As a photographer, I am going to offer two tips that will revolutionize every picture you will take of your baby.

           Get closer and shoot with your heart.

As both a photographer and a mother of seven children, I want to tell you why, and how, you can create better images than any of the most enduring shots a professional photographer can capture.

           Get closer and shoot with your heart.

You do not need a ten thousand dollar camera, special lighting and backdrops. If you have any camera, and love for your child, you have the two most important elements for creating exceptional shots.

Let’s dispel the myth right now. It is not about the camera. There was once a time, before mass production, when it did matter which camera you used. Today even the cheapest disposables utilize lenses that create sharp clear images. More expensive cameras offer more options to create great shots under a wider variety of circumstances. There is nothing stopping you from matching whatever camera you have available to the circumstance and still take some beautiful shots of which anyone would be proud.

You will not hear this often, and it could put a lot of photographers out of business, but I am going to tell you anyway.  With a few pointers, you actually have a better opportunity of getting a stellar shot. Why? Two things, opportunity and comfort level. Your child may not know the photographer and be at the age when that really matters. The photographer only has so much time to shoot and there is just not enough time to build the kind of relationship that is most conducive to the things that make a beautiful photograph. Consider this: You are putting your child in a special outfit, and usually not one he or she would normally wear, plopping him or her in a strange situation with strange people, flashing bright lights in their face and want to capture the child’s true essence!

As the parent and photographer you have unlimited opportunity, access and comfort from your child. In fact, at certain ages, there are photographs only you have the power to capture most effectively. You can get right up in their face with the cheapest disposable camera and get an award winning shot of their drooly mouth and their impish grin that would melt any heart. That same shot taken by a photographer with a camera that costs as much as an suv would be different. An element of reserve, or even suspicion and fear would creep in and edge out something truly special.

No matter what kind of shots you take now, your pictures will improve considerably if you get in closer and make the picture tell the story of the moment. Don’t just snap a shot. Think about what it needs to say; what you want it to say for decades to come. A baby crying can be a beautiful shot, but a picture taken closer and lower can speak volumes about a lost blanket, or wanting mom or dad. Even posed photos can be much more natural and filled with all of the things that make your child unique. No matter how stiff or silly they get, you can keep trying, or try again the next day and the day after!

No professional photographer can know the story well enough to capture all that you can. Get clicking!

 

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