5 tips to improve your "Mom" photography skills

Hi there! As a mom, I know how important it is to record and photograph your children on a regular basis. You want to have as many images as possible to remember each stage of their childhood. Of course, I’m sure you hire a professional photographer at least once a year or so to have professional and beautiful images of your kids. However, you can’t have a pro photographer every milestone or every cute moment they have. This is why a mom and a camera go hand in hand. But, how to make your photographs look better? Here are 5 ways to make your images look 10 times better!

Get down to your kids level

A lot of moms just grab their phone or camera and start taking photos as they are either standing or sitting on the couch. Even though what you kid is doing is very cute (maybe crawling, walking, reading or just playing) you are not getting much of your kids face expressions. Even though you can see what your little one is doing, it’s not an exciting photo if all you see is the top of their head. How to fix this? Get down! Lay down with them on the floor or carpet of your home. When you take photos like that, it’s like taking pictures of what the world looks like to them. Look at the example below. If I would’ve taken this photo standing, then I would’ve missed her face and never captured her smile. On the photo below, I’m literally laying on the floor.

Look for beautiful light

I like to recommend to take photos by a window in your home. That will always give you beautiful light. When you do that, make sure you turn off the lights in your home. You don’t want to have a mix of color of light. If you are taking photos outside, you can use a shaded area, maybe by a wall or under a tree. In the photo below, the girls were under a tree and also, there was beautiful backlight and that helped a lot.

Turn your photos to black and white

I LOVE black and white images, but also, it’s a trick we use when we have photos with not the most excellent light situations. Maybe you have some mix of different light (like window light and kitchen light), and your photo will have two different colors in them. Fix? Turn them to black and white. They will still look beautiful without the distraction of 2 different colors. In the photo below, there weren’t many light issues but turning this photo to black and white just gave it a different look I loved!

Learn to do a little editing

If learning Photoshop or Lightroom intimates you, I get it. Photoshop intimates me… still! But that doesn’t mean that there aren’t many websites that make editing too simple for some of us. Of course, I use Photoshop and Lightroom for all of my client’s photos. But now and then I like to use PicMonkey for some pictures I have to edit on my phone or just to play around. Picmonkey gives you effects you can use in your photos, and you can choose how light or heavy you want that effect in your photos. They offer a free version of their program and a paid version with a lot more tools. Below is an example of a photo I edited in Picmonkey. Not too bad, right?

Remember it’s not all about the smile

Some days your little one will not smile, and that is ok. Just because you are in the mood for photos, doesn’t mean your kid will be in the mood for pictures. It’s ok to take candid photos of them focusing on their favorite activities, like coloring, playing with cars, reading or whatever play activity they like to do. They don’t have to be looking at the camera. They can just be themselves, and you can photograph that moment for a sweet memory. In the example below, my daughter didn’t even know this photo was being taken. She is not looking at the camera and there is no smile and yes, I find this image beautiful! It shows my daughter exploring this place, doing her thing. I’m happy with that!

I hope these tips were helpful. I want to make it my goal to share some of my knowledge to help other moms (and dads too!) to improve their photography for the sake of better and beautiful priceless memories.

Have any questions on how to take better photos? Ask us! Ask below, and we will answer!