An Ode to Snapshots Taken By Children

My little bitty nephew took photos of me and my then-boyfriend now-husband at a family dinner years ago, and his shots were SO stinking cute — they really highlighted how different his point of view was, looking up at all the rest of us towering over him then. They’re definitely some of my favourite pics of us of all time!

I don’t know if this is just me or something with the new site, but when I am on the homepage, it will say, for example, that this post has 73 comments, but when I click on the actual post, there are only 47 comments. I don’t know if I can’t see the comments or they are not there, but I want to read them!! This is happening on other recent posts too!

What a fabulous photo! I hope it was a romantic and celebratory evening!

Your hand in the first photo is EVERYTHING! Like a Greek statue, effortlessly draped over his shoulder, totally relaxed and in love. Ugh!

When my twin boys were little I would let them take turns using my phone as a camera whenever we walked to pick up their sister from school. Usually their pictures would be of a school bus or road construction or a bug or a garbage truck or trees. But sometimes they would take a picture of me, at an odd angle, usually talking to a mom friend while waiting for the school bell to ring. And now I have these pictures of me at a time in my life when there are few pictures of me at moments in time when I would never even think to ask anyone to take a picture of me. And I quietly cherish them, especially when they are followed by 10 super close-up photos of their many silly faces, framed by sun beams. Also, happy anniversary! Your description of your evening sounds like a dream!

So, so sweet!! I love when my son takes photo’s too – he has a great eye, as does Anton!
Except for the extreme close up phase….;) haha!

This is so sweet.
I gave my son (7) my old Instax camera. He loves seeing physical manifestations of his photos! Once we got over the difference between digital / analog photos he is now more choosy about what he shoots. They also make albums with smaller photo sleeves to fit the photos and he loves filling it up.

When my kiddo was about 6, we went to a family wedding. We gave him an old digital camera, and he announced that he was an official photographer. He went busily around photographing everyone, and every single shot a) was taken from an incredibly unflattering angle and b) captured absolutely delightful expressions as everyone was cooing over the cutie-pie. The bride and groom LOVED his photos and included them in their album!

Happy Anniversary! These are the lovely situations where you cannot and should not separate the art from the artist, everything about it is lovely

A couple years ago I made an art piece out of the photos I had taken of my parents when I was a child, starting at age 3. Each photograph was framed and hung at my eye level when I was the age I had taken the photo, my parents growing older as I grew taller. The photos are just of the two of them but I think of them as family portraits– me as the third point of the triangle, behind the camera.

Happy anniversary!!

Would you consider getting the boys a child-friendly camera? I bought one for my nephew before a trip we went on as a family, and seeing the trip through his eyes was SO CUTE.

Gah! That first one Joanna – how your arms are draped over his shoulders, your hands so elegant. A romantic dream photo!

this is so sweet, and i agree with other commenters that your hands make the photo—so peaceful and blissful. i’m always touched and impressed by how much you share on the blog <3

Schmoopy is my most favorite word you use, Joanna. It perfectly describes that feeling!

My daughter, 5, takes the best candid shots of her brother, 3.5. They capture his essence and him naturally in a way my playground photos of him never do.

So beautiful! There is something in the way your hands are falling or positioned – they say I am in love and melting. Beautifully captured Anton.

Those are gorgeous photos! Anton sees your loveliest moments – and has an eye for great angles! Happy anniversary, hope Alex loved the negroni sweater!

Such sweet photos! My 1.5 year old likes to play with the camera on my phone, though I’m never sure how intentional his photos are or if he just enjoys watching the screen. At any rate, I now have an adorable collection of photos of his feet, and a few pictures of us at odd angles. There are plenty of random photos that get deleted too (27 photos of the bare floor!), but I love the growing collection of baby foot selfies on my phone, haha! They will be fun to look back on.

eeep! i’ve followed Angie Mar on social media for a couple years now, and while i’m bummed i’ll never get to eat at the Beatrice Inn, i’ve been dreaming of visiting Les Trois Chevaux for snails and meat and cocktails since she first announced the project. someday my dude and i will get there, hopefully :] i spent five years in an increasingly unhappy relationship, and last fall during lockdown, realized a close friend and i were in love with each other. i broke off my situation, we took the leap and it’s been a very bumpy and exciting almost-year together, and i feel myself falling for him all over again on the daily. just today, i was home for my lunch break and we happened to cross paths and get our smooch on before heading back to our respective work days :] happy anniversary!

Love this!! My kids have discovered the thrill of iPhone photography. Having had a very vocally self-conscious mom and now a very self-consciously camera-shy MIL, I have made an internal promise that as long as I am not “indecent”, to always say YES when my littles ask to take my photo, and to NOT delete it (or pick one of the 100photo burst!). Even if I don’t love the photo, it will mean something to them to have memories of me through their own eyes.

And more than once I have been surprised to find…the frizzy hair and makeup-less face I was cringe-imagining behind a smile? They’re more beautiful when I see them through their eyes, too.

Very cute! Where is this adorable dress from?

Your hands are EVERYTHING in this picture! I adore this and love that he wanted to capture that moment. Happy Anniversary!

😍😍😍

Once our family of five went on a ten day trip to Alaska. We had a gazillion amazing pictures of hiking, bears catching salmon, fishing on rivers, whales, glaciers, mountain peaks, etc.. It was the trip of a lifetime and I loved it. Unbeknownst to my husband and I, my oldest son took a picture of us dead asleep leaning on each other on the plane flight home. I am leaning on my husband’s shoulder and he’s leaning on my head and we are OUT. It is shot between his and his brother’s plane seats. It is probably my favorite photo of the trip. It might be one of my favorite photos of my husband and I of all time. :)

Congratulations! Looks like it was filled with such joy and love.

I have been using an Instax camera over the past year with my son (ever since he was about 2yo) and he loves it. It produces a tangible thing and he loves pressing the button and waiting to see what the picture looks like (and how it’s so different from what he’s actually seeing). Plus he’s been pretty deliberate about what we take pictures of (“remember, that’s the second picture. We only have 8 left…”) We’ve started a little album so he can add to it and the most mundane things look arty. I’m also tickled by what he finds interesting (bench, creek mud, Pete the Cat stuffie). Highly recommend this for other parents of young kiddos – hell maybe even adults!