Last weekend, my colleague Andrew (co-author of Save My Marriage Today!) and I had a fabulous night out at a local hotspot, the Mexican Cafe.  We were attending a mutual friend's birthday party, and we got into the Mexican spirit by trying on some hats.

Sometimes it is great to simply act silly and make fun of oneself!  Especially when there's a digital camera around.

I just got my first digital camera five months ago.  Before then, I'd always envied my friends who could whip out their cameras and take a photo at any opportunity.  I was using my film camera less and less as the hassle of dealing with finishing off rolls and taking them in to be developed became too much.  Because I travel often, digital cameras are ideal: digital photos take up no space and can be shared with as many friends as I like.

One lovely woman I know periodically sends inspiring and informative emails to her group of friends, keeping in touch with words and a picture.  At the bottom of her emails, she attaches a picture of herself, usually taken at one of the many events she attends.  Even though she lives across the world, seeing her picture along with her email makes me feel more connected to her.

I've noticed the same phenomenon in internet dating.  Profiles with a picture get many more responses than profiles without a picture.  As the initial emails go back and forth, the profile picture ends up standing in for the real person. When we eventually meet up, if the guy doesn't look exactly like his profile photo (and few do), there's some hesitation and feeling at a loss … even if he's better looking!

Pictures create connections.  I've heard of men who take a digital camera along to all of their dates.  They'll whip out a camera and ask their date to pose with them for a picture.  The act of having one's picture taken with someone else creates a bond.  After the date, these men will email the photos to their date, thanking them for a good time.  If they're lucky, their dates will associate the pictures with a positive experience, one that they'd like to repeat.

Yet pictures aren't all fun and lightness.  The degree of comfort you feel with your picture being taken is a good indication of your degree of body love.  Something about mugging for the camera brings out all of our feelings about our bodies.  Those of us who are embarrassed or uncomfortable about our appearance in some way often shy from the camera, never realizing that the point isn't to take a good photo: it's to simply be in the photo with our friends.  Someday that photo will become an irreplaceable memory.

So take all the pictures you can, while you can, and forget about whether you look silly or are smiling too wide.  Be as unselfconscious as you can, remembering all the time that every click of the camera preserves a memory to be cherished.