Fun fact, my kids are why I started photography. When my daughter was born 14 years ago, I was gifted my very first camera (a Nikon D3100, I'll never forget you!). As a stay at home mom, I loved just documenting our days. The best images were when she wasn't looking. It was authentic, it was effortless, it was real life and that's what I wanted to remember. Fast forward 14 years later, I still LOVE to do this. And no, you don't NEED a professional camera either!

Think about your kids. What do you like to do together? What are their favorite toys? For us, we love to bake together and he loves his farm animals (this is forever changing but how stinkin' cute is it when they play pretend?). It may even be something as simple as making hot cocoa and snuggling up on the couch. This seems like a boring thing to take pictures of but look how precious they actually are to look back on. You want to remember this stuff, I promise! That's why we embrace the ordinary.

the ordinary

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02.

watch the light

Light is important for a good photograph. Avoid artificial light at allllll costs. Open your curtains and let that beautiful natural light in! Pay attention to which time day it comes in best in each and every area of your home. This is when you want to take pictures. Natural light makes for a better quality and better colored image.

03.

editing is key

angles

Shooting from different angles as well as switching from far away to close up, adds a story telling vibe to images. One of my favorite angles to photograph is from slightly behind a wall (making sure the wall is off to the side while centering and focusing the image on my subject, which would be my kiddo). This adds an intimate story telling element to the photograph.

There’s a reason I don’t give out unedited photos (besides you know, the fact that editing is just part of my job lol!). Editing enhances images. It can make a flat photo pop. It instantly adds emotion and life to an image. View the two images below, which one are your eyes drawn to more?