Photographs of your children’s lives is one of the best gifts you can give them and to yourself. Their lives are so quickly changing. Your relationships with them will be so different in just a few years.
With these tips you will be preserving memories and precious moments shared.
Keep it Real
Don’t feel like you have to have everything in order to take a shot. A little peanut butter on a chin? No problem. Scrapes and scratches tell a story! Clutter in the background? Snap away! When you look back at the photos you WILL NOT be seeing clutter. You’ll be seeing your little ones and feeling like a super awesome mom because you were prioritizing time with your kids over a little clean-up.
Get on Their Level
Some of my favorite photos are from when I was down on my knees next to my shorties. I love to take photographs at their eye level, instead of always peering down at them. Often, there is magical interaction at this height. All of a sudden you are a bit more accessible. You are going to get amazing shots that wouldn’t have happened if you had continued to stand tall.
Shoot Away
I bet you’ve got a camera in your pocket or hand AT THIS VERY MOMENT. The best camera you’ve got is the one that you have with you! Don’t feel like you have to wait to get out your “good camera” to take a photograph. Use that cell phone camera and don’t hesitate to take several photographs. I try to go through my cell phone pictures at the end of each day to select the keepers and delete the rejects.
Hand Your Camera Off
Use caution of course, but if you do hand your camera off to your children they will produce some of the best images. I promise that you’ll love them! They will take selfies, photos of the things they love (probably you!), and capture life in a way that you will never be able to. Additionally, if you hand the camera to another friend or family member then you will have the chance to be in some of the photographs. I cannot stress this enough!! You need to be in lots of photographs with your children. Do your best to move past any concerns that you have about being in front of the camera and get in there. Your child will treasure those photos more than any others.
Turn the Sound Off
Turn the sound off of your camera. Whether you are using a fancy DSLR or your phone, there should be an option to turn the sound off. When the sound off your children won’t be entirely certain that you are taking a picture. You sneaky mom!
No Cheese
This tip is two fold. Don’t always ask your children to look at you when you want to take a picture. This is a great option some of the time, but usually, I love to capture my children when they are engrossed in an activity. I’m trying to remember what it was really like and trying to help them remember! I’m saying to that little one, “You were little, and you loved to dig. You could have spent the entire day in the dirt and I really like that about you.”
At the same time, when they’re looking at the camera, they need not always smile. It could be a sad moment, and that’s okay. Those moments are real too and worth remembering. The moment might not merit a smile. Your children will look back at those photos and know if you were forcing a smile or not. If they are happy, let them smile. But please, no cheese.
Preserve the Photos
You’ve taken the first step to documenting precious moments with your little one. Now you need to do the hardest part, do something with the photographs. I’ll give you two of my favorite ideas.
- Create an email account for your child! This is one of my very favorite sneaky mom tricks! I have an email account for each of my little noodles. Once a week I go through all of the photos on my camera and email them to my child. I include a little note about the moment. This doesn’t have to be fancy or extensive. Just write a quick blurb and hit send. Occasionally, include your child’s age and try to include the names of any other individuals in the photos. That way they won’t be wondering years later, “Who is that mysterious person in the picture?’ You’ll want to check this address at least once a month and check at least one email and send another to be sure that it doesn’t get deleted. I also recommend keeping the address and password in a safe place so that it will never be lost.
- Print those pictures! There are so many wonderful and easy ways to print those pictures. My current favorite is chatbooks. Print two copies of these images. Give one to your child to enjoy (the will be so happy) and then set one aside as a keepsake.
Hire a Professional Photographer
One of my very favorite things to do is photograph families. We’ll first get all of the posed shots that you need for your walls and Christmas cards, then we’ll photograph the interactions of you and your family. We want those “love connections” between all of you, and the unique personality of your family to really come across.
Investing in a professional photographer is an investment that pays off so well and so quickly. I can help create an environment to capture the love you feel for your little ones, their unique personality, and your unique family. Contact me to answer any questions you may have about photographing your family
