Taking pictures of your kids

Learning to take pictures of your kids is like mastering a form of martial arts. It takes time, patience, practice, and skills to really lock down the ability to get good pictures. To some, getting a good picture might not be that important, but to me photographs are the only way I can get time to hold still for a moment. It is so important to me to take great pictures of my kids, to really shoot the moment and pause it forever in an image for me to keep and look back on. I love having the memories, and I love knowing that someday my family will be able to look back on these moments and feel as if they are in them once again. I want to remember what my kids looked like when they were little, because I can't keep them little forever. I thank photographs for giving me the ability to remember clearly, and I am always trying to better my skills in order to make my memories even better. There are several things you have to do to get good pictures.

You must be a ninja. In that short moment that your little one is taking his first steps, you must shoot to the other side of the room and snatch the camera up from its resting spot. You then will need to quickly turn it on and focus right in on the subject. Be careful not to trip over toys during this process; this is a common problem I run into. For these purposes, you might want to keep your camera in an easy to reach place, somewhere you always know where to find it. The easier the camera is to get (for an adult that is - don't make it too easy to get or you may not have a camera for long), the easier it will be to catch all the right moments.



You have to be stealthy. It is imperative to sneak up on our kids when they are doing cute things, because if they know what you're about to do, they will immediately stop being cute. This is almost guaranteed. If you can hide the camera behind something, that would be even better. Babies would most of the time prefer to stare at your shiny camera instead of being cute for it. It is most unfortunate! There will always be those wonderful picture opportunities that were sadly missed - "the one that got away."

Act as ridiculous as you possibly can. When doing this, you are sure to capture precious smiles and laughs. Make as many outrageous faces and embarrassing noises as possible. Tell jokes, imitate cartoon characters, and punch stuffed animals in the face if you have to. If you have older children, bribe them! Tell them that if they give you a really nice smile, then they can have that cookie that they've been eyeing up on the kitchen counter. For teenagers, there's always the threat of looking nice unless they want you showing off a funny picture!

Most importantly though, have fun. A lot of the time, if you are having fun with your kids, the smiles and the good memories will come naturally and you won't have to do anything at all. Catch them playing with their favorite toys, or having a good time outside. Hug them, tickle them, and enjoy them. The pictures will come, and they will be easy to take.