Do you have a gazillion pics of your kids, but few that include you? The Cool Moms I’ve featured struggle to find a recent photo of themselves. Caroline is almost 4 and I think I have one picture of just the two of us that I love.
I asked Ashley, a great photographer, for some advice on capturing those frame-worthy moments. My tip, learned the hard way: Take a shower, fix your hair, put on make up. Your kids will always look great, so worry less about their outfit and spend the time on yourself. Read on for Ashley’s great tips!
P.S. Don’t you love her photos? You can see more of her work here. And no, that’s not me in the photos – but isn’t the little girl adorable?!
Having a family photo taken should not be a dreaded experience for a mom, but let’s face it, it almost always is. I photograph a lot of families and while it’s always hard to get everyone looking good on the count of three, moms have a particularly trying time. Here are a few tips to make the shoot more enjoyable and create photographs that won’t make you cringe.
- Think Ahead: Planning ahead will allow you be comfortable in front of the camera. That’s why children always photograph so well, they have so few worries compared to adults! Have toys around that you know your kids love so the photographer can use them in a pinch. Style your hair so that strands can’t make a run for it when you are in the middle of the action. Make sure the kids are dressed appropriately for the weather if shooting outside.
- Posture and pose: It’s easy to forget to stand up straight with with your shoulders back when you have one child balanced on your hip and another child leaning against your knees. Use your core while holding a child so that you’re not leaning over to balance the weight of the baby. Slightly angle your body so that it’s not parallel to the camera for a flattering angle and put your weight on your back leg to help improve posture.
- Clear Vision: If you can’t see the camera, the camera can’t see you. I know it’s obvious but occasionally parents believe that their child’s head makes a great window when really it’s better used as a wall.
- Look at the Camera: If you and your child are in position, don’t be so concerned with making your kid smile. That’s the photographer’s job. I cannot tell you how many great group shots are ruined because the parents are looking at their children instead of at the camera. It’s hard enough to snap a shot when the child has a natural smile but having to worry about other family members looking down at the child makes a group shot almost impossible.
- Lens Perspective: Whatever is closest to the lens will be the biggest in the photograph, proportionally speaking. If you are not so happy with the size of your upper arms, be sure that they are not the closest body part to the camera. If they are it will surely draw attention to that area of the body.
Photos via Ashley
Awesome topic! I was practically born with a camera in my hand. However, unless there is a non-family member around, I'm never in the "family" pictures. Our family pictures consist of my husband and our daughter. I know most rules of photography and have been subtly teaching my husband my tricks of the trade. But my own portrait is still somewhat taboo, since I am so gosh darn picky!New Follower from the Hop a Little Tuesday Hop:)Cheers!Courtney
Ugh! I always take the pictures of Finn and his dad and try to avoid being in them – such a good topic – I mean, maybe I can get over myself so that Finn can have a picture of me when I was "Mama" (!)
great tips, always looking for those! new follower from tara's hop! come visit soon.xo-kelli & kristi http://www.lollyjane.com
love the tips! hi, am a new follower; hope you can follow back :)mymyMy bric-a-brac
great tips New gfc follower from hop. If you get a chance please stop by my blog and return the favorhttp://www.mommywantstoread.blogspot.comMelissa
love the blog…. I missed the hop can you kindly follow back!!! http://www.houseofhansens.blogspot.com
Hi, Doing the blog it forward hop,liking where I can, joining where I can, sharing, stumbling, subscribing…you got it I will click. Have a great day!
Thanks so much for hopping on the Tuesday Train!! I'm following you back!
Blog hopping today and am your newest follower. I hope that 1 of my blogs interests you too.http://tawnasplan.blogspot.com http://btrbb.blogspot.com http://tawnassecret.blogspot.com I also do a weekend blog hop, you can link up your blog, twitter, FB, blog frog community etc on tawnasplan.blogspot.com open every Friday-Sunday!ThanksTawna
We need to have a family picture taken so bad!! I hate pictures of myself always, but I do make sure we have good ones of our son. Thanks for the tips! : )
I'm a new follower from Tigger Tuesday blog hop (GFC). Please follow me back and you will find FREE information on all sorts of money issues.Malindahttp://malindawinkle.blogspot.com
Awesome photos!!!!!I'm always BEHIND the camera, and my hubby is apparently allergic to the camera, so I have almost NO pictures of me – either alone, or with the kids. I think I'm going to set up an annual photog appointment every fall!!Thanks for riding the train today!The Survival Mama
Ah yes! The last family photo we took, my son was 3 months old and we haven't had a family photo since. He is now 2. Actually we took one in front of our tree at Christmas. I suppose it was a decent photo…but I would prefer an out doorsy photo, like your beautiful pics! Very nice! And your daughter is adorable!!I'm following from the Totally Tuesday blog hop! I would love for you to follow back!Heather From and Mommy Only Has Two Hands!
lol recently I did a post a post about my birthday, which was unusal because I almost never blog about myself – and trying to find pictures of myself took longer than it did to write the post! If I am lucky enough to get featured in a photo I'm usually looking at the camera with a gaping, stupid smile, trying to get my kids as excited as me to look at the camera. It's humiliating lol