A lesson in father-son bonding, from those who made parenting an art form .

If Instagram likes are the currency by which we value our lives, then being the father of a baby boy is like being stuck on skid row. There’s no time to arrange jamon serrano on a wooden board, no time for latte art (even though your coffee consumption will be at an all-time high), and no point taking selfies when you’ve not set foot in the gym this year. Worst of all, even pictures of your adorable new arrival are rendered unusable by omnipresent ugly plastic baby paraphernalia.

Of course, none of this matters because your heart will be bursting with affection for the new recruit, and you’ll be feeling a depth of emotion that was hitherto impossible to imagine. Initially it’s your job to fit in with your son’s life, his sleep, his appetite and his moods – there may even be days when you entirely forget about social media. But rest assured that slowly some equilibrium will be regained and you will want to start to integrate your new family life into your online one. In search of inspiration for how to achieve this, we scoured the photographic archives for shots of iconic men who made hanging with their sons into photo-journalism gold.

Take one lightly-bearded style icon in a faded navy polo shirt, add his adorable curly-haired son, dress said son in OshKosh dungarees and an Elliott-from-ET red windbreaker, sit father and son on a motorbike, et voila! You have an image to be cherished. In this shot, Mr Dustin Hoffman reminds us that good clothes get better over time, and that if you only own polo shirts in one colour then navy is a sound choice. The child in the dungarees is Mr Jake Hoffman, who is now a 35-year-old actor. You probably saw him playing shoe designer Mr Steve Madden in The Wolf Of Wall Street.

It’s never easy explaining the concept of work to young children, so how does a man convey to his son that Daddy is the President of the US, and the leader of the Free World? This shot of President John F Kennedy with “John-John” combines the artificiality of a White House photocall with the tenderness a father feels for his son, and the reverence a little boy has for his dad. Of course, this endearing image is tainted by the sad knowledge that it was one of the last of the two together. President John F Kennedy was killed in November 1963, only a month after it was taken.

Trust Mr Bob Dylan, in his rumpled shirt, to puncture the myth of the celebrity lifestyle. Did the singer insist that the photographer wait until the lunch table had been cleared, the empty cans removed, or even that his young son Mr Jesse Dylan finish deconstructing his sandwich? He did not, instead he fixed the lens with a charismatic stare and allowed the image to capture a real moment in time. The now 50-year-old Mr Jesse Dylan has amassed a diverse portfolio of jobs, from running his own film production company to directing music videos for artists including The Black Keys and Mr Lenny Kravitz.

The first thought that will strike many fathers of young children is that Mr Steve McQueen was in enviable shape for a 40-year-old dad. The second thought will be about the chances of sourcing a pair of off-white jeans and pair of Red Wing boots that look as good as the ones the actor is wearing. Of course if we did find jeans like this, we’d worry about keeping them clean, which is why Mr McQueen is so much cooler than we ever will be. Generally speaking, we’d urge caution when it comes to dressing your son as a mini-me, but it’s something that the McQueens pull off with aplomb. Mr Chad McQueen, who’s now 55, is a chip off the old block and has dedicated his life to acting and motorsports.

The Egyptian actor Mr Omar Sharif attributed his great success to his ability to play unplaceable “foreigners” in British and American movies. We get an idea of his versatility as a “foreigner” from the fact that this shot was taken on the set of Sir David Lean’s 1965 film adaptation of the book Doctor Zhivago, by Mr Boris Pasternak. Mr Sharif played the title role, and with him here is his son Mr Tarek Sharif, who also played Dr Zhivago, but as an eight-year-old. There’s something about the boy’s appearance that suggests he isn’t listening to his father – perhaps he was distracted by his formal get-up and pussy-bow tie – and his modest entry on IMDb certainly supports the view that he wasn’t destined to follow in his father’s footsteps.

In support of Father And Son Day on Sunday 19 June, a charity initiative in alignment with the Royal Mardsen and dedicated to inspiring men and raising funds and awareness towards tackling male cancer, shop our curated selection of blue shirts, with proceeds going directly to the cause. Additionally show your support on Father And Son Day by posting a photograph to Instagram of yourself with your father, son, or an inspiring male mentor or friend and include the hashtag #FatherAndSonDay. If based in the UK, you can donate £5 to show your support by texting MARSDEN to 70800. Check @MRPORTERLIVE on Father And Son Day to see our own post.

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