It’s pride month 2022 and it has got me thinking about the LGBTQ+ families I have met since we began our journey as parents. Although LGBTQ+ families are far more commonplace than they used to be, it strikes me how rare it still is. I can count on one hand how many same sex parents I know, and I wonder if my daughter will have many friends with two mums or two dads. When I think about the world through her eyes, I wonder if she will see a world that includes her, will it represent our family?

Pride is so important as it allows families like ours to have a place. It gives us a time to celebrate our difference and a voice to tell how our differences aren’t really that different at all. We get to visibly see how many of those around us are true allies. This allows us to know that our children will be safe on the hands of the future. 

It makes me think about representation too and what I can do, as a family photographer in Birmingham, to make a difference. When I search for LGBTQ+ family photographers I get a multitude of options that show happy colourful families, amazing trans parents, proud gay dads and jubilant lesbian mums who have worked so hard to start their families. However, when I simply search local family photographer, or newborn photographer, the results I get are predominantly a child or children with a Mum and a Dad. Of course this is something to be celebrated, and the joy of a child is undeniable! But I wish that in the not too distant future a same sex family will be seen wherever you look; in the media, on TV, Instagram, tiktok, in houses along the street.

In my own work, I also want my LGBTQ+ clients to know that I see them, and I love seeing them! I realised when I was looking for a wedding photographer, that when there is no representation, it made who I was feel out of place. I questioned would we be the first gay couple they have captured? Why didn’t they want to display gay couples on their website? I was automatically drawn to those who obviously displayed same sex couples across their platforms and the reason was simple; I felt safe. I could see that their world views were inclusive, they saw and celebrated people like me. I wouldn’t be the odd one out.

This is why it is important to me to show who I am, to show that I am an inclusive family photographer, and I want you to have photos that show the love you hold for your children. And for our kids in the future I hope that an image of a little girl with her mamas is so normal, little people like my daughter know that they belong.

• Co-written by myself and my wife Lyndsay.