Mom to Dads Everywhere: 'Take the Damn Photo!'

First we had Alison Slater Tate's crazy viral piece for Huffington Post back in 2012, begging moms to take pictures with their kids, no matter how crappy they felt about themselves. Then this past fall we were treated to a powerful Facebook post from Kaylin Maree Schimpf urging men to get onboard and take more photos of their wives, even when they asked them not to.

Now blogger Sophie Cachia—aka The Young Mummy—is driving the point home once again with her open letter to dads over on Instagram, in which she explains the importance of capturing mamas in all those wonderful but all-too-fleeting candid moments. Like the one of herself sprawled out on the couch with her son Bobby that was shot by her husband, and which she shared in her post.

"Dear Men," she wrote in the caption. "Take the photo. Take the god d*mn photo. We spend days capturing beautiful moments of you and the kids. So whenever you see one of us with our babies, a beautiful candid moment, take the bloody god damn photo."

I love this so much. My dad was a huge candid shot guy, and so every album from the first four years of my daughter's life is FILLED with amazing impromptu shots of the two of us together. But after he died in 2006, less than a year after my son was born, my photographic story pretty much ended. Because from that point going forward, I was the one who was behind the lens. And let's face it, selfies don't count.

This hole in the documentation of my life as a mom makes me so sad, because it's a life that I truly cherish and love. And yet I have never even considered asking my husband to pick up the camera. Because he sucks at taking pictures—of me or anyone else—and he also hates having his picture taken.

"Enough!" he'll yell, after I've unsuccessfully spent a minute or two trying to pin him down for a family group shot. I don't know why, but something about taking pictures has always seemed to make him uncomfortable. Maybe it's time I finally asked him why. Because the truth is, I want to have more pictures of me with my children to look back on, and I want there to be more shots of him with the kids, too.

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So take note, babe: From now on I am going to capture all those moments and take all the pictures—long after you tell me to stop. And you will, too. Because it's time to return the favor. Consider yourself warned.

Hollee Actman Becker is a freelance writer, blogger, and mom of two who writes about parenting and pop culture. Check out her website holleeactmanbecker.com for more, and then follow her on Instagram and Twitter.