Friends, Take My Picture Already

Friends. Listen up. We need to have a serious talk. A camera talk. A “this-is-not-a-drill” talk. Let’s make a little pact. A sacred, non-negotiable, morally binding pact. The next time we hang out IRL, let’s… gasp… take pictures of each other. And then—here’s the revolutionary part—actually trade them.

I Want Memories Too!

I don’t have nearly as many pictures of myself as I would like. You’d think I do. I’m a photographer, after all. I have cameras glued to my hands. I should be drowning in images of me, right? Wrong. Dead wrong. I am shockingly absent from my own photo archives.

Why? Because when I hang out with non-photographers, I automatically become the default group photographer. “Grace will take pictures. Grace always takes pictures.” And indeed, I do. I capture the laughter, the awkward mid-sentence hand gestures, the perfect light hitting the plate of food. Pictures for everyone!!! Everyone, that is, except me. 

And if I’m with my photographer friends? Still nope! You’d think pros would be amazing at this. BUT, they’re off duty. They’re relaxing. They’re thinking, “I’m not getting paid for this.” Which, fine, I get it. But now I’m stuck trying to photograph myself in the wild, like a sad influencer. 

Of course, there are exceptions. Asian friends, for example, are absolute monsters with the camera. They will snap hundreds of shots. But here’s the catch—they’re usually posed shots. Faux candids, as I like to call them. “Look like you’re laughing naturally while subtly tucking your chin down 15 degrees.” Close, but no. I want raw, chaotic, slightly embarrassing realness. 

A Fair Trade Agreement (No Photo, No Mercy)

So here’s my plea. Friends. Please. Please. Take pictures of me. Maybe two. Maybe twenty. And make them good. Real. Human. Alive.

And here’s the deal: I am nothing if not a fair negotiator. No trade, no mercy. No picture for me, no picture for you. Think of it as photographic karma. You capture me, I capture you. We all win.

Life is short. Someday we’ll look back on these images and be grateful, not just for the perfect smiles and flattering angles, but for the messy, unposed, unpolished moments. The ones that actually show us living.