As a family photographer and a mom, I pretty much have my camera on hand all the time! It drives my family nuts, trust me! It also means that I get to witness and capture the magic that unfolds in my family on a day to day basis. I have captured lasting memories frozen in time that might otherwise seem ordinary to most people but have turned into beautiful pieces of art framed on my walls or printed on pages of albums displayed on shelves!
There is just something special about an every day moment that is captured on camera that takes it out of the ordinary “everyday” and turns it into something wonderful and magical. I can’t describe it really, I wish I could! That’s the power that photography has… it puts emotion into the mundane and adds a little sparkle! It allows you to see almost everything in a shiny new light! Washes dishes sure is another boring, every single day annoying task we have to do; except when you see it in black and white taken from the eyes of your child (you standing there with soapy hands knowing that you are doing it for the family) that “chore” takes on a completely different meaning!
Today I wanted to share some fun and easy photography projects that you can do with your family whether you are a seasoned photographer or your just picking up your camera phone!
But I’ll warn you… once you get started… you might just get bitten by the photography bug! So maybe clear out some wall space…
FAMILY PORTRAIT OR ADVENTURE DAY!
Pick a day where everyone in the family is together! This can truly be something that you decide together depending on the age of your children! Younger ones will love getting dressed up in their favorite outfits! Find a nice backdrop ( a plain white wall works great), the front of your house, somewhere that isn’t too distracting that will look nice but will allow your family to be the focus! Take turns taking portraits of one another! You can take individual portraits, you can take groupings and one large family portrait using the self timer. Let everyone have a voice and choose different expressions, ideas and poses they might want to try. Have fun and include any props but especially include the family pet! If a family portrait isn’t your thing… take a family adventure. Go for an activity that the family might enjoy. Plan a fun family outing and bring the camera along! Movement and activity helps to take those nerves away! You can take some pictures together during the activity and singles before and after.
It’s all about creativity, fun and making sure the family is spending time together and getting in the pictures! All you want to do is create and capture memories of your family together! The biggest step is getting them there!
PHOTO HUNT/SCAVENGER HUNT!
When Linc was little the easiest way to do this was a nature walk! I still do this with my families who have little kiddos with a lot of energy. Grab your camera’s or phones and head out for a walk through your neighborhood, park or if you live where we do… THE BEACH! You can set up a challenge or scavenger hunt ahead of time with items on a list for each person to find and snap an image. OR you can challenge each person to find a certain amount of items that they find interesting. After the walk you can get together and share what you’ve found or compare your images. This is one of my favorite things to do with my son and his friends who are interested in photography because no two images will ever be alike even if they are of the same object! I love to see their creativity and find out their ideas behind why they chose to focus on the image this way, or look at how they saw it this way when I saw it another way! It fascinates me and it sparks a really cool discussion! Plus, if you love the beach and your home is decorated in beach decor, this is a really great way to create some really cool beach prints, albums or gallery walls. More to come on that later.
A DAY IN THE LIFE: CANDID STORYTELLING
When I first started out in photography, I participated in a challenge set by one of my favorite photographers at the time. It was to shoot (in black and white) a day in the life. The purpose was to shoot on the hour and man did it really teach me a million things about the art of photography! But that’s for another time and another blog!
This is a GREAT project, but especially if you love photography! The easiest way to do this and include your family is to encourage everyone to snap photos of the family throughout the entire day. If they see something or someone doing something that interests them or that makes them FEEL something… they should take a photo of it! No one should worry about how it looks, and honestly you want to go more candid here (no stop and smile at the camera especially if it will interrupt the moment). These will be a collection of images about everyone’s daily lives: making breakfast, walking the dog, doing homework, kids playing, someone doing daily chores, maybe sitting in a home office on the computer… just all the things we do that become part of our daily lives. Some of these for sure will be smiling at the camera… but the best part is when you look back they will be a reflection of your beautiful, real lives! You will have all the moments big and small of each member of your family as seen and told through the eyes of each member of your family. It really is something very special when you think of it like that.
Once you sit down and look back at your collection of photos, you can arrange them into an album or a collage to tell the story of your lives at this exact moment in time!
PHOTO BOOTH BACK DROP
This is a favorite for rainy days in my family! You can set up your own makeshift photo booth by using a plain white sheet, wrapping paper (colorful or not), you can run to Michaels and grab bulletin board sheets in all kinds of fun designs, honestly you can use the back of your couch! Over Christmas we use a giant box… you might have even seen those images floating around on instagram! Those are super fun and you can get really creative with those if you are handy with editing tools! The real trick here is to get creative with the extra’s: aka the props! Bring out all the fun and silly things. I’m talking sunglasses, hat, boa’s, costumes, balloons, disco balls (yes I have disco balls) and lolly pops! Let your creativity and your kids creativity run wild! This is the time to be silly and have fun. Turn the music up loud and have a party! Trust me, the crazier it is the more personality you will get and those are the expressions you will cherish for years and years to come.
SUNSET SILHOUETTES
If you are really ambitious and you know a little bit about your camera this is a fun one to play around with. Head outside (my preference is the beach) right at the golden hour… that’s the hour right before sunset when the light is just perfection. Grab your family and and set them right against the beautiful colorful sky right as the sun starts to set and capture their silhouette. There are so many beautiful poses that you can experiment with for these portraits and so many different compositions. The best part is you have all the evenings to play! You don’t have to wait for warmer weather if you are willing to brave the colder months.
My family especially loves to meet friends down at the beach or bay for dinner… we either bring little charcuterie boards and sandwiches or we just order pizza! We let the kids play in the ocean when summer hits and this is the perfect time to not only capture those beautiful candid portraits but when the sun starts to set it’s perfect for playing around with silhouettes.
So what are YOU waiting for?! You have all you need right now to capture magical memories of your family! Grab your camera or your phone and get out there… these projects should help you get started but I promise you once you start, you’ll find the creativity to keep going and come up with more projects and ideas on your own!
I can’t wait to see what you come up with! Tag me if you post on instagram or feel free to send them my way!
And if you ever find that you truly have been bitten with the photography bug and want to learn more about your camera or photography in general, I LOVE doing one on one mentoring sessions. I go out with people all the time and help them learn and grow! So send me a message if you want to know more!
