DOCUMENT YOUR LIFE: HOW TO TAKE PICTURES OF YOUR KIDS

Hi friends! I just finished a four-part blog series of super quick tips to document your life during the little years. I want to recap it all in one place right here for you!

1. Take Pictures during NAPTIME. Get close on the details and get far away to capture many things at once. Up close, focus on things like fingers, toes, eyelashes, dimples, drool… Far away focus on the many things like the furniture, wall decor, tablescapes, and whatever else is in the background. If your kids are past the sleeping naptime stage, take pictures of them up close as they do “their thing: whatever that is.” Hair styles and freckles shan’t be forgotten.
2. Get Outside and Take a Nature Walk with your kids. Stay behind them or run ahead and just observe. See where they set their interest and what they find. Let them get curious and ask good questions. Photograph when they run ahead, when they squat down to inspect something little. Photograph when they climb high or disappear into the brambles. And, be sure to snap pictures of their favorite discoveries (we found raspberries and butterflies and insects and a garter snake sunning up high on a bush) Don’t force them to smile at you or say “cheese” as that takes away from the story.
3. All those things they’ll lose but claim are their favorite toy? The Lego you’ve stepped on and cringed. The creation they built with wooden blocks. Snap pictures of their things! Even the hats, boots, crocs or swimming goggles. You’ll want to stack up their favorite books or snap a picture of their bedside shelf with their special things on it. All the babies in a cradle, lovingly smothered… take their picture too. Don’t ask them to smile at you or say “cheese” as that takes away from the story.
4. The everyday ordinary household things like mealtime prep and chores. These will be harder to think of because they do them so often you don’t even realize it’s worth documenting. It is. Are they in classes on the computer? Study on their beds? Known around the house for a certain helpful habit like folding towels or sorting socks? Snap that picture of them carrying the load of laundry! Don’t ask them to smile at you or say “cheese” as that takes away from the story.

Thanks for joining me on this little adventure. I hope you have a great set of starter ideas to get the camera pointed on the everyday extra-ordinary mundane…   

POST YOUR PICTURES ON INSTAGRAM with the hashtag #documentordinary and TAG ME @amykatephotography! 

Be sure to check out all the other posts in the series DOCUMENTING LIFE, Pictures parents can take!

Each post has pictures as examples I’ve snapped this summer in our everyday life filled with ordinary moments. 

1. PART ONE In the first post, I shared with you some photos from the couch of the elusive toddler NAPTIME. 
2. PART TWO I shared with you a NATURE WALK WITH THE KIDS where we hiked out and found some raspberries.
3. PART THREE I shared with you some photos and ideas of ways you can capture their actual THINGS LIKE TOYS, CLOTHING and SNACKS.
4. PART FOUR I shared with you some ways to document the ordinary everyday things like chores and household things.