I’ve had the privilege and fun of photographing Scott + Jessica and their family for a couple years now, and we always look forward to it!

It’s amazing to see how the kids grow year to year, and how fast changes happen!

Because of that, Scott + Jessica have a wonderful goal- they said they are making sure to get family pictures taken at least once a year.

For some, that may seem too often.

It may be that getting family photos with your whole family seems overwhelming. Picking out clothes for everyone, making sure that everyone is off of work and at the right place at the right time, making sure that everyone has food and is ready to go at the right time- it can be a lot to juggle on one day!

Or maybe it’s that you don’t like pictures of yourself. You may feel that you’re not photogenic, or you want to lost that stubborn 15 pounds, or you feel like the pictures that you just got last year are fine for the next few years.

While all of those are valid feelings, I’m just going to share a visual example of why it’s worth pushing through all of those barriers to update your photos- I hope Jessica doesn’t mind!

With these images of Jessica and Constance- the one in black was taken last year around this time, compared to the pictures that they just took recently.

Now, you may look at these and think “See, they look exactly the same! This is why I don’t need to update mine!”

However, you see a ton of difference when you look closer.

• In last years image, Constance wasn’t yet tall enough to take a picture with Jessica standing up without it looking awkward- the height difference was too much- compared to this year where she is nearly head to head with Jessica.
• In last years picture, you still see the roundness of Constance’s face- she has the cherubic, little girl face that I know is going make Jessica’s heart ache to look back on in just a few years, because, in this years picture, you can see the glimpse of the young lady that Constance is already turning in to. She’s losing the roundness of her face and her features are becoming more defined.

Without describing every single thing, how many other differences can you see here?

If we can see those differences as individuals who do not interact with Jessica and Constance on a daily basis- Imagine what her mom sees when she looks at these images. Jessica is going to see not just these pictures, but she will see everything that has led to the development of the young lady she is looking at in this years image.

The struggles, the successes, the fun times that they have had this year. Catching frogs together in the pond, rounding up cattle, and the new ideas and skills that Constance has developed this year that she did not have at the time of the first image. If all of this is wrapped up in one year difference between these images, imagine all of the things that will be different by next year as Jessica looks at the next image to come… As the children grow and transition into adulthood, there are so many things that change, just from month to month, let alone year to year.

Without outlining all of the changes, here are a couple more examples:

And the siblings…

If you are trying to decide if you should update your family pictures, or even get family pictures taken in the first place,  I hope that this can serve as a visual aid to see what your updated family photos can capture, and how important it is to get them. You will never regret having images of your family, and even if you don’t like pictures of yourself, I can guarantee that those who love you want those pictures- even if you don’t.

So, with all of that being said- here are some of my favorites from the Toavs family and their updated family pictures! 🙂