While you likely had a photographer capture your engagement photos and wedding day—and maybe even photos of your children as they grew—many people choose not to book professional portrait photography sessions for themselves. It can be easy to put off having your photo taken, until one day your wedding photos are the most recent portraits you have!

Professional portraits allow you to capture a moment in town—maybe not a milestone, like your wedding day or the birth of a child, but who you are in this moment. They’re a chance to provide your children and other family members with images they can look back on in the future, a reminder of who you are.

I may be biased, but I believe everyone should make time for professional portraits every once in a while before time passes you by.

They make lovely décor

Have a blank wall in your home that you just don’t know what to do with? Portraits of you and your family members are the perfect décor item! They not only capture the people you love but also show just how much you care about freezing memories and cherishing them.

They last a lifetime—or even longer

Professional portraits are an investment because they are keepsakes that will last for decades. It may sound morbid, but when you’re gone, the photos you leave behind will offer comfort to your family and remind them of how much they loved you. Having plenty of photos taken is a great way to ensure your legacy and ensure your descendants will know exactly where they came from.

They are wonderful gifts

Portraits are a wonderful gift for the people you love, whether it’s sharing portraits of your family or just yourself. Plus, there are so many ways you can gift portraits, from wall art to albums to even electronic picture frames that scroll through your images like a slideshow. Grandparents especially love photos of their kids and grandkids and will cherish the images you give them.

They capture memories that are easily forgotten

You may think you’ll remember how your children looked as they grew or how you felt at a certain point in your life, but the truth is we forget these moments all the time. Photography is one of the few ones we can hang on to memories, allowing us to look back and remember each moment as though it were just yesterday, instead of years ago.

They’re fun to take

Getting in front of the camera may sound nerve-wracking, but it can actually be confidence-boosting! It’s an opportunity to remember how beautiful you are and capture your personality. You may be surprised by how much fun you’ll have during your professional portrait session!

They’re so much better than phone photos

Smartphones have great cameras these days and are perfect for quickly capturing little moments, but these digital images don’t last the way that professional portraits do. How many times have you lost some of your photos when switching phones or computers? Images captured by a professional make for beautiful keepsakes and wall art and are not only better photos—they’re more likely to stand the test of time.