Since my girls were born, I have been in every one of their Santa photos. The simple tradition that I couldn’t wait to do once I had children, has never quite turned out how I had hoped.

In my mind, all kids LOVED Santa and would want to sit on his lap.

Except my kids. Maybe yours too?

The perfect Santa photos meant my kids would happily sit on Santa’s lap and excitedly, tell him what they wanted for Christmas.

Ironically, every time one of my girls pouts, frowns or begins to cry when being placed on Santa’s lap, I have rushed in to hold the upset child and sit next to Santa. It always happens when I’m unprepared with no makeup and a not-so-great outfit choice.

Despite what I look like in the Santa photos, my girls have memories of their mum sitting with them next to Santa.

My husband reminded me that what I looked like in the photo wasn’t really the point of the exercise. Being present with my girls was.

Mums are notorious for being behind the camera when it comes to family photos. Unwashed hair, daggy clothes, no makeup, extra baby weight are just some of the excuses us mums front when challenged to get into the photo with our children.

My friend Bron wrote an amazing post a year or so ago encouraging mums to get into the picture. The post went viral, a hashtag was created (#inthepicture) as the message resonated with a lot of mums. Sometimes we just don’t like the way we look post-children, but that shouldn’t stop us from being in the picture.

One day our kids will look back on those photos and they won’t see an overweight, tired, unkept woman. They will just see their mum.

A new mum in the US shared how a simple photograph encouraged her to get in the picture more often with her baby girl.

Erin Brundige decided to dress her little girl up to get some professional photos taken at a JC Penney store in celebration of her daughter’s first Birthday.

Erin’s daughter looked gorgeous and during the photoshoot, Erin was impressed with the photographer’s skills. Erin had no intention of getting in any photos with her daughter, until the photographer, named Penny, framed the perfect shot of the mother and daughter.

Erin explained in a Facebook post:

“I wasn’t expecting to find an angel at a JC Penney photo studio, but it only makes sense that if I did, her name would be Penny. Let me tell you about her and the gift she gave me. Two years ago we brought my daughter in for photos to commemorate her first birthday. She looked perfect in a little pink and white dress. Our photographer, Penny, quickly proved to have skills beyond what you might normally expect to find in your average department store. In addition to being great with our daughter and getting amazing smiles out of her, her eye for a good shot was exceptional. We had photos taken here before, but Penny intuitively knew how to capture the most amazing shots and showcase our little girl’s personality.

Toward the end of the session, Penny asked me if I was planning to be in any of the pictures. Haha, yeah right. I had worn a ratty t shirt, a messy bun, and no makeup. I had zero plans to be in these photos. The truth was I had had a rough year. My daughter’s birth was traumatic and the emotional recovery was still ongoing. I struggled with shame over feeling like I had failed in having the perfect birth. I hadn’t lost the baby weight and was struggling with my confidence. I told Penny I wasn’t going to be photographed and we moved on.

As we looked over the photos and selected the ones we wanted to purchase, my daughter nestled into my shoulder and popped her thumb in her mouth, as she does when she’s getting tired. Penny looked at her and suddenly stopped with the photo selection. ‘Look at her eyes!’ she murmured, and then took my arm and said ‘come back here with me.’ She was taking me back to the photography room. I immediately started protesting about my total lack of preparation for being photographed, but Penny wasn’t hearing it. She steered me underneath the lights and whispered, ‘Close your eyes.’

So I did. I stood there with my eyes shut and held my daughter, who was still snuggled into me. In that moment I stopped worrying about how bad this picture was about to look and let my love for my little girl wash over me. I felt all the emotion of seeing her turn one and leave babyhood behind, and how incredibly blessed I was to be her mother.

I heard the camera click a few times, and then Penny came back over to me and looked me in the eye. ‘She doesn’t care what you look like,’ Penny said. ‘Someday she’s going to want pictures of you, and pictures of the two of you together. It doesn’t matter if you have makeup on or if your hair is done. Take the pictures for her.’

I realized she was right. I thought about the grandmother and aunt I had never met, both taken from their husbands and young children before the age of forty due to breast cancer. I didn’t want to always be the unseen person behind the camera and leave my daughter with no photos of me to keep my face from fading in her mind when I am gone. Whether that happened next year or in fifty years, she deserved my presence.

I keep this photo in a prominent place. It is my favorite picture, and the most precious gift I’ve ever been given. If it weren’t for Penny, it would never have been taken, and there would be no photos of me and my daughter at this age. Thank you, Penny, for giving me the gift of perspective. Your perspective, as a photographer and a person, is truly exceptional.”

So mums, let’s get in the picture with our kids, no matter what we look like. It’s creating memories that our children will be able to look back on in the future.