Lovelies, I am so excited about today's guest post from Gini, a mom of two from Atlanta. She's a MWAC: a mom with a camera! She's sharing her tips for being a click-happy mom today;
what are your tips for photographing your kids?
You just had a baby.
That baby is the most beautiful thing you have ever seen. You want to look at her all the time. You want to capture every. single.
moment. You are about to become...dun,
dun, dun, A Mom with a Camera! MWACs
have gotten a bad rap for stealing business from professional photogs, but in
this posting, I’m just going to give you some simple tips for taking lovely
pictures of your sweet bundle of joy.
These tips and your efforts won’t replace the skill and knowledge of a
professional photographer, and you should definitely have some professional
shots done if that is within your means.
But if it’s not, or just not your thing, read on to find out how to
capture printable memories for all to enjoy.
Let me backtrack a bit to the night my husband and I brought
our first born home. We left the
hospital, stopped by the pharmacy to pick up those all important pain meds for
mommy’s c-section pain, and drove up at home.
Daddy carried baby into the house while I took some shots with our
little (great, but small) point and shoot camera. We got settled in and my husband looked at me
and said those fateful words, “I think we need to get a better camera.” Off to Best Buy he went the next day and home
he came with the base model Canon Rebel xs.
This is his first shot ever:
Just look at that beautiful baby girl. We were hooked! A few months pass and he suggests I pick up
the camera and learn to use it. So I
did. Here’s what I learned:
1)
Read your camera’s manual and become familiar with the
settings on your individual camera. Canons and Nikons are set up differently,
so I won’t run through all of the settings here.
2)
TURN OFF THE FLASH!
No one needs flash. It’s harsh
and unflattering. It wakes and startles
babies. It throws shadows where no
shadows need go. Just turn it off. Natural light is best. It’s soft, forgiving, and it glows. Get in front of a window, go outside, up your
ISO. What’s that you say? What the heck is ISO? Keep reading...
3)
Up your ISO. ISO
settings depend on the amount of light you have coming into the camera. If you’re in a low light setting, you need a
higher ISO. However, higher ISO settings
introduce noise into your photos, which is basically that grainy look some
pictures have. You can walk the fine
line between high enough ISO and low enough noise, or you can use a software
program like Lightroom or Photoshop to help reduce the noise afterwards. In the meantime, you can put the ISO setting
on auto, or manually adjust it and play around with it to get the look you
want.
4)
Up your aperture, which actually means to dial down the
number. Upping your aperture opens
little “eye” of your camera, allowing for that lovely blurred background. This helps fade away any unsightly burp
cloths, dirty diapers, or other hallmarks of a new mom’s unattended house!
5) Make
baby comfy. You can use all sorts of
fancy props, but if they aren’t comfy, baby won’t cooperate. Same goes with the timing of your shoot. You'll want baby to have a full belly and be
sleepy. You can use pillows, blankets,
rolled up towels, baskets, even your own bed to create a photo worthy
backdrop. I used an ottoman piled with those
thin pillows from the hospital, a heating blanket on low covered with towels,
and then my fluffiest, softest baby blanket.
Here’s my second born in a basket:
I used a length of felt draped over a bench in front of the
large window in the front of our house.
Above all else, just get in there and take some pictures. You can work at your skills while you are
taking pictures of your little sweetie, engage in a little trial and error, and
come out with some winners here and there!
I practiced as I went and have awesome friends and family that have been
my guinea pigs. Good luck!
I’ll leave you with a few of my favorites I’ve taken over the
past few years, and hope they inspire you to become an MWAC!
I’m a 37 year old mommy to Kenerly (4) and Graham (1). I teach middle school special ed and live in
the metro Atlanta area. I’ve been
married for 12 years to Michael, and it just keeps getting better and
better. My passions are teaching,
reading, crafting, and photography. You can find Gini on Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook.
Great tips and lovely photos:) I'm going to put your suggestions to use when #2 arrives soon:) I tend to just use my iPhone camera, but I think many of your tips can still apply.
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