Take Better Pictures of Your Kids: round 1

I joke all the time that our house is a shrine to Linc!  There are pictures everywhere!  We have framed pictures, tacked pictures up on the bulletin board, canvas pictures that decorate my office, pictures taped to the side of the fridge (because ours doesn’t accept magnets) and some days the pictures even littler the floor because my little man likes to tote them around!

As moms we take so many pictures (probably annoyingly so to those who don’t have children yet) because we just don’t want to miss a single second of them!  You don’t want to miss THAT face, or miss this moment!  You want to capture this milestone or freeze this exact second in time!!  As slow as time can seem sometimes, the minutes just happen all at once and as you wake up one morning and look at your sweet babe you realize that in fact time has speed up at a rapid pace and all you have left is your pictures! So we just all want the best ones we can capture!  It’s easy to do this with just a few simple tricks, which is why I’m starting a new Tuesday installment on my blog for all my mommy readers!

It doesn’t matter what type of camera you have because let’s be honest while nice gear does make a difference, it isn’t THE difference!  It’s the operator behind the camera that captures the feeling and showcases it with the best ability!

Here are a few tricks to start off our Tuesday’s with Take Better Picture Tricks!

1.  Use Natural Light!

Look around your house and seek out the areas where you can find the best source of natural light!  Try to find a window that is near or opposite a blank wall or a background that isn’t too distracting!  Try shooting there at different times during the day to see how the light plays and find what works best for the setting you are trying to capture!  Yes, I force Linc to sit in one spot in our living room where the light falls just perfectly and I don’t feel shame about it one bit!  Avoid your flash if at all possible!  Want to get those amazing light in your kiddo’s eyes… open up your curtains and shoot with your back to the light but make sure there are no harsh shadows on your little ones face!

2.  Shoot outdoors if possible!

This really goes along with using natural light but I feel so strongly about shooting outdoors that I just had to make this it’s own separate number!  There is nothing that produces beautiful images (catch lights and all) then when you can shoot outdoors!  Plus your kids will like it better and you will be able to capture the real true candid moments which are a favorite of mine!  There are of course certain times of day that are better for light but a good rule to always remember is to look for open clean shade!  Bright sunlight can cause really harsh shadows and mean eyes that look really dark!  Try to find a clean patch of shade that isn’t dappled or splotchy and then click away!

3.  Focus on the eyes!

The eyes are the windows to the soul… and they also will give you a pretty nice sharp picture if you can focus on them!

4.  Get down and get on their level!

I promise you THIS alone will make a huge difference!  Changing your perspective will change the way your photos look!  It’s important when we take photos of our children to shoot from many different angles and perspectives.  We are telling their story and how they see the world so why would we want to tower over them and look down?!  Get down on their level and tell their story from their height!  I’m constantly laying on my stomach, sitting criss crossed or butterfly, sometimes I’m even pretzeled in order to get the shot I want!  Also remember it’s not always about their face!  Use your creativity and tell a story… take a picture of their sandy toes or their amazingly long eyelashes!  What are they doing that is so fascinating right now, capture that as well as their adorable face!

5.  Don’t be afraid to be silly!

Sometime I think Linc thinks I’ve gone insane!  I will do anything to make him laugh because he has the best laugh in the world!  I will make any animal noise I can think of and sometimes I even make them up!  I will roll on the ground and play monster, I will fly him around the run and tickle him until he can stand it no more!  Don’t be afraid to set the scene and then be silly and goofy with your children!  Keep the camera up and keep clicking because you never know what will happen after the perfect shot!  It’s always the silly shots that are my favorite!  Sometimes even the mistake shots are the ones that I end up printing because I find they hold a beauty I could never dream of trying to capture on my own!

These are just a few tricks to start you off until we meet again next Tuesday!  Keep clicking away and sharing your images of your beautiful little ones!  There is no such thing as too many photos… only missed opportunities!

xoxo

B