Be in the photos

One day, when you sit down with a box of old photos or scroll through a dusty digital album, you’ll be searching for them.

Their chubby cheeks. The way their hair curled at the back. Their gummy smile. The sparkle in their eyes that, somehow, is still there even now.

You’ll be looking for your little one.

But when they look back at those same photos?

They’ll be looking for you.

They won’t care about the mess in the background or whether your hair was brushed. They won’t notice your tired eyes or that you were still wearing your pyjama top at 3 p.m. They’ll be searching for your face. Your arms wrapped around them. The way you looked at them like they were your whole world—because they were.

So often, we’re the ones behind the lens.

Capturing first steps. Blowing out candles. Dancing in the living room.

We’re mindful of time passing, of wanting to hold onto it all—those soft, podgy arms, the squeaky voices, the sticky kisses. And yet, we’re not in the frame.

Not with them.

But one day, they’ll want to remember the way you laughed. The way your arms felt wrapped around them. The smell of your favourite jumper. The security of your presence. The love that radiated from you, even in the quietest, simplest moments.

They’ll want to see you.

Not just as the person who raised them.

But as the person who lived with them. Loved them. Laughed with them.

So step in front of the camera.

Let yourself be seen, as you are, right now—imperfect, beautiful, present.

Because these aren’t just photographs.

They’re proof.

Proof that you were there. That you loved. That you were theirs.

And one day, those images will be everything.

To them.

And to you.