5 Tips for Taking Your Own Family Photos

  Much to the dismay of my children I try to get a family photo once a year. I tell myself that someday they will appreciate all the photos I insist on taking...I hope. This year we took our family photo at the same time we did our back to school photo shoot. On a Sunday afternoon in August we loaded our minivan with a few props, our DSLR camera, a tripod, my phone, and a few extra clothes.

1. Be prepared. I spent a lot of time getting ready for our photo shoot. Most of that time was spent on Pinterest looking for poses and color palettes. When I found a pin that I liked (and that would work for our family) not only did I pin it but I also took a screen shot of the pose with my phone. We referred to the screen shots on my phone for every pose. That is easier for me than trying to get into Pinterest and find 'that one pose' that I liked. I also got props ready, clothes ready, and made sure we had a clean memory card and a full battery. Doing all of these things ahead of time helped to get the photo shoot done quickly so the kiddos were less likely to be impatient.
2. Take lots of photos. Don't count on all the photos to turn out, even if  they look good on the preview screen. Take a few photos of each pose. 
3. Go to more than one location. We went to two locations (I wanted to go to a 3rd but the kids lost interest and I knew a 3rd location would be a waste of time). I like to chose one location that has more of a 'nature' feel to it and one location that has a building or more of an industrial feel to it. Make sure to pay attention to the lighting. I recommend going late in the day for the best lighting.
4. Let the kids make some of the choices. I let my kids have a say in the whole ordeal. BUT when I gave them a choice I had to make sure that I was going to be okay with either of their choices. For example, I gave my boys a choice of 2 shirts they could wear but I knew that I would be okay with either of the shirts they chose. I also let them choose where we went. I let them choose which of the two locations they would like to go to first.
5. Have Fun! I can usually get a good photo from my kids if I let them take a silly one. It depends on the mood as to whether we get the good photo before or after the silly one. Make sure everyone is well rested and fed before you go. 

We had LOTS of photos that didn't turn out...sometimes someone was blinking.

 

 Sometimes the timer went off before we were ready...(Aka, my oldest didn't want to take any more pictures. This was not his best day).

 Some of the photos were good but just not exactly how I wanted them to turn out.

 in this one Cole needed to sit up higher. He was a little hidden by my shoulder. Austin needed to put his foot back. See, nothing major, just a little off.

 I thought this pose was a little awkward. If I do this one again, I would put the little man on Daddy's back, not mine.

 I really like this one! I'm thinking of framing this one for our bedroom. What do you think?

All in all, I love how our photos turned out. It was a LOT of work but I would do it again. It's much cheaper than hiring a photographer. If you haven't seen the framed canvas project that I did with our photo you can see it HERE.
Do you get family photos taken each Fall? Do you hire a photographer or take them yourself?

Back to School Photo Ideas

Let's Talk about going Back to School!!

Today is day one of  four giving you tons of ideas for getting the kids ready to go Back to School. Tuesday-Friday of this week it's all about "Back to School" Today we're talking about Back to School photos
It's that time of year again, summertime is coming to an end so it's time for the kids to get Back to School. I LOVE this time of year. I'm a sucker for school supplies. I love all the pens, paper, crayons, markers, binders, paper clips...you get the idea. Back to School photos are my favorite photos. period. I look forward to taking photos of my kiddos (and nieces and nephews) dressed in their back to school best and usually with a huge grin on their faces...at least at the beginning of the photo shoot they have a grin on their face.

Here are a few photos from previous years that are my favorites. (get ready for LOTS of photos) Did I mention Back to School Photos are my favorites?

 This year we combined our Back to School photo shoot with our family photos (gotta love the self timer feature on the camera). I did manage to get a few good shots even though I had some very unhappy kids that afternoon.

 This is my personal favorite out of all the photos I took this year:

My sister sent me THIS pin and said that it was a must have for my daughter. She knows that my little girlie always has her nose in a book.
I love it because it captures her so perfectly. I'm still laughing about it because the book I brought for her to use as a prop (A Tree Grows in Brooklyn), she fell in love with. She's read it twice since we used it as a prop for this photo. 

Before your kiddos go Back to School (or even if they've already started). Grab the camera, a few props, tell the kiddos to get their favorite Back to School outfit on and take a few photos. If you'd like a few more ideas you can check out my Back to School photo shoot Pinterest board for a few more ideas.

Happy Tuesday!