I love photography - I do! And so whenever we’re on school holidays, an outing to the park, or doing something fun with our kids, I WANT to capture the day in photos! Their sweet little faces and the fun they’re having! I love documenting them at different ages, and it’s extra nice to have photos to send the grandparents who all live interstate.
Having been photo-obsessed for a number of years now, I’ve discovered that the rest of my family is not as excited about photos as I am ... fair enough! So if you’re like me and you enjoy taking your camera out and about here are my top tips on how not to drive your family insane.
1. Don’t take your camera everywhere!
I know ... we just agreed we enjoyed taking photos, but when you’re on school holidays with your family you need to spend just as much time enjoying yourself and relaxing as well as taking photos. Plan to take your camera along to certain activities, and leave it safely behind for other parts of the holidays.
2. Head out by yourself!
Set aside time to head out by yourself to capture images of all the details, and scenery that you’d like to record for the holidays. This might mean sneaking out at sunrise, or going for ‘photo walks’ with your camera. Take images of the flowers, architecture, textures or people … anything that captures your eye and that you love!
You don’t always have the time to stop and appreciate the details when you’re out and about with your kids, so make the time to enjoy and capture the quieter moments by yourself. This way you’ll have beautiful images that weren’t rushed, or stressful, and will add those extra details to help you remember the location, or to use for scrapbooking/blogging or creating photo books of your time away.
3. Spend ten minutes shooting, then put the camera away!
If we’re doing something particularly fun, and I know I want shots, I’ll let everyone know that for the first 10 minutes we’ll all get involved to take photos, but then I’ll pop the camera away so we can all enjoy the rest of the time.
By doing this my family knows that if they oblige me for a round of photos I’ll leave them in peace for the rest of the day! This also means we have great photos, without having to nag and pester for the kids to “Look at me... and SMILE” whilst they’re in the middle of something fun!
4. Sit-back and go-candid
It’s fantastic to capture images of the kids playing and having fun, and there’s nothing sweeter than candid images taken when the kids don’t even know I’m shooting. This is best achieved if you have a longer zoom lens, and you can sit back on the shore of the beach or by the side of the pool and let them play.
5. Set-up a ‘shoot’
If I know that I want a really great ‘Family-Photo’, I’ll take the time and effort to set it up so that it’s exactly as I’d like it. I’ll pick a location, and time of day when the light will be lovely, and I’ll set-up shots with a timer.
__small.png)
