Don’t Wait: Why the Messy Season of Life Is Worth Photographing
I hear it all the time.
We’ll wait until the house is renovated.
It’s a bit too messy right now.
Once things calm down, then we’ll do family photos.
I get it. Truly. We’re surrounded by images of perfect homes and tidy lives, and it’s easy to feel like your family has to look a certain way before it’s “worthy” of being photographed.
But here’s the thing: this is what your life looks like right now. And one day, this version of it will feel incredibly far away.
This photo was taken seven years ago.
At the time, it just felt like another ordinary moment in our everyday life. The house was cluttered. Toys everywhere. Train tracks permanently underfoot. A cat who was… shall we say… thriving.
We don’t live in that house anymore.
We’re not tripping over train tracks these days. The cat has lost a lot of weight in old age. And the little boy in that photo? He’s now in high school. (I still don’t understand how that happened so quickly.)
Looking back now, that “mess” tells me so much about who we were in that season. The noise. The games we played. The way life felt full and chaotic and lived-in. Sure it had it’s tricky moments but that’s life right?
And honestly? These photos mean far more to me now than they did when I first took them.
The myth of “we’ll do it later”
There is almost always a reason to wait.
A house that isn’t finished. A room that needs painting. A phase you’re hoping your kids will grow out of. A version of life that feels more put together.
But life doesn’t pause while you wait for perfect. Kids grow. Houses change. Seasons pass quietly, without asking for permission.
The moments you think are too ordinary — or too messy — are often the ones you’ll miss the most.
What documentary family photography is really about
Documentary family photography isn’t about styling your home or hiding the chaos.
It’s about:
who your kids actually are, including the messy parts
how your family spends time together and how this makes you all feel in that moment
authentically capturing your life as it is right now
Your home doesn’t need to be tidy. Your life doesn’t need to be polished. It just needs to be you.
A gentle nudge (and a bit of bravery)
If you’re waiting for the “right time”, consider this your permission slip to stop waiting.
Be brave.
Get the photos taken — even if the house isn’t finished, even if the mess feels overwhelming, even if things aren’t quite how you imagined they’d be.
One day, you won’t see the mess at all.
You’ll see your life.