My Best Tips for Taking Pics of Your Kids

It’s no secret I love taking pics of my girls. But I’d be lying if I said it is easy.

It’s taken years of practice to realize what works and what doesn’t.

After trial and error, here are my best tips for taking pics of your kids.

Remember Your Why

If we’re being honest, there are many times we take pictures on our phones without having an actual reason to.

We are so used to taking pictures of anything and everything that we sometimes forget why we are taking pics in the first place.

Personally, these are my whys:

• I want to remember special moments with my girls, such as fun events or award ceremonies.

• I want to remember my girls with the people they love.

• I want to remember my girls at various ages and stages.

Lower Your Expectations

We live in a picture-perfected curated world that makes it really easy to hold our kids to unattainable standards – especially when it comes to pictures.

Don’t expect your kids to always take perfect pictures!

For every picture you see on your social media feed, remember that the mom took several others and only posted the best one.

Instead, lower your expectations. If you capture your whys, that’s what matters.

Stop Lying to Get the Perfect Pic

I’d be lying if I claimed I never said, “Just one more pic!” to my girls.

However, I have learned (the hard way) that this hurts more than it helps.

Kids know you’re lying when you make this claim.

Instead, choose your words wisely, such as, “Once we get a picture with both of you looking in the same direction, we’ll be finished.”

Let Kids Be Kids

In our quest for perfect pics, we can sometimes try to force our kids to act older than they are.

Don’t do it.

Let kids be kids!

You’ll get much better pictures if you snap some while they are playing rather than forcing them to stand still and pose.

If they want to act silly, it’s okay! Kids are silly!

Don’t Force Smiles

If you try to force a smile, you’ll get a fake smile.

Don’t tell them to say cheese and don’t tell them to smile.

Instead, give them a reason to smile, such as telling a corny joke, and then snap the pic.

Bribery Works, Too

I am not above bribing my girls for a picture now and then.

Since we live in such a picture-heavy society (taking pictures constantly), I try to only use bribery for the pictures I really want, such as holiday pics.

The key is to keep the bribe small and to give clear rules.

For instance, you can’t say, “I’ll give you some M&Ms if you take a pic,” and then try to get kids to take twenty pictures until you get the perfect one.

Tell them what you are looking for, ask their suggestions, and tell them what you’ll give them as a reward.

Make Sure You Print Pictures

After all the hard work of getting the perfect pictures, don’t let them just sit on your phone or your computer.

Print them out and hang them up in your home!

If kids know the pictures you take will actually be used, they’ll be more willing to show off their photogenic personalities.

How to Take Perfect Fall Photos for Your Holiday Cards

It’s that time of year again – family photo season. Whether you love or hate getting your family’s photo taken, it has become a yearly tradition for many. Why? Because Autumn offers brilliant color palettes for photos. And also, because it is the right before you need to start addressing and sending all those photo Christmas cards.

At this point, fall family photography has become an art form. It can be overwhelming and stressful – especially for moms who tend to do all the planning when it comes to family photos. To make your lives easier, I am highlighting some of my favorite fall photo session tips for families.

Start with the location.

Before you do anything else – I mean anything – pick your location. Everything else for your photo session depends on where your picture will be taken. It will determine the type of photographer to hire, what to wear, etc. But don’t worry! The reason fall is so popular for family photos is that the season offers numerous optimal locations. For example:

• Pumpkin Patch – By far, one of the most popular options is to head to a pumpkin patch.

• Autumn Woods – If you are over the pumpkin patch, consider a wooded area where the autumn leaves are bursting with color.

• Orchards or Fields – Apple orchards and harvest fields also make great photo session locations.

Book a professional photographer.

Yes, I know you’ve gotten pretty good at taking pictures of your kids with your phone’s camera. But, if you want a photo that is going to appear on holiday cards and various walls in different homes, then you want to put the phone down and hire a professional. Plus, professional photographers know what they are doing when it comes to fall family photos! They know the best time of day to shoot and how to capture your kid’s personalities on camera.

Choose Mom’s outfit first.

