February half term is here, and what a welcomed break it is after the January slog. I'm excited to have some family time together and to get out and about. I read somewhere recently that we get roughly 940 weekends with our children before they fly the nest, 260 of them already gone by the time they turn five. I'm not usually one for statistics, but these ones pretty much freaked me out. Caleb turns six in April, I daren't even do the math.
This half term break just got a whole lot more precious, and it's making me want to dust my camera off and get those real memory maker pictures. Not capturing anything fancy, just my boys as they are right now at this age. You know, before they ditch us and fly the nest in however many weekends ;).
A lovely side effect of blogging, is how much I've learnt (through trial and error!) about photographing my children and interiors. We recently teamed up with,
White Stuff to photograph their new kidswear range,
Stuff & Wonder, and we had so much fun doing so. Having two very active boys, I am always on the look out for well made, comfortable, yet stylish clothing, and this collection does not disappoint. Made mostly from 100% cotton the clothing is super soft and durable, the perfect combination for little ones. The range has been a hit with my boys, who are very particular about what they wear, so it's nice to find a brand that we both love.
Whilst giving you a sneak peek of,
White Stuff's new children range. I thought I'd also share with you some of my tips and tricks on how to photograph children, and how to get the most out of your images, whether you're using a camera or camera phone. You don't need fancy equipment to capture beautiful pictures of your children, with a few techniques you can start to capture more natural shots of your little ones, the type of shots you'll treasure for years to come.
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| 100% Cotton // Volley Knit Jumper |
ONLY TAKE PICTURES IF YOUR CHILDREN ARE HAPPY FOR YOU TO DO SO //
A fairly obvious point, but sometimes when there's a special event, like a birthday, we can't help but beg for that picture or smile from our children. Thanks to blogging I learnt very early on that this is not going to get you that special capture you so crave for, you're more likely to get a grumpy child, and no one wants that. I'd much prefer no capture at all than one of them looking uncomfortable and unhappy, regardless if it's their birthday or not. I find that by respecting their wishes when they don't want to be photographed, means that when they actually do, that's when you get the best kind of pictures. The pictures of them happy and having fun, which leads me to my next point...
DON'T GET FRUSTRATED IF THEY'RE ON A CAMERA STRIKE //
Children will go through phases of not wanting their pictures taken, don't let that stress you. It's more important that your child is happy and enjoying their time than you capturing the day. It's all swings and roundabouts and they'll be begging before long to have their photograph taken once more.
CAPTURE CHILDREN IN THEIR NATURAL HABITAT //
I tend to only take pictures when my boys are fully immersed in a task, whether that's playing with their toys or throwing stones into a river, it can be anything. I personally love their expressions when they're fully absorbed in something as you'll capture that little frown of concentration or the beginnings of a smile. For me it feels like catching a fleeting moment in time, these always end up my favourite captures.
WANT TO CAPTURE MORE EVERY DAY SHOTS OF YOUR CHILDREN? SET UP LITTLE PLAY AREAS //
I personally like to capture pictures of my boys at home, it's these little every day moments that I know I'll treasure in years to come. Big birthdays, you remember, but the every day stuff fades so quickly.
I particularly love photographing my boys together, but rather than ask them to awkwardly stand next to each other for a picture (where you'll be lucky if both boys' eyes are on the camera), I'll instead set up little play areas. They happily play while I snap away, they're my favourite type of captures. Normal every day stuff, but to this sentimental old mum, really special.
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| Denin Style // Lets Go Joggers |
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| Archie // Ace Hoodie Rugby Red |
TAKE A LOT! //
Ahh the beauty of modern day photography, you can snap to your hearts content. Children are fast paced little creatures so I find the more pictures I take the more likely I'll have a few precious ones I'll want to keep. Also, I find the more pictures you take the less bothered children become of the camera. Ironically, if you're just quietly snapping away with no coaxing this is when they start to give the camera more eye contact. Seize that opportunity when it arises!
GET THEM INVOLVED //
This works particularly well for the camera shy! Let them take pictures of you or things that they want to photograph. I always ask them if there's anything they think I should be taking pictures of too. It becomes a lovely activity for us all to get involved with and I've found their interest in photography is ever growing. They pick cracking shots too...
LET THEM WEAR CLOTHING THEY LOVE //
This is a particularly good point if your wanting to capture your children on a special occasion, like their birthday. In the past I've picked their clothing thinking to myself how cute it will look in pictures. This hasn't always gone down well with my two. However, if they pick their clothing themselves they're much more likely to want to be photographed in them. Ahhh vanity comes to us all young ;). Of course this may mean your child might spend their fourth birthday wearing swim shorts and the top half of Captain America, but I guarantee this will make the pictures all the more priceless.
HAVE FUN! //
Don't think about getting the perfect shot, there's no such thing with children involved. Kids are balls of energy and the best type of pictures are the ones that capture that. This is my favourite one of Archie (pictured above), because it is him all over, a bit of a ham and a show off!
GENTLE DIRECTION //
I tend to avoid directing my boys in pictures, for the obvious reason that most kids tend to do the opposite as to what their parents ask ;). However, if my boys are relaxed and really loving the camera this is when I seize my opportunity to gently direct. In the above picture I suggested they sit on huge log we were passing overlooking the loch, if they'd said no, my picture idea would have not happened, and we would carried on walking. Simple as that. This time however, they said yes and I'm so glad they did as I was able to capture some of my favourite shots of them to date. All the stars aligned. It's rare! So enjoy those moments when they happen.
I hope you've found this post useful, I'll do a more in depth post about what camera and camera phone I use, and how I edit. Any questions you have feel free to ask!
*this post is in proud sponsorship with White Stuff, as always all thoughts and opinion are my own.
