In a perfect world we would be able to have professional photos of all of the best moments of life. Every child’s first laugh or first steps would be documented in amazing lighting and be perfectly in focus, worthy of hanging on your walls. But that’s not reality for the majority of us who aren’t Kim Kardashian being followed by the paparazzi. So, here are 5 tips for taking your own family photos that I’ve compiled from my experience as a family and baby photographer.
Tip #1 – Lighting
Photography literally means to write with light. You cannot have a great photo without using light, and the pros know how to make even the hardest lighting situation work for them. So my tip is to find good light when you can. Have your baby facing the window inside, or put them in the shade outside where there is nice, even light.
Tip #2 – Less Is More
Less distractions, that is. The more you can ensure that your kiddo is in fact the focus of your photo, and not the random neon colored object to the left of them, the better your photo will be! This can mean cropping out distractions or zooming in closer. Or it could mean moving things in the background or moving your kiddo all together if the situation allows!
Tip #3 – Don’t Say Cheese!
Have you ever noticed when you tell your kids to say cheese, they give you the fakest smile EVER!? The cheese smile is not what you are after, you want actual laughs! You know how to get those smiles out of them better than anyone else, so do those things and then click the shutter and you’ll get much better smiles!
Tip #4 – All About The Babies
This tip is geared towards taking photos of new babies. Don’t attempt any of the cute hands-in-chin type photos you see on Instagram without a professional. A lot of those photos are actually composites of multiple images, and you don’t want to risk hurting your baby! Leave the cute poses to the pros and stick to taking photos of your baby in their natural state.
Tip #5 – Just Take The Photo!
You can always delete a photo, but you can’t have a photo that was never taken! Photos are sometimes the only thing you have left of a person, besides your memories, and those fade. So just take the photos. Take them for yourself. Take them for your kids. Just take them!
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