How many times have we chosen to be the person behind the camera because there is something about ourselves we don’t like in pictures? Maybe we need to shed some weight, or the light of the camera always makes our face look discolored. There are tons of excuses associated with hiding from the camera lens, but I am here to challenge them all.

Each year for the last three years I have lost a grandparent. With every funeral, the hunt for pictures takes place. “Do we have a picture with the entire family?” “Does anyone have a picture of the two of them dressed in so and so?” “Don’t you remember that time we all went to such and such. Did anyone take pictures?”

Not once did I look at a picture of a grandparent and think they looked fat, or comment that the lighting was off. All I wanted was a visual—a record of time gone past. I soaked in every snapshot as the slideshow clicked by and smiled. This was their life. They existed. And they mattered.

When my maternal grandmother passed a few months ago, I searched for a picture of the entire family. Finally, I found one from six years prior. Six years. I was grateful to find one, but the reality hit home that we need to be better about taking pictures.

On Easter, I made sure we gathered together and had a picture made. There are so many excuses I could make about being in a picture—selfish nitpicking toward my appearance. But in twenty, thirty, forty years, one of my kids will hold that picture in their hands and smile as they remember the Easter of 2024. They will tell their kids about their great grandpa and grandparents, remembering all the fun memories and silly experiences they had together. And they won’t care one bit about the appearance—only the person.

As we move forward from here, let’s change our view of picture-taking. It doesn’t matter how messy your hair or slouchy the clothes. No one cares if you have make-up on or that you need to shed a few pounds. What matters is that you are there. Present. Accounted for. And one day, someone who loves you dearly can hold that picture in their hands and remember you.

Don’t miss out on making memories. Take that picture, my friend. It matters.