Simple Valentine photos
I dabbled in photography for a little while. It has become a side hobby that I monetize on from time to time but I prefer to keep this gift in my back pocket. It is a bit time consuming, I applaud my creatives out there that do this full or part time. One thing I will not pull away from is capturing those special moments during holidays or quarterly. Our babies seem to evolve by the second as we beg for time to stand still just for a second longer so we can look at their little hands, those baby curls, taking a moment to create a snapshot in our minds as we listen to their little voices.
One of my go to photo set ups is pajama photos. They are so simple and showcase what matters most. The subject, not the outfit. I’m a fan of solid colors as well, they accent but aren’t too much. If it’s a holiday I’ll have the kids hold something in relation to the day, in this case for Valentine’s Day we used a yarn heart that I put together quickly, and for our son I let him play with a pair of heart shaped glasses. I’ll usually ask for their attention for one or two photos but my son is an extremely active (almost) two year old… We let him do his thing and I snap as many as I can. If I am in a crunch because of an active babe, I’ll try to get one of their hands, hair, focus on eyelashes, maybe little feet. I usually end up with at least three to five good ones of each kiddo and that’s enough for us!
Lighting is everything, I almost always choose between their room or mine because of the big windows facing north or south. I have found that the photos come out better during mornings that are bright but not extremely sunny. Severe sun seems to cast unwanted harsh shadows, we want depth and texture but nothing too overwhelming for our edits.
Keeping the background simple and neutral is another go to, sometimes I’ll add a pop of color to accent the occasion or what they are wearing. Some of my favorite baby photos of the kids were of them laying in our king size bed surrounded by cream and white beddings, cozy and simple. Less will always be more right?
