Well, I mean they are not just for you! One of the reasons families invest in gorgeous family portraits is for their children and grandchildren.
If I had to get out of my house quickly (Earthquake / Fire etc), and had time to grab one material possession, I would grab photographs. Portraits are the way to remember the past, and how my son was when he was little, my Mum when she was 40 years younger, and my Grandparents when they were alive. One glance at a photograph brings back memories, smiles and love.
Skip forward 20 or 40 years….what do you think your children will treasure? Could it be the big screen TV you brought back when they were young, the updated car….or the memories of the evening you all went to the beach….played around, laughed and splashed, and had fish and chips in the sand afterwards.
I recently read something on the top five regrets people have at the end of their life, and the 3rd one down was “Focusing too much on acquiring stuff”. The message was to spend your money on experiences rather than things. This means, take the time and the effort to enjoy a fun family portrait session, and try to not concentrate on the fact that you don’t like having your photograph taken!
If a professional photographer is not in your budget at all at the moment, consider roping in a friend who can at least take a camera and get some images of you all together, and perhaps make it a goal to go to a professional who can really bring out the best in you all in a years time.
And a last plea…make sure you are in the portraits…not just the children. Even if you “hate having your photograph taken”, do it for the children. So they can look back in many years, and see how young you looked (you will always look younger in the past, even if you are not feeling young now!), how happy you looked, and the love that the family shared.