By, Sarah N.
I love photographing everyday, messy moments with my children. I also love fine art and portrait photography. But I REALLY love when those things come together to create a beautifully captured memory. I want the photos I take to show what real life is like with my kids, but in an artistic and timeless way. Keep reading for some of my tips that can help you photograph your own beautiful mess. (All of the photos in this post were taken by me, using various models of iPhones.)
1: Eliminate the distracting elements
If a photo is cluttered with distracting elements, it is harder for the viewer to know where to look. When you are able to, just quickly look around your subject (your child/ren) for objects or other people that may jumble the view. Sometimes, simply shifting your angle a bit can eliminate those distractions.
Sometimes, even color can be distracting. In the photo below, there were a lot of colors and patterns going on, but once I turned it into black and white, the focus was directed to their faces and the relationship, which was the whole point of the photo!
Other ways to eliminate distractions are to physically move items away (or physically move away from the items), crop the photo afterwards, or use “portrait mode” to blur out the background, like in the photo below.
2: Consider the light
We can’t always control the light around us when we want to take a picture, but it’s always worth noticing, and when possible, adjusting to work with it. When using a phone to take pictures, the more light you have, the better. But the kind of light you have is even more important. When you are indoors, do your best to use natural light from a window (the bigger the better). It will provide a soft, even light that is very flattering to the subject. But DON’T put the window behind your subject if you want to see more than a silhouette. Always place your child either beside the light, or facing the light for the best results.
Of course, there may be some instances where you choose to “break the rule” and embrace the silhouette anyways.
When window light is not available inside, you should still take little time to look at the light around you. Are you casting any shadows on important parts of the image? Try moving. Do the overhead lights cause dark shadows under your child’s eyes? Try having them turn their head and/or tilt their face up towards the ceiling a bit more (and change your angle to shoot down on them). In the end, the memory is more important than the unpleasant light, so go ahead and take the picture no matter what.
When you are outside, the light can sometimes be too bright, especially if you want to take a close up picture of a face in the middle of the day. In these conditions, try moving into the shade, with the strongest light behind you (ie, not creating a silhouette situation with the light behind your child). If this isn’t an option, work with what you’ve got and try backing up and having your child look somewhere else (not at the camera) so the shadows become a non-issue.
3:Change the angle
I mentioned changing your angle to help eliminate distracting elements, but this is also a great way to add interest to your photos, and to increase the connection with your subjects. Everybody knows what a kid looks like from a grown-up’s point of view, but it’s so much more personal to get down on their level- especially with babies!
Holding your camera high above your kids creates interest also.
4: Tell the story
I love photography because you can tell a whole story by capturing just one moment. When I take a photo, I want it to remind me of what life was like at that moment in time. To accomplish this in your photos, be sure to include extra details (like the wild bed head and crumpled piggy of my water-loving girl), or you can focus on one specific detail (like muddy feet and boots after playing in the rain).
5: Don’t stress the smile
If I try to get my kids to say “cheese” or to smile at the camera, it stresses us all out! Sometimes I do get that great smile and eye contact, but a lot of the time, I end up photographing my kids interacting with each other or being engrossed in their favorite activity. Lots of the time, my kids don’t even know I’ve got my camera pointed at them. Those “natural” shots always end up being my favorites.
6: Don’t over-edit
It can be very tempting to download a photo editing app and try out all the filters and effects, but I believe that simple is best. Just a few minor adjustments can make a simple snapshot into a timeless photograph. Just using your camera’s built-in editing can be a great way to edit your images. I typically will increase the exposure and brightness (especially in indoor shots), sometimes adjust the highlights/shadows, and slightly increase the sharpness. The trick with all of these adjustments is to just do a little. Don’t try to change the photo entirely, just enhance it. And if you do use filters, try adjusting the strength to 50% or less. Watch the video below to see how I edit using just the tools on my iPhone.
7: Keep practicing
As with anything, practice makes perfect, so just keep taking the pictures! The more you practice these tips, the sooner they will become second nature. I do most of these without even thinking about them now. That means I can quickly and beautifully capture a memory and then get back into living that memory with my kids instead of fidgeting with a disappointing photo. Just remember, no matter what your photos look like, it’s about recording memories that are special to you. So please don’t get distracted trying to make the most beautiful images and end up missing the beauty of the memory itself. As long as you love your photos, that’s what’s most important.
