Instagram Message: A selfie is worth a thousand likes.
Let's face it. The more I can do with my iPhone, the less I am with my thoughtfulness. I used to be awesome at getting my photos developed and giving them to friends and family - either in a little album or just the hard copy prints. I never do that anymore. But I want to. I want to get back to being thoughtful with my photos. I want to be that gal who gives the special album to a special person and melt their hearts. I want to be the mom who has her sh*t together therefore having albums, that years from now, her kids can look over and be grateful for capturing the worst haircuts and bad clothing choices. I want to be that person who gives photos as treasures - thoughtful pinches which are really MOUNTAINS because putting together an album is no small feat and the gift of photos are timeless. I want to be Her.
An album of Chase given to me for my birthday. A scrapbook from my mother-in-law as a Christmas/thank you gift for a great trip to Kauai. A momento from The Williams capturing their visit to MN. A scrapbook of a week in Laguna Beach over 12 yrs ago made by sister-in-law Camille. All of these gifts of photos are timeless.
Two years ago, I was invited to a "girls' scrapbooking bonanza" for 2 days and 2 nights at my friends' cabin. I was able to get caught up on my son's albums (second child so I was pretty far behind with his stuff) and I put together a Paton Family scrapbook that contained around a hundred pictures. It was fun to look thru the album during our summer vacation with the whole family and I hope to pull it out whenever we want to have a few laughs. I wish I could spend that much time again organizing, creating and most of all reminiscing over all the photos. But life gets in the way. Sure, there are companies out there that will make albums for me - all I have to do is send them the photos. Brilliant! But like winning the lottery (you can't win if you don't play), I actually need to send them the photos.
The good news is nowadays, we don't have to go thru the laborious "Creative Moments" cut outs, glue stick and making borders for scrapbooks to organize our photos in order to be presentable. Now there are flash drives, CDs, Picasa web albums, drop boxes, picture frames with wireless access so pictures can be emailed directly onto the frame, etc. Lots of fresh opportunities to give your photos to someone besides making a physical album. Choose a way that works best for you and your schedule and start handing out those pinches!
Selfie with Uncle Tommy (her Godfather and the photographer).
While we are on the subject of pictures, have you ever heard of Thoughtful Photography? Well, I made it up. I believe the term embodies my point about thoughtfulness. My brother, who has only one photo album capturing his entire childhood (versus my 8 albums - obviously I was born first), recently moved in a new direction with his photography career. His new mission is to document people's life moments in a non-ordinary way. Made with Love is a new technique that he developed which will document wedding moments differently - pictures that tell a story. He will do the same for family photos also. Imagine scheduling a few photo sessions a year, ideally once a season, and then he puts together a custom album for you. All you need to do is show up. Moments are thoughtfully captured. The work of putting a thoughtful album together is his. Viola - the end result is a timeless gift to yourself and your family. Wow, that's Thoughtful Photography! If you know anyone in Southern CA getting married or is interested in getting their story documented - check him out.
These Pellicer boys will be big brothers to another boy in the family arriving soon. Photo taken by my brother Tom.
Taking the family picture when I was growing up was painful. But the battle of having everyone looking good at the exact same time is long gone. No one is shy when it comes to getting their picture taken these days. The selfie is not a household term for nothing. And the same goes for photoshop.
Pinches,
Barb