Moms always do a fantastic job of documenting the lives of their children all the way from birth to college.

You only have to look at a mother’s social media pages to see how much they cherish the big and small moments in their children’s lives. Every milestone is important to them.

Moms are no strangers to scrapbooking, blogging and documenting their child’s special moments, but the problem is that they often leave themselves out of their collection of photos.

Many times moms will ask to be left out of photos when they bring their children through for a shoot. If they do decide that they want to be in the photos, they’ll usually book the shoot months in advance so that they can lose any extra weight.

Every mom should be in more photos with her children and every mom deserves to feel good about the way she looks in those photos. Here are a few tips to help moms look fabulous in all future photos.

Keep that smile natural. There’s nothing more beautiful than a natural smile or laugh so do what it takes to smile as sincerely as possible. Bring someone along to tell you a few jokes to put you at ease if need be but don’t force that smile.

Angle your body. It’s time to put all those yoga classes to good use. In order to make your hips look narrower and your shoulders wider, aim to position your body at a ninety-degree angle from the photographer. Now, simply turn your hips towards the camera and square your shoulders. 

Use your children as props. Many women really can’t stand looking at themselves in photos and if this is the case for you, get your children to stand or sit in front of you to avoid being the main focus in the photos.

Keep that chin down. Unfortunately, sticking your chin in the air doesn’t make for flattering photos. By keeping your chin down, you’ll create shadows and contours that will compliment your face. If you’re worried about having a double chin, lean forward slightly to prevent this from happening.

Tone down your outfit. A busy outfit is not the best route to go if you’re looking to go unnoticed in a photo. Keep your clothing simple in order to hide anything that you don’t want to draw attention to. You can also opt for black and white photos if you really want to take the attention away from specific details.

Use natural lighting. Forget the camera flash and opt to have your photos taken in a room where there’s tons of natural light. It makes for amazing photos.