How to Take Better Pictures of your kids

 It's no big secret that I love taking pictures. Ever since my little Ava came along, I have been snap happy, and getting more and more into photography.

  I'm NOT a pro. These are just my tips that work for me, and that have gotten me great shots of my very active 2 year old.

 So for all you mommy "fauxtographers" here are my tips for getting better photographs of your toddler.

1. Lighting

Lighting is probably one of the most important elements of getting a good picture. I love shooting outside in natural light, because it means you don’t have to use the flash, which sometimes causes ugly shadows and weird skin coloring. It’s best to find an area that’s not getting hit directly with sunlight, or you’ll wind up with a bunch of pictures of your child squinting. Overcast days are great. I also really love back-lit pictures. (This where the light is behind the subject.)

You can see here how the direct sunlight is causing some shadows on her face

(Easter last year by the way...she's getting so big!)

And here you can see in doors with no natural lighting through windows causing the flash going off is dark, and shadowy.( not a great picture, but perfect example)

Here this is better:

natural lighting coming through the sliding glass doors

( one of my favorite pictures)

Overcast sky, Don't worry about it being a little cloudy outside! See no Shadows on the face.

2. Stop Saying “Cheese”

Yes, asking everyone to say “cheese” creates a smile — a cheesy smile. In some of my favorite pictures of my daughter, she isn’t even looking at the camera. She’s in her own element, running around, having fun. This really helps to capture your child’s personality. You’re also more likely to get a picture of them with a genuine smile if they are in a good mood, rather than being forced to sit down and say “cheese.”



3. Take a Lot of Pictures

Like I said, I’m not a professional, so sometimes I have to take 20 pictures just have two or three that are good. So click, click, click away!
Also, as my daughter gets older, it’s getting a little more challenging to get her to sit still, and look at the camera. I used to be able to set her down, put whatever kind of bow I wanted her to wear in her hair, and take a great picture, because she couldn’t get up and walk away. Now I just keep snapping pictures until I get one that works.

 Most of the time I get Pictures of Ava's back, because she's running around like this:

OR this

But keep shooting because amazing stuff like this happens:

and This:

4. Get on Their Level

Getting at eye level with your child will help you capture the moment from their perspective. And isn’t that what taking photos of your kids is all about?

and This:



5. Use a Simple Background

Avoid clutter in the background. In my dining room, I have a huge window that lets in a lot of nice light. I open the blinds, close the curtains, set down a white blanket, and there you go: a nice little studio.
 You can always hang up a sheet if you don’t have solid colored curtains. I did this for my daughter’s Christmas pictures. I threw down a bunch of present bows, and she played with them in her little Christmas dress. The pictures came out great.



The Letter K

I love alphabet photography, I also love the weekly photo challenge over at Our Reflection. This week's theme is "letters."

Something about this type of photography speaks to my artistic/creative side. Finding something, in nothing is fun to me.

When looking for letters for this challenge I actually had about 3 cool ones, but something about this "K" stood out to me.

This letter actually came from a wooden gazebo that is on this little pond next to my husband's work. I happen to notice the wood work on it while driving by, and immediately thought I bet there is a letter on there.

So, I turned around to go look at it, and sure enough...

pretty Cool huh?

Here is where I'm linking up...

Come join in the fun!!

Childhood

 I'm so excited to be linking up to Our Reflection's Photo Challenge.

Linking up here

I thought this week's theme "childhood" was perfect for me. My daughter is my biggest inspiration, and the reason why I started getting into photography in the first place

 As I was trying to get a good picture of my active little 2 year old who doesn't sit still for pictures, and wants to do her own thing, I was remembering back to the days where I could set her down in whatever spot I wanted her, having her wearing whatever I wanted her to wear, while I snapped away.

 Taking pictures of a 2 year old means you have to get a little creative. So this is what I came up with

Me swinging her around in a circle with my camera around my neck, and the timer set!

I think it came out pretty cool, and I think it captures a moment where she's genuinely having a good time and being a kid!

******************************************

I'm also Linking up over at The Hollie Rogue for her Friday Photo linky

 

Alphabet photography

So I'm sure you all have seen this, but if you have no idea what I'm talking about, then here it is

alphabet photography...

So cool right! So me being me and thinking I can do everything myself went out today and attempted to do this myself!

(in case your wondering what this says... its Haulk my last name)

ehhh... OK so obviously its not printed out and framed all pretty and I'm not crazy about my K, but turns out K's are pretty hard to find...

Anyways practice makes perfect, and I have to admit I had a pretty fun time doing it. Its definitely a new hobby of mine. Next time I show you one of these it will awesome!

 

6 days left on the Sam Villa flat iron giveaway..If you haven't entered click here

Photography

This is my brother in law and his new wife.They were kind enough to let me do their engagement photos for them, even though I am super new to taking pictures. But hey I think I did a pretty good job!!