If you’re anything like me then you’re always slightly on edge when anyone else has hold of a camera. As much as my husband is a great photographer, it’s me that takes the day to day shots and me that captures most of the moment we will look back on and treasure. For the most part, I love this.
By being the designated family photographer, I get to hide behind the lense. The girls feature front and centre and often on days out Daddy will star too. I don’t need to worry how my hair looks, whether this angle highlight my double chin or if I’m sitting in a flattering pose. I can snap away and get lovely colourful pictures to decorate my home and Instagram feed.
Photos of Mummy
However, as I scroll through the recent reels of images, I notice how absent I am. It reminds me of my own childhood photos. In those, my Dad doesn’t appear often as he was the one taking the pictures. I don’t want photos of mummy to be missing. No doubt in 20 years, I won’t care what I look like and more than likely I’ll be wondering what on earth I was self-conscious about.
Regardless, if I’m going to appearing in the family photos, I still want to look nice and so I started browsing for some new pieces to add to my wardrobe. I stumbled upon Lily and Me. This is a new brand to me and with so many gorgeous prints in a range of stylish and wearable designs, I really struggled to choose which items I wanted.
First I settled on this linen ‘Turn About’ dress in Navy and Mint. It fitted beautifully and drapped well. I love that it swished gently as I turned. I guess that’s where it got it’s name. This style is great for spring and summer and I wore it recently on a family walk.
Daddy was in charge of the camera and he got some really nice shots of me and the girls. We tried to do a mixture of posed and more natural ones. When you’re wearing something that helps you feel good, it makes all the difference to how you hold yourself.
Photos of Mummy
It definitely takes some getting used to being in the photo rather than snapping away but I think it’s worth it to make sure I feature in the family album too. After all, although I’ll look back on these images for memories, they will be poured over by our girls in the future. Just like I look back and giggle at my Dad’s moustache or my Mum with long hair. They’ll find me just as amusing I’m sure.
I also chose this ‘Linen Geo Midi Skirt’ in Azure and Coral. It’s a great practical length and has two tailored splits either side so you aren’t restricted. Often even knee length skirts feel a bit short for sitting and in the summer I like to know I’m wearing something that I’ll be comfortable in whatever we’re doing.
This time we headed into the garden. Again Daddy knew I wanted pictures with me too. Often when he’s got the camera, I’ll leap out of shot. However, I forced myself to stay and play. This little experiment made me realise I want to do this more often. Not only with nice new clothes but also the everyday moments too. It’s so important to capture them and get some more photos of mummy.
If you’d like to join me, I’m starting a hashtag over on Instagram #mummyintheshot. I’d love to see you in the shot too. Next time you post, use this hashtag and I’ll continue to use it too.
For the purpose of this article, I was gifted the dress and skirt in return for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.