Child portraits, including school pictures, are a hot topic. Some parents love them, plastering their walls with their kids at all stages of their growth. Others stick to the basics: school photos and a few photo albums filled with holiday memories, birthdays, and vacations.
Most of the time, families who stick to the basics don’t realize the impact this can have on their children. There is evidence to show that the act of taking photos of your child — as well as the act of displaying those photos in the home– plays a vital role in a child’s self-worth.
Child Portraits: How Do They Help Self Esteem?
Even the most outgoing child has the potential to run into self-esteem issues. Most children are visual learners, and they are consistently being bombarded with images from television and social media, as well as being influenced by the actions of others. This alone can cause self-image and self-esteem issues.
Social media and television wreak havoc on kids’ mental health because they constantly see viral figures or celebrities, usually looking flawless and put together. Children fail to see that public figures have made their image part of their brand, which means they make it a part of their daily routine to find the proper lighting, makeup, and settings before they post, go live, or take photos.
No one looks flawless in real life, but kids don’t always know that. Unfortunately, self-love is only part of the equation, and it isn’t enough to ultimately boost a child’s self-esteem. That’s where feeling included, loved, and part of a bigger picture (so-to-speak) can come in handy.
Recent studies have shown that when you hang child portraits, family portraits, and pictures including your children around your house, you are more likely to boost your child’s self-esteem naturally. Even more so, having a mixture of professionally taken photos and photos taken by other family members shows your kids that it’s okay to look different from photo to photo.
Do Family Portraits Also Encourage Good Self-Image?
Remember the feeling you got when you picked up the photos from the hokey aquarium photoshoot or log flume line? Or, remember holding back giggles when your mom got the vacation photos back from CVS and saw you holding up bunny ears behind your sibling in a “serious” photo? Those family photos did more than document a place in time. They showed your personality, relationships, and growth within the context of a bigger picture.
Dr. Leon Seltzer pointed out in a recent Psychology Today article that self-acceptance rather than self-love is about acknowledging and understanding one’s self in context with others on a personal, local, and global level. Practicing self-acceptance is different than practicing self-love, but both contribute to greater self-esteem. Displaying photos in a family home can contribute to both self-love and self-acceptance, rounding out a child’s healthy self esteem.
In professional child portraits, children are encouraged to dress their best. Child photographers take time to enhance photos to show children at their most photogenic. By spinning professional portraits as special events, parents can reinforce that their children’s professional photos are not how they are (or should be) seen daily. On the other hand, professional portraits also reinforce that children can take professional-looking photos. Hanging these photos around the house showcases that you care about your children. Alternately, when you hang a mix of professional photos and non-professional family photos, you show your children that you don’t just care about them when they “look good” — you care about them all the time.
How To Prep For Child Portraits
If your child has a professional photo shoot coming up, you can make sure they enjoy the experience. By making photo days exciting, you’re also ensuring your child is excited to get their photos back. Little things like this can also enhance your child’s self-esteem. To prep, try to do the following:
- Let your child be part of the process of choosing their outfit. Often parents like outfits that make children feel uncomfortable. Feeling uncomfortable does not allow them to act genuinely during the shoot, and their discomfort can impact the photo’s quality. If you’re afraid your child might not pick a suitable outfit, guide them toward acceptable outfits and let them make the final choice.
- Make prep work-family time. Need your child to brush their hair or wash their face before the photoshoot? Grab your brush and face cleanser and do it with them. Let them have a say on what they want their hair to look like. Style your hair together. Minor directives like this will reinforce photoshoots as fun and contribute to their sense of self-love.
- Avoid negative talk about yourself. Children are receptive to what their parents say and do. If you’re in the middle of prepping for family portraits, avoid criticizing your appearance. You can practice this step any time, even after picture day! Children with parents who regularly engage in negative self-talk are more likely to criticize their bodies. Being kind to yourself pays off!
Fall is just around the corner (can you believe it? Yikes), and so are fall school photos. Need an Austin child photographer to take stunning photos of you and your family? You know who to call. (Me!).
My schedule is filling up fast for fall family portraits so let’s chat soon.
