoid as many photos as possible. I’m not happy with how I look so don’t want others to see. But they see me every other day so why not capture the important moments. I’m an idiot!!
    This is one of the only photos on my phone of me, out of 2000 odd memories capture. Sad isn’t it. I will endeavour to save more memories for my daughters. They have a mum, and I want them to be able to look back and see me how they knew me. The mum who was there, who cared and loved them.

  17. for years i was the one taking the pictures. i did not necessarily shy away from the camera…i guess the focus was mainly on the children. i have learned, though, that they wantme there and i like to be there, so i am! so thankful for all of my young (and some not so young anymore!) ones and the opportunity to sit on my front porch steps with them the other day! (yes, there are 7 of them and yes, they are all mine!)
    #GETINTHEPHOTO https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/c65cb47cb0cc8fc0fe52e3f307c11aa23aafafea9bbc571d185e223e42031640.jpg

  18. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/e7ec065103f4ff66e4810d3d52a49178bbae93d229f54bf337b30c435a6de319.png I also spent my kids’ babyhoods not getting in the photo. It wasn’t even deliberate, I was just the one taking all rhe photos & never getting in any! On this day we were on holidays & I was challenging my son to a monkey bars race. My daughter https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/e7ec065103f4ff66e4810d3d52a49178bbae93d229f54bf337b30c435a6de319.png (who’s 9) thought it was a fun moment so took a photo. I’d lo https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/e7ec065103f4ff66e4810d3d52a49178bbae93d229f54bf337b30c435a6de319.png ve an Olympus to snap more happy moments like this ♡
    #GETINTHEPHOTO

  19. I’m so guilty of not being in the photo ! My https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/7a122476a8701004645065f2625f50de87cad01ea1d1f1ac1564a4fc6836a801.jpg daughter is 4 and if you look at all her photo albums of holidays you honestly think she gone away with just her Dad or birthdays and Christmas – I’m constantly capturing beautiful moments between them but never think to get them with me or I’m VERY guilty of saying no when hubby tries to take them !
    This photo is us mucking around and usually i’d delete ones like these – bad angle, several chins, house clothes etc – but I stopped and looked properly at it -is a moment of pure joy – no forced smiles and a fun moment between us – #getbackinthephoto

  20. I’ve been massively guilty of not being in photos. I changed that and got one of the most beautiful photos of myself with my elderly father. So glad I said to him “Come on Daddy, let’s get a selfie’ . He had to have surgery and at almost 84, any surgery, no matter how minor, could be serious. He’s recovering but I can’t wait to give him a copy of this photo, it melts my heart! I’ve shared it on Instagram, it won’t let me upload here.. wirgie101 on instagram

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