(Watch the video version here, or scroll down to a text version below)
Listen to me with the big, dramatic, life-changing claims! 😆 I’m not usually one for big, sweeping statements like this. But this is a subject I truly believe in and am completely passionate about. I wholeheartedly believe that photos can change your life.
Let me tell you why.
You know that feeling you get when you watch your child sleeping? (Or just imagine it, if your baby is still baking and you haven’t got to experience seeing them face to face yet!) It doesn't matter how rough your day has been or how much you've been pulling your hair out (or how much they've been physically doing it for you!), in that moment your heart is just bursting and nothing in your life has ever been so perfect.
When I look at this photo of my son, I get the same feeling. Every single time. I mean, look how perfect he is! I get this hit of love that makes everything feel right in the world.
Do you know what it is that makes you feel like that, in that moment? It's actually a hit of oxytocin pumping through your brain.
If you're a mum, you probably know that name. Yes, that's the chemical you are flooded with after you give birth. The one that makes you feel on top of the world - like the happiest person alive. The one that's known as the love hormone.
It's a natural high.
It's also the chemical reaction behind why we love photos so much.
Do you want to know something really interesting?
"Your brain and body don’t know the difference between having an actual experience in your life and just thinking about the experience - neurochemically, it’s the same."
(From the fascinating book You Are The Placebo)
In other words, looking at photos that make you relive a happy experience or moment actually gives your body the same high as having the experience.
Stop and think about that for a moment. You look at photos, you get a happy buzz. Pretty cool, right? But that's just the beginning!
Think about what you're like when you're feeling happy and in love.
You have so much more patience with your children. You work with them instead of snapping at every little thing they do. If things don't go to plan, you're much more likely to react with kind words and understanding. Your body copes better even when you don't get enough sleep. Your relationships are better, your parenting is better.
And to get back to the sciencey stuff again, your heart, digestive system and other major organs thrive on oxytocin too. Oxytocin has been linked to growing more blood vessels in the heart, stimulating immune function, increasing gut functioning, and normalizing blood-sugar levels.
Looking at photos doesn't just make you feel nostalgic - it actually changes your whole body AND makes you a better, happier parent.
Do your photos do this for you?
You probably won't get this from a poor snapshot of your kid - because the oxytocin hit is all about how it makes you FEEL. Your photos need to be able to capture the things that made you fall in love with that moment the first time around, so it can transport you back to live it again.
I want to help you be able to remember the hot, heavy weight of this little life in your arms, the soft, duck fluff hair nestling against your lips; or the infectious laugh that makes you wonder at the amazing person they're becoming and the little baby they’ve left behind.
My mission is to capture photos that MEAN something to you - photos that can literally change your life.
And then... there's the flip side.
You might feel like your photos are mostly for YOU. But what about what they do for your kids?
Let me tell you a story.
Getting a new little brother was a pretty rough time for my then-4-year-old. He's the kid who watches and notices everything, and feels like he needs to take the weight of the world on his bony little shoulders.
He started having massive meltdowns. He started bed-wetting. He was on a hair trigger, and the slightest little thing would set him off. Even though he was used to being a big brother (he already had one younger sibling), getting used to Mum having a baby to look after was just about more than his wiry little body could cope with.
So we started a ritual. We'd snuggle up together and look at his baby photos.
We'd notice all the things he used to do that his brother was now doing.
We'd talk about the things that were unique about him, and how he was different from his brother. His first year photo book became the most well-thumbed book in our house.
Looking at his photos together, he slowly started to see:
"This is me. This is where I fit. This is how I'm special."
It didn't change everything for him. I was still busy. His brother still needed feeding. What did change, though, was this new acceptance of his baby brother and the way our new family worked, and his understanding of how he belonged.
You might think taking photos of your kids is mostly for you, so that you can remember this stage in your family's life. But don't underestimate how much it can change your children's lives too.
There is lots of psychology research on the impact looking at photos of themselves and their family can have on kids' self-esteem.
Taking photographs of your kids can show them how you see them - how incredible they are in your eyes.
It helps them feel noticed and loved and important - to feel SEEN.
And photos of their family help them to see where they belong, and how they fit in their family unit. Photos on your wall, in particular, show them that they are valued and important, and that they have a safe space to ground themselves on.
So I want to capture photos for you that give you a feel good hit every time you see them - that take you straight back to the moment and all the emotions that were tangled up in it, and make you FEEL it rather than just seeing it. That get the oxytocin pumping.
And I want to capture photos that show your kids how unique and incredible they are, and how much they are loved.
