‘How to’ photograph your everyday

Family Photography Edmonton | Hobbs Photography

I love photographing my everyday, so DIY Photography, I’m not going to lie, kind of scares me! I had a client once send me photos they took of their newborn baby with a crochet turtle outfit and well, I cringed. Thank goodness they did too and hired me. Now I am all for DIY mamas, so I’m going to give you a few tips and tricks for capturing some everyday images of your kids to preserve those memories in-between your photo sessions with us!

You don’t need a ‘big fancy camera’.

Most of my everyday images I capture with my iPhone 5S. Of course, I take my DSLR most places and love to capture video and images of my kids with it, but for everyday images, I love my iPhone. I then edit the photos on my phone in

VSCOcam

and often post them to

instagram

kind of like a virtual family album.

iPhone

5d Mark ii 24mm ISO 200 f 2.8 1/160 sec

iPhone

Find good light.

Great photographers are also know as light chasers, light readers, light lovers… we know and love light! What you can do is stay away from a mix of harsh sunlight and shadows. Try full shade or a cloudy day is great and easy way to manage light. Rooms in your house with big windows with lots of natural light are great and will help you avoid using the flash on your camera.

iPhone

5d Mark ii 85mm ISO 400 f 2.2 1/2500 sec

5d Mark ii 24mm ISO 500 f 2.5 1/250 sec

Wait for the moments. 

Does it feel like you can never get everyone looking at the camera, let alone smiling? That’s okay! Sometimes it’s best when your children aren’t aware that your camera is out. Let them play, wait for the moment and click. What do I mean by moment? A victory smile after a pee on the potty, snuggling up with a favourite teddy, reading their little brother a story. These moments are personal to you and will make a much better photo than when everyone is smiling and looking at the camera. I promise.

5d Mark ii 50mm ISO 200 f 1.8 1/500 sec

iPhone

5d Mark ii 85mm ISO 320 f 2.5 1/1250 sec

How?

You’ve probably heard it before. Get low, get down to their level. With my five-year-old, I like to have a conversation and get her thinking or laughing then I snap some in-between moments. My two-year old I have to wait and anticipate as she is always on the move. Remember to get close and capture the details. I am a sucker for details, I love dirty summer feet, chubby toddler fingers or round baby tummies. Try different angles, over a shoulder, a reflection or I love a bird’s eye view – you’ll see it a lot in my Instagram posts.

5d Mark ii 24mm ISO 160 f 2.0 1/640 sec

iPhone

5d Mark ii 24mm ISO 400 f 3.5 1/200 sec

Print your photos.

It’s really nice to take photos and share them on social media with our friends and family, however, there is something authentic, and nice about a tangible photo in our hands. I make prints, display them in my home and put them away for when my kids grow up. I print my iPhone photos in an album at the end of each year. These are my favourite. I love seeing our everyday photos and how my kids have changed. I have used very affordable companies like

Blurb and Chatbooks

for Instagram books.

I have also tried and liked are

Pikto, Artifact Uprising and Photobook Canada

for larger family albums.

iPhone

5d Mark ii 24mm ISO 100 f 2.2 1/2000 sec

5d Mark ii 85mm ISO 320 f 2.5 1/1000 sec

Hire us. 

We want you to take everyday images. We want you to do it yourself. We want you to print them. However once a year you should let us, the professionals, do what we do best. We have attention to detail and an eye for turning your family moments into art. You will be in the images! That is important! The images are from quality equipment, a trained eye and will be slightly retouched and polished. You are investing in memories preserved but also in art for your home.

5d Mark ii 50mm ISO 160 f 2.8 1/200 sec

5d Mark ii 50mm ISO 320 f 2.2 1/2500 sec

iPhone

You can see more of our images and stay up to date on the latest on our

Hobbs Photography Facebook Page.

If you’d to see some of our favourite family work, check out OUR PORTFOLIO.