Fall is here! Can you believe it? With all of the holidays that are guaranteed to keep all you crafters & hostesses going for months on end, I’m here to remind you not to forget about your own holidays!

Hello, it’s me, Jen Hrycyk, your resident photographer. Today I want to give you a few tips for creating some simple (but fun) pictures on your own, when it comes to Capturing Your Kid’s Milestone Moments!

*****

PHOTO TIPS – CAPTURING KID’S MILESTONE MOMENTS

By: Jen Hrycyk

Some of my favorite sessions are when kids are one year and under. Many of my lovely clients opt to do our shoots when their babies are newborn, at six months, then at the one year mark. What could be a more fabulous way to document their first year in the world?

However, I understand that you can’t always have me there to capture each significant mark in their first year. But that doesn’t mean you can’t capture it on your own!

SESSION PROPS

– A camera (DSLR, point and shoot, or iPhone).
– A few simple props (quilt, a wicker laundry basket, headbands, streamers, etc.).
– A pretty location with plenty of bright, natural light.

SETTING UP

Grab a few props from around your house, and I genuinely mean….use what you have! This picture below is my client’s laundry basket! But it’s cute and fit her son in it, perfectly (we propped a throw pillow on the bottom to raise him up).

Here’s a quilt that my client was given when her little girl was born, but what a sweet background it made!

*Please always have safety of the children in mind when using props. Set up your items on a secure and flat surface, wiggling or moving them around to make sure they’re stable, before even considering putting your children in or on them.

Empty and open space is your best background. Here’s a pathway at a park around the corner from my studio. There’s nothing but some beautiful trees, and of course a cute little guy. By centering him in the middle of the pathway, I was able to frame out a perfect picture!

You can even create a simple background with a little effort. In the pictures below, I just taped colored streamers to the wall, in a rainbow pattern. And look how much the color in these pictures popped!

Want to add one more layer to the fun? Grab some balloons and a cake (okay two more layers). Those are props too, and let me tell you, kids love cake! ;)

GETTING THE SHOT

After years of practice, I’ve learned some simple things that I’m glad to share with you, to get the most from your pictures!

– Try taking pictures from different angles. Take one on the right side, then on the left. Try one up close, and one farther back.
– Have someone there who can make them laugh. Sometimes it’s Mom, sometimes it’s Dad. But usually, there’s always that one person that can make the kiddos giggle. And I love genuine smiles in pictures!
– Try taking your pictures during Golden Hour (learn more about golden hour here).
– Be on their level (my #1 tip for great kid pictures)! Get down on your knees, lay on your stomach. Be where they are, from their point of view. It’s hard to capture that moment in their life if you’re not eye to eye with them.

HAVE FUN

With a little time and effort, you can create a photo shoot of your own, to document your kid’s two month birthday, six month birthday, or whatever else you’d like! Best of all, you’ll have some fun moments with the little love of your life, that you’ll remember forever!