How to Enhance Your Everyday Pictures || Tips

This isn’t a post for experienced photographers. This is a post for moms. Or, in my case, nanny. Just a short and simple How to Enhance Your Everyday Pictures. They might seem pretty obvious rules to you, but most parents don’t do them. I see countless parents snapping away at their children’s events, as happy as can be, and that’s awesome! Document your life. But if you want to make those pictures actually worth looking at again, make sure you’re doing these few simple rules.

Rule #1: Get down to their level. Towering over your child isn’t doing anything for them, and it just makes your pictures look blah. Crouch down and suddenly an ordinary shot is pretty darn cute. This is how they see the world, so experience it with them.

Rule #2: If you want to do action shots, just make sure your kid is in context. What if I had zoomed in on Evan and just captured him running? That would be sweet, but no one would remember what he was doing, or why he was so happy. It’s okay to get the other kids too, and giving your pictures a story really helps. Don’t go overboard though, you don’t want the whole gym in the picture. Just make sure it’s obvious what’s going on when you’re shooting movement.

Rule #3: Stop telling your kids to smile. Seriously. Stop it. You already know that when you say “Smile!” or “Say Cheese!” that the smile they give you isn’t nearly as cute as their real ones. Instead, pretend you’re about to tickle them (or really do), engage them in conversation, cheer them on like they just did something amazing, or give them something specific to do, like tickle daddy right behind you. Those are the smiles you really want anyway.

Rule #4: Get creative. Do you really need 40 images of Tommy playing his trumpet from that same angle? If you’re going to keep snapping away, at least try something new. Put something in the foreground, crouch down very low and shoot up, move to another spot, or take a picture of Grandma taking a picture of Tommy. Tell the story by getting creative. You’ll have more fun too.

Hope that helps!!!