Think 20 years from now. 

This is a photo of my daughters that I have on the wall. I was working on a project and I had asked my daughters to get dressed and play together.  It was definitely something for the camera but it didn’t take long for them to enjoy their time together.  As they swung each other and got into it, the real fun and laughter came through.  When I look at the series of photos now, my heart is filled with sweet memories of my children when they were younger. 

I encourage families to take photos while their kids are young, when the moment is still present.  Today, I want you to think about life 20 years from now. My girls are pretty much grown up so when I see photos of them as small children, I re-live those times and remember the details more . It’s so nice to go back to the time when I could hold them in my arms. When they were innocent and new to the world. They giggled easily, they danced and played with joy and smiled at the smallest thing. Often they want to hear stories about the things they did as small children. What I realized is that I didn’t document these stories. I know know, I’m a photographer!  For example, my first daughter would be so excited to get a new Barney video and she would want to sleep with the video which wasn’t even cuddly!! Or when my younger daughter would yell ‘Moooose!’ whenever she spotted a moose that had populated the Toronto landscape during Mayor Mel Lastman’s time.

You’ll probably remember these stories but might not think to photograph so that you also have a visual of it.  So, I encourage you to take photos of these moments. Don’t put it off for the next time they do that quirky thing even if you don’t think it was a good photo.  You and your children will appreciate the feelings that the photo will bring up.