Put yourself in the frame!
I hate "selfies”, so it surprises me that I love self-portraiture and how important it has become to me.
It saddens me that as a portrait photographer how often you hear things like; "I take a terrible photograph", "oh you don't want a photograph of me", "nobody needs a portrait of me", "I will get a photo when I lose 2 stone / 10 kilos / hit that milestone / shed a dress size".
Life is finite. It has a beginning and an ending. None of us know when that ending will be. There is not much really that can be left behind that lasts forever, but memories and images do.
When I am gone, I know my kids won't say “Why in god's name didn't mum wait to lose 5 kilos before she took that shot? What was she thinking?” What they will say when they look at our glorious collection of images, is that Mum was there, she was in the frame, she was in our lives, and she never worried about the things that didn't matter. When they look at my photos, I want them to remember how I made them feel and to be reminded that they were loved.
These thoughts are the driving force behind my upcoming project, “Your Face, Your Story” which is all about celebrating the lives of women over 40 and challenging the stereotypes of women and ageing.
Ageing is seen as a bitch, but it is a privilege. One of the most common compliments I have received since chopping off my hair is that I look younger. I have heard jokes made about “old menopausal women” and I have heard women I look up to say, “I am too old to matter.”
With age comes the wisdom and experience to not give a rat’s arse and I believe that is what we all should be doing. The second half of our lives should be the most fabulous, we have earned the right to look our age, whatever that is and to do whatever makes our heart sing with boundless joy.
We all matter, we all belong in the frame. Take the damn pic and put yourself in the frame. And if you don’t want to take it, let me!
Head to https://www.mynotesfrom.com/yourfaceyourstory to find out more about the My Face, My Story Project.
This image is #11 of the @theclickcommunity Project 52 weekly shooting challenge. This week’s theme: Photographer’s Choice.
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