I often photograph moms (and dads) with each of their sons and daughters individually.  It is so special not only for the mom and dad but for the children as they grow, too.  It’s just part of a family photography session… here are some of my favorites from this past fall.

This mother and son warmed my heart in so many ways.  An incredible mom.

And on that note, Happy Mother’s Day to all of you mommas out there, new moms and not so new moms.  Moms to boys, moms to girls, single moms and married moms, working moms and stay home moms.  Moms with grown kids and moms with their first babies, moms that do it all – as every mother does!

My topic – Taking great photos of your own children!

As a photographer, I admittedly go through spurts of NOT photographing my own children enough at all in our little every day adventures (and non-adventures!)  I’ve learned my lesson, and I recognize that Mom snapshots are so meaningful and have an important place in every family’s life, alongside professional portraits!  Those snapshots can be SO beautiful with just a little effort and some extra thought.

Not every picture of your children has to resemble a formal portrait session to be beautiful.  And you don’t need backdrops and strobes.  Here, a few thoughts on what makes casual/candid childrens pictures memorable and special.

1. Expressions.  Yes, cheesy expressions can be cute in their own cheesy way, but more so, real expressions capture who your kids really are, what they really look like, and the faces that they really make.  They’re genuine.  Get creative.  The pouts, the thoughtfulness, the curious expressions… your kiddos are beautiful, but sometimes pictures of them not looking at you can tell so much.  They are all worthwhile, even the quieter ones like this one…

2. Keep it simple.  I know photographers are often known for utilizing “props” but often the best photos are entirely prop free.  Focus on faces, on details, on expressions, actions, whatever is happening in that moment.  No extras needed.

3. Keep an eye on the light.  Every notice how depending on how bright the background is BEHIND your child, it can make their face dark?  Your child standing in front of a very bright background (or window, with daylight) will make their face very underexposed: aka – too dark to see the features on those little faces!  Without using a manual setting and compensating for that, you can easily keep an eye on where your light is coming from.  “Directional” lighting is light that crosses the face from the side; it gives beautiful depth.  With this image, for example, the light was coming from a window to my left, to the left of baby’s head.

4. Get close.  Super close ups are always a hit.  See your reflection in those eyes!  It’s OKAY to crop off the top of a head.  You know what the top of your child’s hair looks like and you have it in many photos… it is just great to sometimes intentionally “chop off” the top of that head and get in closer on those little faces!

5. Get lots of environment.  Kind of the opposite of “get close” and “keep it simple” but if you’re in a special environment, don’t be afraid to pull back – pull way back- and capture it!  Sometimes with great photography, there are lots of telling things in a scene that come together to tell a bit of a story.

6. Capture sweet details and every day  moments.  When my kids have a day off school, we go to Steak & Shake for breakfast once we all roll out of bed.  It’s our thing.  Not something we normally photograph, but when we did, IT WAS ADORABLE!  The little details of our Steak & Shake breakfasts, building the cars, sticking the stickers in the wrong spots, sharing the breakfast milkshake, wearing the hats… priceless!  I know some photographer moms have taken their cameras with them to grocery stores.  Such fun pictures can result from that!  Every day little things, unexpected times to have your camera… some of the best.  Sweet little details definitely have a place in your photo album too.  Things like your kids unexpectedly holding hands, just having a quiet little moment.

7. Light in the eyes!  The light that is reflected in the eyes is what brings a picture to LIFE, we call them catchlights and we strive to keep them there.  Eyes with no patches of bright light in them look empty, they definitely don’t show the incredible magic that lies behind those eyes.  Dora the explorer doesn’t have those big white reflections of light in her eyes for nothing!

8.  Shoot from unexpected angles (both from the camera’s standpoint and get the kids a little crazy!)  Get high, get low, throw in a little camera tilt if you’re feeling it.  Flip the kids upside down or lie them on the grass… Do something outside the norm to add some fun variety to your pictures!

