By now, things are just weird. Some of you may still be going to work, some of you may be home with your children as more schools are closing. No matter what your situation, one thing is certain- you are home with your whole family more than you probably ever have been. It’s easy to panic & wonder how on Earth you’re supposed to entertain your kiddos during this time. Nobody knows what is to come or when this will all be over, but the internet is quickly becoming flooded with news articles, silly (and sometimes negative) memes, and tips and tricks to working from home with your children there or how to homeschool these little monsters.

Isaac and I have three young kiddos at home & at the studio with us. When I say young, I mean REALLY young. Our daughter is 4, our son is 2.5, and our brand new baby boy is 6 weeks! To say this is hard is an understatement and it has only been like one day. Although this article isn’t here to complain about our situation, please say a prayer for our sanity!

As a mama of three youngsters, one thing that came to mind during this crisis is, “What can I do for my kids now that I will be so glad I did in the future?” I started to look at baby photos of the kids and realized they were unorganized & needed to be printed, organized into baby books, etc. Then it hit me! As a parent, we take so many photos of our kids- almost daily! Even though I am a professional photographer, I take more photos of my kids on my phone than my actual camera. If there’s one thing I could offer to parents during this down time, it is to offer some tips and tricks to getting better photos of your kiddos so you can cherish their sweet little faces when they’re all grown up!

So let’s dive in!

Get on their level.

Your point of view is typically awkward when it comes to photography. The best angle tends to be down on their level, especially for babies & toddlers. Try to get your camera or phone down to their eye level. Basically, pretend you’re their age & make it fun! The only hard part with this is when your model is on the move. You can only crawl or walk on your knees so fast before they’re out of your sight.

Try new angles.

This idea totally goes against the first example. When it is intentional, that’s ok! This photo was taken from my point of view, which can be really cute! Notice how I incorporated my arm in there? This really helps the photo tell the story of our spring time nature walk.

Make them laugh & let them be silly.

Selfies are the best! For some reason, I notice that young kiddos really start to ham up for a good ole' selfie. If you’re tot is a bit stubborn, here’s an idea. Take a few silly selfies and end up with more of a smile. Then slowly slide your face out of the frame and just get your child in the photo. This way it seems like a selfie to them, but the end result is just a nice photo of them!

Find the light.

This is extremely important. Do your best (when possible) to find natural light. Try to stay away from lamps, florescent, and warm indoor lighting. Whenever possible, take photos of your kids outside or in front of a window. If you take anything away from this article, please PLEASE let it be this next sentence. When photographing your subject with window light, place the subject adjacent from the window so that you are standing in front of the window, but not blocking the light. This will allow the natural light to light your subject instead of blow our your background.

If you can’t get a smile, try candid.

Candid is great for many reasons. It’s wonderful to get photos of your child in action, but also a great thing to use when you just want to give up on the posed, smiling photo. Sometimes after asking them to smile over and over, realizing that you just aren’t going to get a genuine smile is just what you need. Let it go, mama. Candid can be just as fun!