On Saturday, we went to my parents’ house to watch a UK basketball game. My friend Audrey came too, and got to meet Jace for the first time. Her daughter Olivia loved him.
Sunday, we had our usual lazy day around the house. Got some cleaning done, watched TV, and enjoyed out time together before the craziness of the week began.
I can’t believe he is five weeks old today. FIVE WEEKS! Please just stay this size for awhile, little guy.
I think I might frame this one…
Love.
I get a lot of questions and comments about my photos. I don’t know why… I’m pretty hard on myself about the pictures I take and can usually find something about it I could have done differently or better, or dislike a picture that others seem to think is great. I don’t consider myself a photographer, an expert, or anywhere close. But I do love to capture moments in my kids’ lives in the best way I can, and have done a lot of research, reading and studying, tutorial reading and watching, trial and error, and most importantly, learning how my camera works. So, if you want to learn how to take better pictures of your kids… I may have some tips for you. And you DON’T have to have a fancy camera to apply these simple principles to your photography!
1. Lighting is everything.
This is the one that will make the biggest difference in the quality of your photographs. Take a look at these three pictures and think about which one you would rather have in the baby album:
In this picture, it was at night and the living room lamp was on. Indoor lights usually cause a color cast like this yellow hue over the whole photograph, including skin tones.
I took this picture at night in my bedroom… I knew my lamp would cause everything to look yellow so I used the flash, but the effect wasn’t much better. Flashes, at least the kind that come built-in to your camera, make skin look washed out and unnatural, over-expose parts of your picture (make them look way too bright), not to mention startle sleepy babies!
In this picture, I moved his Sleep N’ Play near the living room window when daylight was pouring in.
I don’t know about you, but my choice is #3. Natural light is always best. Your eyes are your best tool in choosing a time and location to take the best pictures of your kids. Use them before you click!
Even with natural light, there are some things you can do to make the picture even better…
I had layed Jace down on the floor by the window and took this picture. After I took it, I noticed there was a harsh shadow over most of his face. I tried moving him around on the floor a bit and wasn’t happy with the lighting so I moved him into his swing, located by the same window but a few feet off the floor. I turned him a bit, paying attention to where the light was falling on his face, and then took this one when I was happy with how his whole face was lit up, and the catchlights (bright reflections) in his eyes:
Much better!
2. Get on their level.
There are exceptions to every rule, especially this one. Great photos can be taken at any level! But I’ve found that when photographing children, if you just kneel down or bend your knees a bit so that the camera is at eye level, the photo is so much better. Too many times, we take pictures towering over the child instead of really getting down at their level and capturing the moment.
3. Get up close and fill the frame!
Before you click, ask yourself if the picture would look better closer up. Don’t be afraid to zoom in or move your feet!
I know that’s not technically a kid… but in our house she counts!
5. Little things can say a lot.
Capture those details! Get up close, use the macro feature on a hand or foot, take a picture of the action and what your child is doing instead of the child’s face. These are my favorite kinds of pictures because they can really tell a story.
There are so many aspects of photography that you can use to better your pictures, but I think keeping these basic ideas in mind are a great start! Honestly there are no bad pictures when it comes to your kids, so the most important thing to remember is to simply take pictures and capture moments, because they grow so quickly.
Leave your own ideas or questions in the comments section!
I’m so lucky to have four amazing Valentines this year.
Five, if I include Harley.
Tuesday morning, Joe and I gave the girls their Valentine’s Day gifts. We try to keep it simple, although since this is the one holiday we get credit for the gifts it’s tempting to go all out. They got new shirts to wear that day, necklaces, fuzzy socks, a little candy, and “The Lady and the Tramp”.
I took all three of the kids with me and went to help Summer’s class with their Valentine’s Day Friendship Celebration. I was in charge of helping them make creatures with paper hearts. Fun! Jace was really good, and Camryn got to go around all the centers with Summer. She loved it and everyone seemed to have a good time.
Camryn, Jace, and I came home after that and spent some time with Joe before he had to leave for work. It was weird having him leave and be gone all day on Valentine’s Day, but we’re getting used to his schedule and it helps knowing that it will only last a year.
Summer and Camryn have this quote stenciled on their bedrooom wall. I love it.
My sweet girls.
I wanted a picture of all three, but you know how that goes. I fed him after this attempt, and then he was happy. But of course the girls were over picture taking by then, so this is it.
Little Casanova.
I am so in love with my littlest Valentine.
I hope you all had a great day full of love and chocolate!
When I was planning Jace’s nursery, I knew I wanted it to be unique, clean, and somewhat modern. I didn’t have a specific theme in mind, just colors – a dark teal, and white.
It took me a really long time to choose bedding. After a lot of thought and hours on Pinterest and Etsy, I decided that a plain white crib sheet and bedskirt were the way to go. Since bumpers were out of the picture due to the increased risk of SIDS using them creates, and I wanted a clean look in the room, it made sense to keep it simple.
Without a theme or bedding set, and with the challenge of creating a unique, clean, and modern look in the room, I knew we needed to get creative with the crib mobile. I’d spent some time on Etsy looking at handmade mobiles and didn’t see why I couldn’t make one myself. I employed the help of my mom and aunt Susan, and we got to work over the next several weeks creating an owl and star mobile.
All the materials were purchased at Hobby Lobby… dowel rods, little hooks, felt, stuffing, and embroidery thread.
It looks so cute in there. I’m going to get a few better pictures tomorrow, from farther back in the room to get a better perspective, and I’ll add it to this post, so check back!
Here is a felt pillow I made with our first “test owl”. So cute!
I live for the weekends right now… Joe is home, we have no where to rush to early in the morning, and we can do whatever we want.
Saturday we decided to go see a movie. After trying to see Journey 2: The Mysterious Island after lunch and it being sold out, we went ahead and bought tickets for the next showing that wasn’t sold out… which happened to be pretty late, around 10pm. I was a little apprehensive about going that late, especially with small kids, but it was the weekend and I always encourage spontaneity, so we went for it.
We took naps that evening to prepare for being out so late, and then went out to eat. Around 9pm, we headed to the movies. It was super crowded, but we had our tickets already with assigned seats, so it was no big deal. I had Joe take a picture with my horrible camera phone. Of course Camryn’s eyes were closed. I was nursing Jace… best way to keep a newborn quiet in the movie theater!
The movie was pretty good (there was a miniature elephant!), and the kids did great.
Sunday we did what we do best… nothing.
Joe told me if I post those I’m in huge trouble… so don’t tell him.
Summer has been hard at work on her valentine’s. Her teacher asked that the kids make their valentine’s instead of using the store-bought kind. It’s been pretty time-consuming but I do think it was a great idea to have them make them.
Take a good look at these teeth… the two on the bottom in the middle are loose!
Love.
