Rachel McHardy Photography: Baton Rouge Family Photographer

I have confession to make.  For a photographer, I have been shockingly bad at photographing my own life.   We’re talkin’ showing up to events, parties, gatherings, etc. where literally everyone but the professional photographer has their camera.  The truly embarrassing part is most of the time I didn’t even think to bring my camera.   I take pictures for a living and I didn’t even bring my camera to my own baby shower!  Oh, the humiliation!  And don’t even get me started on the complete lack of images from my day-to-day life.

The good news is, I am improving!  So on the off chance that there are those of you out there who are constantly thinking, “why didn’t I think to take a picture???” here are some tips I’ve developed that have really helped me: 

1.  Keep your camera out.  This was a big one for me.   For a long time, I would gingerly remove my lens, replace the cover, and lovingly tuck my camera back into my case when I wasn’t using it.   I was so worried about my camera being ruined that I was, in essence, valuing the camera itself over the photos it could produce.   And that’s just silly.  Now that I keep it out, I am more apt to use it.

2.  Let it be your creative time.   Allow yourself to experiment and have fun.  Lately I have taken a pictures upside down, played around with shadows, climbed up high and shoot down, used crazy props, and been overall more creative! It makes taking out my camera something I want to do rather than something I feel obligated to do.  I have to remind myself that yes, it might totally bomb, but who cares? No one has to see these photos.  No one will even know that you tried.  Which brings me to point #3…

3.  Be okay with imperfect photos.   This was another big one for me.   One of my favorite pictures of my daughter is of her  being bounced by my husband.  Her smile is huge and her eyes are lit up with excitement… but it’s a bit out of focus.  That picture made me realize something-  I don’t value the technical aspects of a photograph nearly as much as the expression, especially for a photograph that is just for my own personal use.

4.  Photograph a “daily task.”  Normally, I bathe my daughter at night.  But one day, she was just so excited about something that her diaper could not contain her excitement (if you know what I mean.)  Ergo, I had to bathe her during the day.  I decided to take advantage of the natural light, and took a few pictures of her wrapped up in her towel.  Nothing special.  I just wanted to capture her “just out of the bath look.”  It turned out to be another one of my favorites.   Daily tasks to consider documenting:  mealtime, bath time, story time, drop off/pick up from school, tying shoes, cooking, painting nails, doing hair, nap time… I could go on and on.  Do it today! If you need help remembering to do it, stick a post-it note where you will see it.  Better yet, stick your camera by the cereal or wherever you’ll see it when you do the task.   There is so much beauty in these seemingly insignificant moments.  Capture that beauty.

5.  Don’t make it about looking at the camera.   This is important especially if photographing kids.  I love capturing the intensity my daughter gets on her face when looking at something new.  That look instantly disappears if I try to get her to look at me.   Tip:  Save those “look at the camera” photos for your next photo session and instead focus on capturing candid moments.  Nothing ruins the joy of a little kid blowing a dandelion like, “Do that again and look at mommy this time! No, look up here!” Go for raw emotion instead

6.  Invest in a point and shoot.  This might seem a little weird coming from a photographer, but I really think there’s a place for a point and shoot in everyone’s lives.   I take a lot of photos on my iphone.  Whether it’s a phone camera or a separate camera, sometimes the moment calls for a quick shot and there’s no time to worry about camera settings.  

7.  Display your photos.  In this digital world it is all too easy to have disk after disk containing photos that never see the light of day.  Whether they are professional pictures or ones you’ve taken around the house, having actual prints in your house will act as visual reminders to keep those photos coming.  You can always switch out an old photo for a new one in a frame.

8.  Set a goal to send one photo a week to someone.  Grandparents are great candidates for this.  My dad started requesting a “photo of the week” of my daughter.  If a week goes by and I haven’t sent him a photo, he sends me a reminder email.  At this rate, my parents will have more photos of their granddaughter than of me, my sister, and my brother combined.

9.  Give yourself photo quests.  If you feel like you need a little inspiration, give yourself a photo scavenger hunt of sorts.  Take a picture of your feet every time you wear a different pair of shoes, snap a photo of every friend you get together with for a month, photograph everything red you come across in a day, document all the different pancake flavors you make.  Just make sure you choose something that makes you excited and don’t worry if they are “blog worthy photos” or even if anyone else thinks it’s worth documenting.  This is to photograph YOUR life.

10.  Let in as much natural light in your house as possible.  Every morning I open up all the blinds and curtains throughout the house so I can (theoretically) take a picture in any room.  This saves me the time and keeps the moment authentic.

So there you have it- my 10 tips for photographing your life.  Do you have any tips that help you remember to photograph your life?

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