How to Photograph a Toddler

I got into photography because of my child. Before she was born, I dabbled around with my camera and found a lot of joy in scrap booking.   When Sophie was born, there were no words to describe what I saw when I looked at her. So I picked up a camera and started taking tons of pictures.
Most were just alright, but a few really stood out as being really good.  I didn’t know how to use my camera yet, but a big problem was that I had no idea how to pose her. I’m a big believer in capturing children as they are, so for a good portion of every shoot, I’m on the ground snapping away as she played and interacted with other children.  Moms usually have tons of snapshots of their kids playing and running around – in short, being kids. But sometimes, you just want a really nice portrait of your toddler to send to the grandparents, perhaps modeling an outfit they sent your child. I thought I would post a few helpful tips for getting a great shot of your toddler, sitting still.  You can employ a couple tricks to get a good shot.  The first thing I did with Sophie was put her in a chair to prevent her from running off. Be careful, though, because chairs can swallow little people. I placed her on the edge of the seat,  (you can also wrap their feet around the rungs). This prevents them from becoming lost in the chair, and it keeps them in one place while you get your shot.
Another trick I like to use is keeping their hands occupied. If you have a toddler, you know that their hands are always in their mouths or on their faces. They chew on their fingers, they rub at their eyes, they muss their hair – all stuff I love to capture, but I also want to get shots of their faces too. Have them hold a stuffed animal or even a stick.  This will  keep their hands busy and away from their face. It will also give the picture that “childhood” look.  So, when taking a portrait of your toddler, try sitting her in a chair (on the edge so it doesn’t swallow her), and giving her a favorite toy or book to hold in her hands and keep her busy. That way you can capture them wearing the new outfit that grandma sent, or you can get a great shot of their first haircut – any number of little milestones or special occasions that you want to capture.
Another tip to getting a great shot is to place that chair in open shade outside – natural light makes for the best photos! If it’s cold outside (a distant memory right now), place the chair by a window in your house where a lot of natural light is coming in so you don’t have to use your flash.

Have fun shooting!

Newborn Photography

I had the opportunity to photograph a beautiful newborn baby girl.  She is just precious and after she got her belly full, she photographed beautifully.  The photos came out just like I wanted them too.  I love capturing newborns, those sleepy little eyes, and their sweet little bodies will pose and curl up just the way you want them too.  I love to capture every little part of them right down to their toes and fingers and the delicate touches of their faces.  They don't stay this small for long, so get all the photos you can while they are that little. 

My Baby Girl turns Three and We have an Emergency in Our Little Family

On Saturday, June 4th, my little girl, Sophie turned three years old.  Her and I had the morning planned out to go out to the Duck Pond and take her 3-yr pics, we wanted to get an early start since it was going to be a hot one that day.  Daddy was at work so we had the morning to ourselves.  I got her already and with camera and a water bottle in hand, we set out to do the photo shoot.  We scouted out the best "photographic" places and began the shoot, it was hot but my girl is a trooper when it comes to smiling for momma! After we completed the shoot, we headed to the Dollar Tree, bought a few treats and then got us some lunch. We headed home, ate our lunch and decided to get comfortable and wait for daddy to get home.  As I was looking over the pics I had just took of Sophie, I decided to delete some old photos on my memory stick, so I thought I protected all of Sophie's pics and hit delete and realized I deleted all the pics including Sophie's that I had just taken.  Oh great, what a fiasco, but my daughter being the sweet, awesome girl that she is, said don't worry momma, we can do them again. So since Daddy still wasn't home, I got her redressed and we headed to the duck pond again to reshoot her pictures.  While we were out on our second shoot, Daddy had an emergency.  My hubby suffered a heart attack, drove himself to the hospital and got there just in time for the doctors to save him.  They transported him to the heart hospital and rushed him into emergency surgery where they put a stint in.  Daddy is finally home after a 3-day stay in the hospital, he's resting and taking it easy.  It's scary to think we almost lost him, but we're sure glad we didn't and nothing makes us happier than to have him home with us.  What a day, we are now teasing him that the reason he had a heart attack is because he's stressed that his little girl is growing up! Happy health everyone!