You might think by the title that I love photography, and I do really enjoy it, but I more enjoy having my picture taken. Now before you go all “she’s self-centered” on me, I want to clarify why I love this. I have always loved photography and getting a pink camera as a gift when I was a young girl was so fun, but I didn’t always want to be behind the camera. I wanted to be in photos, and not really alone, either; I wanted anyone in my life to be in a photo with me. I think it stems from me having a weird memory. I can remember the weirdest stories my friends tell me about themselves, but forget what I did the prior week. My memory is very weird and I think taking photos helps solidify memories in my mind. If I don’t have a photo, I may genuinely forget about the experience.
I am lucky to have an amazing family and group of friends who support my love of being in pictures. But it’s not always the case where they want their photo taken, and I completely respect that, especially in regards to posting their image on social media. I always ask for approval from friends and family who I know may be uncomfortable with it being posted.
Now, it might sound like I’m confident because I love posting photos online of myself and, more importantly, with others, but I still have doubts on whether or not I look good on many occasions. I’d rather have photos where I’m in sweats and have a stain on my shirt if it means I have my loved ones in the picture with me. I do often try to look “good” in my photos, but that’s subjective, so I really just make sure I like the memory associated with it.
Photos are clearly really important to me and I really want others to appreciate photos, because you never know how many you’ll have with someone. You may genuinely forget about something you did with a loved one and then it may disappear. I would rather have 10,000 photos on my phone with random pictures of me and my friends and family than limited amounts in which I might not remember fun memories.
I hope this article makes even one person realize it’s okay to love getting your picture taken! It’s okay to ask friends to pose with you on a random day if you’re simply having fun! And lastly, I want people to appreciate why others like myself love the act of taking pictures with them: because we want to remember the good times!