When I was younger, my mother had to pull my teeth to get me to pose for a picture. Forget about smiling. In fact, when my mom would say, "smile naturally," I always used to say that it wasn’t natural if I was being forced to smile for a picture. As a result of my hatred of picture taking, I don’t have very many pictures of me when I was in elementary school with friends, or my brother, or anyone, really. When I look back now, I wish I hadn’t been so against the idea.
Only a few years ago, I realized why taking pictures at family events, at concerts, and just for the fun of it was so important. It’s the only way to capture memories and specific moments. Sure, you have the picture inside of your head to remember a certain day or time, but after a while, that starts to fade.
Looking at pictures reminds me of a time or a place that I haven’t thought about in a while. I can look at a photograph and say, "wow, I remember that." I recently started making photo albums to commemorate times spent with my family, friends and boyfriend.
I used to think it was cliché when adults would say things like, "you want to have mementos and photographs to look back on when you’re older." I didn’t think it really mattered, but I was wrong. Now, when I look at pictures, I smile and laugh as I remember exactly when I took it. Or maybe, I look at it and wonder because I don’t remember where the photo was taken or why I was making such a silly face.
Don’t get me wrong, though. Just because I enjoy taking pictures doesn’t mean I’m any good at it. Almost all of my photos are blurry or taken from awkward angles, but I don’t even mind because at least I have the picture at all.
I’m sure my friends will tell you that I’m usually the one to say, "let’s take a picture," and I know for a fact that my boyfriend can attest to that statement.
One of my friends once told me that although it might be annoying in the moment to have a 15-minute photo shoot on the beach that I’d thank her later, and so far I think she’s right.
So, my piece of advice to you is to take as many pictures as you can. Take silly pictures, take serious pictures and take bad pictures. The forced smile will be worth it in the end, I promise.