9. Get off-center. The rule of thirds tells us that the focal point of the image should NOT be centered.  I break this rule sometimes (or a lot!) and I’m fine with that too, but it can be a good one to follow as well.  The “negative” (empty) space in an image can really draw you in and add a element of unique beauty to an otherwise common photo.

10. And sometimes… forget about technical perfection.  Technically perfect photos of your kids are beautiful.  Technically imperfect ones are beautiful.  Sometimes a little motion blur or overly “bright” parts of the photo are simply outweighed by the beauty of it.  A perfectly exposed histogram should have all levels of brightness.  Let it go.  Exhale and enjoy the moments of what you’re capturing.  This gorgeous image has the little girl’s hair overexposed, by standards of technical perfection.  Is it not beautiful anyways?

That does it for my 10 tips!  I hope they were useful and interesting to read about… lots of these images could fall into more than one category of my examples… I could go on and on with several more but I tried to select a few solid, basic ones.  Be sure to check out the next photographer on the blog carousel, the amazing Danna Bowes – Calgary baby, child and family photographer, she has an amazing way with newborns and little ones as well as capturing the beauty of moms with their children.  Enjoy!

More to come of this beautiful family!  Their session was quick, well under an hour of time and we captured so much with the four (six!) of them!

Pictures of pictures are notoriously hard to photograph, please forgive the not so amazing product photography here!  All offerings are available on a limited basis, I sometimes can not control what the manufacturers discontinue.  Turnaround time on everything is about 2 weeks.

This is a mini album.  The images are wallet size in a black, bonded leather album, photos themselves measuring about 2.5 x 3.5 inches.  Mini albums are available with either 10 or 16 images, each image having it’s own page spread.

A gorgeous full size album is also available, outer dimensions are about 8×10, each picture is matted within the pages of the album and each printed image is 5×7 in size.  The opening on the front is a small square image 2.5″, and this bonded leather album comes in only black, and holds either 24, 30 or 40 images.  It comes in a satin lined keepsake box, almost as beautiful as the album itself.

I love this! The keepsake collection includes a gorgeous set of beautifully printed 5×7 images in a satin lined keepsake box.  You can either order it with one of each of your images (which can sometimes be a LOT!) or, you can opt for the best 24 or best 30.  I can choose your 24/30 images or you can!  It’s a great way to order many 5×7 portraits and have them to change out in frames, share as gifts, and keep in their own special place.

5×5 albums!  10 images are printed in 5×5 size and adhered to the sturdy pages of these brocade albums.  They are a delicate material and brocade pattern in either black or white.  Like the full size album and keepsake box, they also come in a black satin lined keepsake box.

This is the smallest, and least substantial of all the goodies.  It is a tiny little accordion book, outer dimensions about 3″ square, each image adhered to the thin board pages of the album.  7 images are included, the album cover colors are black, dark red, or purple.

This is actually a product that has been discontinued in this particular 4 x 5″ size.  These five are all I’ve got!  Various materials create the covers, the albums are hand made and beautiful.  So unique in the cover patterns and materials!  10 images are included.

Finally, these 5×5 albums have replaced the size pictured above.  The square is always fun!  Gorgeous and a really nice size for any type of images.  I’ve done some albums focusing on just one child per album, as a keepsake to later hand down to that child.  Others get an album with mostly family pictures and a few individual childrens photos in one album.  The personality of the covers can be great for womens portraits or boudoir pictures as well!  The khaki and black materials are “soft” while the purple is a bit more leathery.  All have a fun texture!  These albums also have a 10 images adhered to the sturdy pages within the book.

Please let me know if you are interested in any of these goodies and I will send over pricing.  It is so nice to contain your favorite family pictures, newborn or maternity portraits, or boudoir photos in something timeless and beautiful with a bit of personality.  I am happy to answer any questions!  Let me know if you need anything at all – allie@proudtointroduce.com.