Capturing The Moment - Taking Portraits

One of the most incredible things about watching a child grow is how quickly they change from day to day and week to week.  One moment you are celebrating that little head lifting off the ground, and in the blink of an eye you are watching that same little one take a few steps!


As moms, we attempt to capture every facial expression, event, and change for fear that what seems like such a clear memory now might drift away as new ones happen all the time.  A recent project for me was taking a one year portrait, and I learned a lot in the process.  Although I am barely an amateur photographer (my philosophy is "shoot, shoot, shoot" and maybe, just maybe you'll get a great picture!!), this post will outline the process that lead to a cute photo.



1.  Find a suitable background and practice taking photos without your child.  Highly recommend doing this during nap time, and it will allow you to see exactly which angle to shoot from.


2.  Find a color for your child to wear that will bring out their skin tones and not wash them out.  Having a child with fair skin, vibrant colors seemed to work best.


3.  Take as many pictures as possible, given the short span of patience of a young child.  Try not to be concerned at all with the pictures, just keep taking as many as you can and chances are you'll find one that works.


4.  Upload to the computer and EDIT!!  What looks like a rough picture, can actually turn in to a great portrait.  Here is an example:

Although this a nice picture, obviously the background is not suitable for a portrait that you would frame and display.  But wait....








After cropping the photo, enhancing it, and fading the edge (all of which are SIMPLE using IPhoto), the finished product looked like this:

The finished product!  




















5.  Get your photos printed with a Matte finish at your local drug store or camera shop.  This portrait was then printed at Walgreens, and the print quality was as nice as some that I've purchased at portrait studios.


Certainly portrait studios do a fantastic job as well, but if you want frequent portraits of your child to capture each of those stages, it can get quite costly!  Taking your own portraits is rewarding, cheap, and doesn't take much time at all.