Taking Better Pictures of My Kids – The Beginning

We had our first real snowfall of the winter, and the kids were so excited to get outside and play. I loved that I could bundle them up and send them out, and not have to stay out there with them the whole time! Mommy break!

It was cloudy and snowing while we were out, but still light enough and the snow added to the brightness. I took these pictures in manual mode without actual changing any of the settings, but I still think they turned out well.

It was cold, so I didn't stay outside for long, and he looks like he's about ready to come in too, but kids are crazy - they will stay out playing in the snow, even when they are freezing!

I like the contrast of this shot that he is in focus and the chair isn't.
Read the story behind the picture (and see another picture where the chair is in focus and he isn't.)

My son really wanted cherries during our trip to the grocery store, so we enjoyed a little taste of summer in the middle of winter. The next four photos I took while changing the settings in the Aperture and Shutter modes to try to blur the background and sharpen the picture, even while my kids were moving.

And the after-effects of the cherries, messy faces, hands and clothes! But I love the lighting in this picture. Obviously one of the first tips to better photos is to take pictures in natural light.

We have a big south facing window in our living room that the sun shines brightly in through. It was a little too bright and shadowy (is that a word?) to take pictures, but I actually like the contrast of the light in this one.

This was just too cute - I had to capture it. Not the best lighting, but I couldn't resist that cherry-stained face!