Children Love Seeing Photos Of Themselves on Your Walls
Growing up, there weren't many framed photos of our family all together on display in our parents house. School pictures, yes. The odd formal portrait from when we were very young - braces, wonky pigtails and that bowl hair cut, you get the idea.
And yet, my dad had shoebox after shoebox filled with slides, He'd proudly get the projector out every now and again on a Saturday night. But print those photos? Frame them? That was always somewhere near the bottom of the to-do list. He was busy. There was always paperwork, always something more pressing. Getting the photos on the wall never quite got done.
I really don't want that for you.
I always knew that when I moved into a house with a stair, it would be decorated with family photos.
THE SHOEBOX PROBLEM
It's all too easy for family photos to live in a device or a folder on your desktop, waiting for the day you finally get round to doing something with them. That day has a habit of not arriving.
And I understand it, genuinely. Life is a constant juggling act. The school run happens, work happens, dinner happens, after school clubs happen and somewhere between all of that, the idea of choosing frames and hanging pictures on a wall starts to feel more like a project - something to do for a quieter weekend that never quite materialises.
But I keep coming back to this thought: those images aren't just for decoration. Those family photographs are doing something for your children that you might not even realise.
CHILDREN LOVE SEEING PHOTOS OF THEMSELVES ON YOUR WALLS
This isn't about making your home look a certain way. It goes much deeper than that.
Seeing photos of themselves on your walls tells them they belong
When your child sees themselves on the wall - not tucked away in a drawer or buried in a phone gallery, but there, in the heart of your home, it sends a quiet, powerful message.
You are part of this family. You matter here.
That sense of belonging is foundational, and it costs very little to reinforce every single day.
Seeing photos of themselves on your walls builds confidence
Children who grow up surrounded by images of themselves with the people who love them tend to internalise that love more readily. It's not vanity. It's evidence. It's a visual reminder, right there at eye level, that they are seen, valued, and celebrated - not for being perfect, but for being them.
Photos on your walls connects them to something bigger than themselves
When families are choosing their favourite images from a session, getting the children involved can be one of the favourite parts of the whole process.
Turns out they have opinions. Strong, wonderful, occasionally very funny opinions. And when they help choose what goes on the wall, they feel invested in it. That frame becomes theirs too.
It can also open up questions and conversations - about grandparents, about where they came from, about what makes their family their family. And this can be the seed that grows into a genuine interest in their own story and history.
Photos on your walls creates something that lasts
Who knows - that frame on the wall today might be handed down to their own children one day. You'll never look back and think, I wish I hadn't had that printed. But you might, eventually, wish you had.
IT'S SIMPLER THAN YOU THINK
I know the word "framing" can feel like a bit of a task, in that it will take quite a significant amount of time. Choosing images, buying frames, measuring walls. No wonder it keeps getting put off.
But from your gallery, you can preview exactly how a multi-aperture frame would look with your chosen images - laid out, in order, before you commit to anything.
It takes minutes. Get the children involved in picking their favourites, which makes the whole thing feel less like a task and more like something you're doing together.
From there, all you have to do is decide where it's going to live.
Displaying photos on your walls - A few thoughts on getting started:
Choose a spot in the home where you spend real time together - a hallway you walk through every day, a living room wall, the landing at the top of the stairs.
Pick images that feel right rather than ones that look technically perfect. If the image fills you up with emotion that will always win.
A storyboard-style frame can hold multiple moments from a session in one cohesive piece - no need to overthink it. My Matted Frame Collages will do just that.
THIS IS FOR YOU, TOO JUST SO YOU KNOW
I want to say this clearly, because it often gets overlooked: framed portraits on the wall matter for parents just as much as it does for children.
Mums especially. The ones who are always behind the camera, always just out of frame. Your children are not going to look at that wall and think about what you were wearing or whether your hair was perfect. They're going to see you. And that image of you - present, laughing, there - is one they will carry with them for a very long time.
Seeing yourself on the wall, in a moment that is real and warm and genuinely yours, does something for your own sense of place in the family story too. It's worth being in the frame.
FAMILY STORIES ARE MEANT TO BE TOLD
Back in October, I photographed a lovely family in their garden in East Lothian.
After the session, the Grandad of the family invited us inside to look at all the family photographs lining the living-room walls. Even though I was really a complete stranger, he happily shared these treasured memories with me - including photos of himself playing football in his younger days. He was clearly proud as punch, and rightly so.
It struck me how this was a home filled with people who wanted to see their family story every day - not just stored away on a hard drive or phone, but beautifully displayed and enjoyed.
And that’s exactly what I want for you too. To capture stories and turn them into beautiful, tangible memories - the kind you can see, smile at, and treasure at home for all to see.
BRINGING IT ALL TOGETHER
Some of my dad's shoeboxes of family photos as slides (he always preferred slides because the quality was so much better) are in my wardrobe at home. Full of moments that were never printed, (some I'd never seen) never hung, because he never quite got round to it.
I think about that more than I probably should.
The photos you get from a session with me are ready to live somewhere they can be seen on your walls and loved - by your children today, and perhaps by their children one day too. That's the point of all of it.
The Storyboard Frame allows you to display up to 16 images from your photo session
DIGITAL AND FRAME PACKAGES
This has been in the making for a while and it's brand new.
I'm super proud to offer a Storyboard Frame option, that allows you to display up to 16 images from your session all in one cohesive piece. You can pick and choose the layout of your images very easily straight from your gallery. This frame combines beautifully with digital files - and right now, there's a saving to be made when you take both together.
READY TO GET SOME PHOTOS DISPLAYED ON YOUR WALLS?
If you've had a family photo session with me and your images are still sitting in a folder on your desktop waiting for a wall to call home, I'd love to help you figure out the next move.
And if you haven't had a session yet but you've been thinking about it - this is your gentle nudge. The to-do list will always be full. Your children, right now, at exactly this age, will not always be.
What's the first step?
Click below for a free no obligation, non salesy chat. There, I've given you the nudge you needed.
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