Picture of Me

The best gift my husband ever gave me for Christmas is my digital camera. I just love it.

Well, now the reason for this post and the reason why I posted a picture of myself. Alicia at Posie gets Rosie posted a picture of herself. She's beautiful. I'm not posting a picture of me because I think I am beautiful, total opposite. However, after reading some of the 124 comments that were posted on her blog, I felt like I had to respond in my own way.

My Dad is a professional photographer. I was his subject many, many times. He would use me to practice a new technique, a lighting idea, or test out a new camera. Sunday evenings were his best opportunity to shoot pictures of me. I would be all dressed up for church that night, waiting on my mother to finish getting ready. I would just be sitting there and my dad would say, "Uh..Manda. Let's go outside for a second. I need to test out a new peice of equipment." Now, my dad didn't just shoot one picture, he shot many. There would be different cameras and umbrella's for lighting (not a rain umbrella). I just wish my mom had shot pictures of my dad shooting pictures of me because I am sure they would all be a hoot.

I never minded my dad shooting pictures of me. That's not to say that I enjoyed it and jumped up and down every time he called my name, but it was fun to get the pictures back from the photo lab. What was really fun was to help him develop them in the dark room we had at home for developing black and white pictures. It's so cool to see your face pop up on a sheet of paper when it is carefully dipped into a tray of chemicals.

I remember a picture of my dad when he was 12. He had gotten his first camera and was trying it out. He has several pictures of himself with his camera. I guess he shot them much like I did this one by using a mirror in the bathroom.

Over the years there have been times I haven't enjoyed having my picture made. All of it has to do with my weight at the time. Some pictures I have were during the time I had three chins. Really. I don't like those, but they were a part of who I was at the time. Some are of when I was a teenager and have acne really bad, but then there are some that I have when I am 43 with a huge zit right between my eyes.

As I have gotten older I learned about gravity, puffiness, and crooked teeth. To keep from looking like this
I need to have someone shoot my picture from above so my sagginess will go away like this
Believe it or not those pictures were shot the same day within minutes of each other. I'm sure my grandson won't like that puffy picture of him when he's older either, but it was him at the time.

As I have gotten older I have learned to accept the little laugh lines around my face. That's what I get for being happy and smiling all the time. I can accept the (what I thought was) occasional zit, but I can see it happens more than I have realized. I try to change the things I can such as the frikin beard that Alicia says she has discovered and my crooked teeth. My hairdresser takes care of the beard, and the kid's orthodontist fit me with retainers. I'll save the retainer information for another post.

There are lots of things that I don't like about me that a camera shows all too well. Notice I didn't post pictures of my butt and hips; you may never see that one! However, even though pictures show all of my little imperfections, they also show the fun life that I cherish so much. Thanks, Dad, for teaching me not to be afraid to have my picture made.