Women seem to be the keepers and creators of family memories. It’s (almost always) Mum who makes the scrap books, organizes the family portrait, takes the photographs at birthday parties, family events and holidays. It’s a tough job but let’s face it, someone has got to  do it.

As mums we always put pressure on ourselves to ensure every moment is captured, and we try our best to make this happen, using cameras and phones to preserve the memory long after the birthday bunting has been taken down, the home-made cake has been eaten and when the first pair of school shoes no longer fit.

We then share these photographs on social media or send to family and come up with cute little captions to cement the memory even further.

But who takes the photos of mum?

Well, this is a debate that has taken social media by storm, with mothers around the world speaking out about growing sick and tired of being left out of family photos or having no one to capture those candid moments because no one thinks to do so. Motherhood is after all, a thankless job and it can leave us mums wondering just how hard is it to take the damn photo without having to be asked?

Sometimes, a selfie just won’t cut it and we want someone else to appreciate the magic of the moment we are experiencing before it becomes a memory, but far too often it is left as just that.

With Mother’s Day approaching this Sunday I wanted to touch on this subject and share a few photographs of one my favorite mother daughter bonds. I felt incredibly lucky to be able to the gift of love captured

I wanted to keep these photos as authentic and natural as possible. Avoiding staged poses and settings because when it comes to motherhood, I think it important to remember the moments full of chaos and distractions. It’s during these times that the fibers of relationships are sewn together, and these are the memories that will make up a childhood.

According to a study published in the journal of neuroscience, parent daughter relationships are the strongest of all when it comes to mother and child bonds and the common ways that their brains process emotion. Mothers are the role model, the example setters; whatever mum does, the child will often want to do to, whether it’s wearing her shoes, applying makeup with her expensive brushes, or in this case exploring nanas garden in the hope of finding some real-life treasures and basking in the sunshine that has been given to us this week.

My aim of this photoshoot wasn’t to capture those perfect Instagram worthy images but instead illustrate the beauty held within the simplicity of a normal afternoon shared by this beautiful mother and daughter duo. I took along my canon EOS R6 and 50mm Lens and joined them in their weekly visit to nanas house. I let the day unfold and snapped away whenever I thought something magical was happening. 

These moments of course where in the plenty with sounds of laughter and questions of curiosity from the little lady herself. It was refreshing not to stand there and scratch my head wondering what concept to include next. In fact, there wasn’t a second to stand still and think at all, toddlers move at a million miles a second, so it seems; as do their emotions. The only issue I did face was trying to keep up.

There were of course moments of stillness. With curiosity and excitement comes the risk of danger and when you stand at just 2 foot falling over and bumping knees can become a regular occurrence. When this happens a toddler’s emotions can escalate the situation into a code red emergency rather quickly, and it’s not until the blanket of a mother’s love is given to soothe her child that we can fully assess the situation. It’s more than likely that that embrace is all a child needs to put the smile back on their face.

The day was full of fun for everyone, and I think I was able to capture some truly lovely memories for my friend and her daughter to look back on years to come. Time doesn’t stand still but photographs do, and with life being so precious it’s important to make the most out of every day and show love wherever possible.

I left the afternoon with my heart feeling warm. I have spent lots of time around mothers and their children but it’s never in a situation where my attention was used to watch and identify these lovely moments through a lens, but it’s something I want to do a lot more. Like I said above, mothers rarely get to be in these kinds of images for one reason or another, but we need to encourage our partners, spouses, and relatives that it’s just as important for them take the photograph of us as it is for us to take one of them.

Thank you for reading and I hope whatever your plans are this Mothering Sunday, you find some joy and comfort. And remember, if you are stuck for a gift idea, a few photographs of a moment a mother didn’t know was being watched could be appreciated more than you could possibly know. If my husband is reading this… I hope you have taken notes.

Happy ClickASnapping

Sarah-Jane Flutter

Amateur photographer.