SEEing life as a MOMTOGRAPHER

Documentary family photography isn't just "capturing real life". It's deliberate & purposeful...and it requires the practice of carefully thinking through how you will "see life" through the "storytelling" lens. Through the PRACTICE it slowly becomes second nature SO THAT you begin to frame-up your everyday life OR your special events & happenings in order to capture images that elicit emotional responses and connect your viewers (family, friends & your future self) to those moments!

I didn't always think this way...

I picked up a camera just like everyone else did...put it up to my face and clicked the shutterbutton after yelling at everyone to say, "cheese"!

Yes, the faces were cute.
Yes, I had a nice camera, so the quality was good.
Yes, I had the image of the people I wanted to document.

BUT...

my pictures lacked emotion, they lacked movement, they lacked the essence of my kids, of my family...they did nothing but let me know that I had taken a picture...

It was almost as if every picture was identical in pose and faces, but, I had just changed up the backgrounds depending on where we were at the time...

If we were at Disney, it was, "Everyone stand in front of Dumbo and say cheese"
If we were at the Grand Canyon, it was, "Don't fall off the edge!  now everyone look at me and smile!"
If we were at a party, it was, "Everyone look at me and say I like pickles!"

It was the SAME.THING.OVER.AND.OVER.AND.OVER

It wasn't until I changed my mindset...until I started thinking differently...

when I finally took off the glasses of "typical" and discovered a NEW way of not only SEEING the world around me, but getting some "tricks & tools" that helped me take my memories from ordinary to EXTRAordinary!

On a creeking adventure a few years ago, I tried both ways of thinking again...and during the first part of our trip, I focused on the "typical" and I got pictures like this:

Then, I started to use a different philosophy and chose specific framing tools, composition and lighting techniques that I had been learning...and put them into action...all of a sudden, my pictures took on a different feel..

These pictures aren't edited nor did I try to give them a "photographer's twist"...this is just me being MOM...taking pictures of her kids...so that I can put them in books for prosperity!  

Here is another set of examples...where I started doing what most people typically do with cameras, where everyone looks at the camera, stops and poses...


And then, I used some in camera tricks, composition and lighting rules and turned the documentation of our trip into THIS:


I'm not saying that any of these pictures are "bad" persay...for goodness sakes, they are my daughters so I think they are beautiful even if they were in potato sacks! But, if I'm honest, my eye is drawn more to each 2nd set of pictures...because there is emotion, depth, and a STORY unfolding...my attention is naturally attracted to the narrative...

What about you?  Do your scrapbooks and FB albums tell the story of your life? Do they capture the essence of your children? Are your kids able to relive the memories just by being faced with a picture?

It starts with a mindset, then a strategy...continued with a handful of lighting laws and framing techniques...and just with that, you will see massive chance...

Add in the ability to learn exactly what your camera is capable of doing and knowing how the settings work together to create incredible images...

well...it's the whole package!

Click HERE to learn more about a Mentoring Session and find out about the discount going on this summer!!!  Take advantage of it now...our private Facebook group is loaded with extra tidbits & tutorials and it's an ongoing resource to continue your learning even after we've finished our session!

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"Teach us to number our days, (savor the moments) so that we may gain a heart of wisdom" ~Psalm 90:12

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