Have you ever wondered why you should have a professional portrait taken? Isn’t it a bit indulgent? What would I do with the portraits? Can I really justify the spending that money on me? I don’t have time!
Women are so good at hiding behind the camera. Through either always being the image-takers, or waving the camera away from them claiming they’re unphotogenic, need to lose weight, and ‘who wants to see a photo of me anyway?’
Professional portraits capture you and your personality in a different way to selfies and phone photos taken by your friends. They can capture your beauty, strength, professionalism, sensuality, wisdom, humour. They celebrate who you are right now, and can be looked back on for years to come as a beautiful reminder of who you are right at this moment, and what journey you’ve travelled before and after. You are worth celebrating at every stage of your life, whether it’s a milestone or not.
You may be confident in yourself, or you may not be. Either way, think of the power of seeing a stunning portrait of yourself every day. The reminder of how strong you are or can be, of how far you’ve come, of how you are such a beautiful person, inside and out, and of how worthy you are of being seen, loved, and celebrated. Practising self-love can have hugely positive effects on a person.
What’s more, if you have children, think of the power of showing them what self-love looks like. This is not often seen in the ‘perfect’ world of social media imagery. You are showing your children that every body is worthy of being seen and celebrated, no matter the age, size or shape. You are showing your children that normal bodies are worth being documented too.
If you have children, think of the importance that these portraits will hold for them. When I was little, I loved going through my family’s photo albums and seeing portraits of different generations. In this day and age, we are snap happy but rarely are these printed. Your children and other family members will treasure your portraits, especially in future generations and when you are gone.
A professional photographer will use their expertise in lighting, posing and editing to help show you at your very best. This is something that simply isn’t matched by selfies or phone photos from your friends.
So yes, although making time and spending money on a professional photoshoot might feel a little indulgent, the inherent value of the experience runs so much deeper than simply time and money. And if we consider the emotional value gained, I think you’ll agree that a professional portrait experience is priceless.
