Proof of Mom: How to capture moments and the importance of raw footage

Have you ever looked at family vacation photos and noticed you're barely in them?

How many candid videos do you have playing with your kids?

Do you delete photos where you don't "look good"?

Motherhood can make us feel invisible. The invisible mental load we carry, the invisible tasks we complete daily, the lack of appreciation we receive. Proof of mom are photos taken to prove that we are here too! We not only take care of everything around our children - we actually play with them too!

Quick Tips:

• Save the funny photos

• Ask your partner, strangers, grandparents, to take photos of you

• Carry a tripod in your baby bag

• Set up the camera and film yourself with your kids

• Book professional photos

I have always loved to document moments and capture candid photos or videos. I make yearly photo albums and photo albums for vacations. The candid videos and photos are priceless. They capture the authentic emotions of a moment. Life is never perfect - so why should our photos be? I am always running for my phone to capture memories of my partner playing with our kids! But what about me? The photo memories I have are often posed. I have to ask to have a photo taken, and by the time the photo is ready to go the candid moment is over - I am left bribing my children to recreate it.

Proof of mom and candid photos may seem like a silly thing to our partners; but to us these are priceless! Talk to your partner about taking more candid photos or videos of you. Even if they are "bad" keep them! These are real! These are the memories your family will look back on to laugh and reminisce. With photo editing abilities we often take 100 photos and delete all of them except for the perfect one. While this photo is beautiful, does it truly evoke the emotion and feeling of the moment? I encourage all of us in The Motherhood to keep those funny photos! Our children will love looking at them in the future.

Travel tripods are a game changer! I keep one in my baby bag at all times. Use it for group photos (to ensure you are in them!) or simply record yourself playing with your children. When we look back at family videos of our childhood they are long winded videos with many funny moments. When our children look back do we really want them to see one hundred 10 second videos of themselves? Capture what life was actually like when they were small. Here is an example of the tripod that will fold up nice in your baby bag Travel Tripod.

Professional family photos are expensive and may cause some extra stress preparing for them; however, you will never regret doing them. Having a professional photographer make you and your children the star is empowering! Professional photographers have the ability to capture authentic moments between you and your children and freeze them in time for you to hold onto forever.

You are a great mom. Your hair may be messy and your house may be a disaster, most importantly, your children think you are perfect. Capture those moments for your children to look back on and for you to cherish. Before we know it, we will be doing laundry for only two people, there will be no toys on the floor, and no longer will our mirrors be covered in fingerprints. We will have time in the morning to have our hair done and drink a coffee in silence. Capture these moments for yourself and for them. Let these photos be as raw and authentic as motherhood is.