An eight-months-pregnant woman in her late 20s stands in baggy jeans and a pinkish blouse overlaid with a white cardigan. Her skin is shiny (damn you, pregnancy hormones), her brown hair a little frazzled (which makes sense because she has a toddler and is pregnant), and her smile is huge.
Standing in front of her is a nearly 3-year-old red-headed girl, her fine hair pulled back in plastic barrettes. She wears a white ruffled blouse under a brown and burgundy plaid dress. Stuffed under her dress is a pillow — and from the looks of it, a lumpy one. She is pretending to be pregnant like her mom. Which is either super-adorable or really, really scary. But spoiler alert, she doesn’t get pregnant for another 32 years.
This photo — of my mom pregnant with my brother and of me at nearly 3 years old — might be my favorite photo. There’s something about it that I love. Maybe it’s the fact that I know how hard pregnancy was for my mom (and later for me). So that giant grin on her face is quite remarkable. There’s also something about the decor … the record collection, the Time Life series and World Book Encyclopedias on the bookshelf, the wood paneling, the tri-color shag carpeting … and I think that might be a stack of eight-tracks in the corner. I don’t know. It’s been a while since I’ve seen one up close and personal.
Anyway, there are lots of things about this photograph that I love. I’d show it to you, but my mom has a strict embargo on her image. So, you’ll just have to settle for this description.
And I encourage you to do the same. This week’s writing prompt is: Describe your favorite photo.
In fact, I encourage you to do it twice. First, try to describe it without unearthing it first. THEN, get it out and revise (or start anew). The details you remember (or not) might surprise you.
So, why do it? Because photographs are visual imagery — but also emotional, giving you the opportunity to write in a way that is both descriptive and emotive. And, well, that’s a good exercise.
Now, go write.