Yes, even guys can get self-conscious about pictures

Osborne-Gowey family 2014.
Photo by Cameron Johnson Photography.

A Huffington Post article recently made the rounds, again, and caught my eye - So you're feeling too fat to be photographed (by Teresa Porter). I don't normally feel fat, but I do sometimes feel like I carry a little more weight than I'd like. Which can sometimes lead me to feel a little self-conscious when it comes time to being in pictures. I occasionally find myself with thoughts in my head like "is my face a little puffy" or "is my belly sticking out", or "is my beard all mussed up", etc.

But something a photographer friend mentioned to us last year - and something we've carried with us for most of the years of our marriage - was, "Just be present in the moment and show your kids how much you love them because they don't see what you see about yourself in the pictures - they just see you for you and the love you have for each other and them." The basis for her comments came from another Huffington Post article - this one from blogger Allison Tate - of a few years back; The mom stays in the picture. An excellent read (here are some other excellent posts of similar ilk). We've tried to stick to this mantra over the years, to just be present with each other, regardless of how we're feeling about ourselves in the moment. 

So now you know, in part, why we often don't shy away from pictures, whether you take them or we do. And why we'll continue to post pictures of our love for each other and our family and friends. 

Here's to another 20 years of being present in pictures and sharing them with friends and family.

Boating with friends, 2013.