Alright moms, pick up your phone and go to your pictures.  Scroll back through the last few events that you attended with your kids.  How many were you “there” for? Meaning, actually in the pictures.  I wasn’t at the park with my family, or at the Bubbles playspace, or art class, or building a snowman (except that I built the whole thing) .  When I am “there” it’s usually in a selfie.  Which is fine, better than nothing… but to an extent. There’s only so many angles and shots you can get through a selfie.  That is why the perfect Mother’s Day gift is getting pictures of mom (that she doesn’t take herself!). 

We all know moms are not in pictures enough.

Usually, we are taking the pictures, or maybe we don’t get in because someone has puked in our hair or on our clothes. Or maybe we haven’t brushed our hair in days, or slept a full 8 hours in months. So we take pictures of our kids alone- because they always looks so cute and refreshed!  I am definitely guilty of always being the one behind the camera, or shying away for various reasons. With Mother’s Day approaching, getting moms in some pictures can be a perfect Mother’s Day gift.  (If you are a mom reading this, just forward to your husband or kids or whoever gets you mother’s day gifts 🙂 ) A fun, easy way to do this is by booking a Mother’s Day mini session with a professional photographer. 

Perfect Mother’s Day Gift Photo Session

If you read my post about our stressful family photo shoot we took in the Fall, you may recall that my toddler Miles is ANTI pictures. It was a struggle to get him to smile or even just sit with us, without an awkward pumpkin or wagon in the shot.  I didn’t want to focus on the photographer when I wrote that article, but it was frustrating to my husband and I. We were the ones trying everything we could think of to get Miles engaged.  Maybe the photographer had an off day. But now that I have experienced something different- it helps to have a photographer connecting with your kids and helping them feel comfortable! 

A couple of weeks ago, my husband took the boys to Wicker Park here in Chicago.  They happened to meet Allie and her family.   I wasn’t there at the time, but getting much needed me time after he had been gone for a week (yes, I felt the need to tell you why I wasn’t at the park with my family, lol).  After talking to them for a while, my husband had a feeling we’d get along great and made sure we connected.  He was right! After talking to her, it was serendipitous that she was a family photographer and offering a Mother’s Day mini session.  So she graciously let us be her test subjects and afterward we had a play date- win, win!

Naturally, on the day of our Mother’s Day mini session, when Allie and her daughter Adair greeted us- Miles said that he did NOT want to say hi and buried his head in my legs.  I wasn’t really surprised and told her, “Oh yeah, have I told you he hates taking pictures?”

She didn’t flinch at all, instantly reached in her bag and said, “Hey Miles, do you know what Adair brought for you?”. He slowly lifted his head and looked at her, with a “you’ve got my attention but I’m not sure you’re worth my time yet”, type of look.  She pulled out a baseball and Miles was intrigued and walked up to her.  And she continued to amaze him by showing that the ball was squishy, not like the other baseballs he had seen.  While squeezing the baseball in his hand and a smile plastered on his face, Miles walked with us to the location of the pictures.  

Unbeknownst to her at the time, she would pull out something else that Miles loved! Snacks! Allie pulled out a bag of snacks for her own daughter but Miles exclaimed, “What is that?!” She thought about it for a second and used this enthusiasm for our advantage.  She explained that after we took some pictures and he gave her his best smiles, we could all sit down together, play and eat snacks. And that did it! A magical baseball and the promise of snacks are apparently the keys to my son’s heart and love for pictures.  He was so happy and smiley and cooperative! 

It was refreshing to have someone help my son be comfortable, which in turn made the experience more enjoyable for me.  

And of course, Ellis was chillin’ as usual!  Who knows what he’ll be like as a toddler. These days if he has slept and ate- he’s cool as a cucumber.  He had just woken up from a long nap, so not really up for one of his big smiles.   Instead he was mesmerized with Allie, not taking his eyes off her!  Usually, he’s pretty amused with Miles’ roars or me (I am his mom and all that), but not today!  I have a feeling he may have a love for taking pictures, but we’ll see. 

The location Allie chose was perfect, lots of natural light and clean urban background.  It was short and sweet at 15 minutes, perfect for little attention spans.  And just enough time to get some pictures that I am actually in!  I am OBSESSED with them and so glad that I got to share this special moment with my boys. And when they are older I won’t have to convince them I was there, they will know for sure!  

MINIMAL PHOTO by Allison Rose definitely won our hearts.  Not only in how she approached my toddler, but her beautiful shots that captured the essence of our family.  Her bright lifestyle approach is fresh and modern, and she gets great candid moments that you will cherish for years to come.  The fact that it’s affordable and you get your pictures back in 48 hours are just added bonuses! If you are in the Chicagoland or Indiana area, I highly recommend her! Check out her website for more info.  

Hope you have an amazing and relaxing Mother’s Day!