Leaving behind a portrait of yourself for your next generation to recall your love and affection for them is important. Earlier we talked about how a gift of your children's photos counts among one of the best gifts you can give (here is that post), this one (your own photos) counts among these gifts.
Leaving a legacy of preserving memories, the habit of getting photos taken and preserved is the hallmark of people who care about their families. That's the hallmark of people who understand that none of us are forever and that it is important to capture beautiful memories of family's togetherness, love and affection for next generation to recall, relish and pass on further.
People who sleepwalking through life, day in and day out, stuck in a rat race for the next thing to buy, next salary to work for don't realize that till it is too late. That's unfortunate how many beautiful moments just fly past us without us noticing and realizing.
Before the advent of cameras, rich and famous used to get their portraits painted, they knew the importance of what they were doing. Now cameras are everywhere, preserving memories through photos and video is democratized, not a privilege of the rich anymore, there goes any excuse anyone might have.
So don't wait for that birthday or some ceremony to happen.