The Missing Mom: What Dads can do

It’s a huge problem, and some of you may get tired of hearing me talk about it, but I will not be stifled. There are too many mothers in the world who are rarely photographed with their children. It’s obvious WHY it’s happening; it’s because they’re TAKING the pictures. They are rarely in front of the lens.

The most direct route to the solution is through the fathers in the family. I know that many of you dads don’t want to pack the camera all the time or be the family shutterbug, but this is a situation where a little bit every once in a while will go a long, long way.

Any photographs you shoot of the moms in your world with their kids will be treasured. They don’t have to be good photographs. You don’t have to follow any of my photo tips to make them happy. (Hey, if you DO want to follow some tips written just for you, just click here!). I’m constantly trying to help people be better photographers, but this is a case when simply picking up the camera every once in a while and pushing the button will make a big difference.

I don’t care if the light is bad, I don’t care if the composition is nonexistent, I don’t care if anyone has a funny look on their face. (We recently had a woman post a picture on our site last week of her and her two children. Everyone had their backs to the camera. It was her favorite photograph of her with her kids.) People have been risking their lives for poorly composed, underexposed photographs on their way out of burning buildings for as long as photography has existed.

We’re talking about documenting the life and lives of people who love each other…and you. We are talking about creating a visual legacy here. We have women on our site who would cry for joy if the man in their world would just shoot a lousy snapshot of her and her children once a month for a year. Use your smartphone – that’s ok! And if she’s the one with the DSLR, I’ve compiled some tips on how to shoot with someone else’s camera. You’re welcome.

And it’s never too late to start. Just because a few years went by— or even decades— with inadequate photo coverage doesn’t matter. Anything will make a huge difference. I do not have a single photograph of me alone with my father. If I did, it would automatically be among my most treasured personal photographs. I wouldn’t care if I were five years old in the picture or 45 years old in the picture.

Trust me, it is never ever too late to begin this project and make a huge difference.

This week I just want to raise your awareness level. I’m not suggesting that you go out and buy a new camera or really do anything differently than you’ve been doing. I just want you to consider that the greatest gift—the GREATEST gift—you can give the mother in your world may be much, much easier to give then you ever thought. If you really grab this bull by the horns, it could be among the greatest acts of kindness you ever do.

Moms, if you’re reading this, please share this link with any fathers you know who might join us in making the world a more beautiful—and loving—place.

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