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I need to preface this to say I do not pretend to be a photographer. No one in the world would ever pay me to take pictures of their kids. And honestly, no one ever should. But, like 99% of suburban moms with a blog, I have a DSLR camera. I got one soon after L was born so I could capture every single minute of his life and I like to think I am doing a fairly good job at that. So I am going to share some things I have learned over the years of taking pictures of my kids and I’m hoping you all will share your tips and tricks too.
~Always have a camera with you. Even if it’s just your phone. It’s better than nothing. You know what they say, the worst picture is the one you don’t get.
~If you don’t get a good picture in the first 5-10 minutes of a “posed” session, you ain’t getting one.
~Have a good photo editing software. I use Photoshop, but you don’t need something that fancy (I still have no clue how to use 3/4 of it). I find it’s easier to fix blemishes, etc. in iPhoto and I save the harder tasks (like evening out skin tone) for Photoshop. It’s the easiest way to turn a so-so picture into one you’ll love.
~Don’t be afraid to take lots of pictures. Better to take 100 pictures and end up with 10 goods ones than to take 10 pictures and end up with nothing good.
~Most of the time, unposed pictures are better than posed ones. If L is laughing and playing in the backyard, I’ll just call his name so he’ll look at me and then I will snap a quick picture. I find this to be the best way to get a real expression and not some goofy forced smile.
~If you can’t get a baby to sit still (I have this issue all the time), call in backup. I often enlist L’s help to distract WB into not realizing he’s sitting still. Dogs work too.
Notice that there aren’t as many edited pictures of L or problems with getting him to pose. L has such a nice and even skin tone. Always has actually, even when he was WB’s age. WB still gets blotchy. And L doesn’t try to scratch his face off like WB does. Also, L has the posing down. After all these years I get out the camera and he knows what’s up. Sometimes he’ll even smile and request that I take a picture ;).
Allright, now that I have shared my tips and tricks, let’s hear yours! I’d really like to hear from some of my photographer friends about how they capture pictures of their little ones!