In your family, who is typically the hardest to dress for a special occasion? I’m guessing it is you, Mom. Since you are the queen of the home and the one planning this whole thing, choose your outfit first. The more comfortable and beautiful you feel, the more relaxed you will be. And, once you have chosen your outfit, you can easily find outfits for everyone else.

Pick clothes for the rest of the family.

After Mom’s outfit has been selected, it is time to choose outfits for the whole family. You do want to coordinate, but there are some dos and don’ts.

• Avoid trendy pieces. I’m all about fashion trends, but I recognize that what looks great today might not look so stylish years down the road. Since family photos are meant to last, go with more timeless and classic looks.

• Do not go matchy-matchy. You want your family’s outfits to coordinate with one another – not to match. Matching colors and matching outfits are a thing of the past. Plus, it doesn’t look as good in photos as coordinated ensembles.

• Use subtle patterns only. You absolutely do not need to stick with just solids and avoid patterns. Embrace the patterns – just make sure they are subtle and not big or flashy.  

• Choose a color scheme. Decide on a color scheme before shopping. However, this does not mean you say everyone wears blue. Again, that is too matchy-matchy. Instead, select a palette of coordinating colors for different family members to wear.

Have picture ideas before the day of the shoot.

Finally, have ideas for some of the types of photos you’d like to take before the photoshoot. Spend time on Pinterest and send your photographer some examples of things you’d like to try at the shoot. Don’t try to remember the day of the shoot – trust me, you’ll forget.

It’s Time to Stop Looking at Your Pics Only on Your Phone and Print Them Out

Moms, we have a problem. We have started to rely solely on our phones to collect and store all of our precious photos. I’m guilty of this, and I bet you are, too. I take tons of pictures on my phone every day, but for what purpose? It’s not like I am printing them out or viewing them regularly. They are just taking up memory space on my phone.

I’m not telling you to stop taking pictures. No way! I think the ability to snap pics anytime we want is one of the best things about modern technology. What I am talking about is the fact that we don’t ever print them out. Why take all these pics if you aren’t ever going to see them? If you have countless photos stored on your phone but not on your walls, this one is for you.

Technology will fail.

We have all experienced a technology fail. As much as we would like to believe our photos are safe on our phones or our computers, these things crash, and our photos crash right alongside them. Plus, even if you have wisely uploaded all your photos to a cloud storage system, it doesn’t mean you will always have the technology to access and view them.

You will actually look at them.

If you are anything like me, you do look through photos on your phone. However, with the huge number of photos, you likely don’t go all the way back and look at photos from years ago. Who does that? Many moms rely solely on social media flashbacks to see their old pics. But, if you have them printed out, you will actually look at the pics from years past.

They make great gifts.

Few things make grandparents happier than receiving a printed photo of their grandkids. Just go ahead and make your life easier at the holidays by printing off a few of your best pics and purchasing a variety of frames.

They are the best ways to personalize your décor.

We all want our house to feel like a home. One way to achieve this is to personalize your décor using photos of your family. Now this will vary according to your style tastes. I don’t like a lot of clutter on my walls, but I still think you can very tastefully decorate with personal photos.

Your kids will thank you.

Let’s face it. Someday we will no longer be here, and our kids will want to have something physical to remember us by. Our photo albums and prints will be precious to them, just like we treasure our parent’s scrapbooks.

Here are some fun things to do with your prints:

• Old-fashioned photo album – There is nothing wrong with using an old-fashioned photo album to store your prints. The fact is it is a book you and your kids can look through from time to time – no need to be fancy unless you want to.

• Printed scrapbooks – There are so many companies, such as Shutterfly, that allow you to create customized scrapbooks online using your digital photos. For the moms who are the busiest, there is also Chatbooks, which regularly prints out your Instagram photos and send them to you in a book.

• Make stickers or postcards – In addition to the more traditional ways to print out photos, there are online companies which make it easy to turn your Instagram pics into stickers or postcards. These are perfect for school-aged kids!

• Create a gallery wall – As shown above, I recently used Storyboards to create a gallery wall in the breakfast nook of my home of some of my favorite pics. I am over the moon with how well it turned out! It was super easy and looks awesome.