I am blessed to have such a wonderful friend in this amazingly talented woman, Kacey Luvi. Literally, she is a quadruple threat: a talented photographer, crazy-good makeup artist, incredible singer, and – most importantly – a beautiful mommy. I love this gal, and I know you will too :). This won’t be the last time I have Kacey on here, I can promise you this!!

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5 Tips to Getting Better Photos of Your Kids
by Kacey Luvi

There may be nothing else on earth more important to a mom than capturing the true personality and cuteness of her child on camera. Unfortunately, there may be nothing else on earth more frustrating either! The good news for moms everywhere is that there are a few simple things to think about when trying to capture your kids! The better news is that I’m not going to say that you need an expensive digital camera to make this happen! Here are 5 helpful tips to getting better photos of your kids!

1. Lighten Up
One of the most important things to think about is light! If you are like me, you use your iPhone for most of the capturing… let’s face it, it’s the most convenient! When shooting indoors, place your subject by a large window or sliding glass door to avoid dark and blurry images. The more light there is on your subject, the faster that shutter can go.. and a faster shutter means less blur! Get outside for the most available light possible! Our access to the sun will make freezing images a piece of cake!

2. No Cheese, Please
Although it is SO cute when your child first learns to “say cheese,” they quickly turn into a face that looks more like someone is pulling their hair out! Go for songs or actions that you know always get a genuine smile out of your kids and have the camera ready!

3. The Right Angle
Nothing can ruin a good photo opportunity faster than a bad angle! Position yourself slightly above eye level on your child and shoot a bit downward. This will give the most realistic and flattering angle on children. For running and playing pictures outside, do your best to get on their level. Get right down on the sand of the sandbox and in the grass while they run through the sprinklers. Even your smart phones have the capabilities of freezing moving kids and the water drops of splashing water!

4. Focus Pocus
This is where the magic happens! A photo that is not technically perfect, but emotionally perfect is still worth keeping. One of the biggest complaints about capturing children is the delay once you pull the trigger! Let’s face it, we don’t have that kinda time to spare! Using a point-and-shoot digital camera, prepare by pushing halfway down on the shutter to focus on your subject and press the rest of the way down when you are ready to snap! The delay you are experiencing is the camera taking it’s sweet time to focus on the subject!

5. Enforce Child Labor
If you have multiple kids, put the oldest child on camera duty! It will not only sharpen their creativity and skills as a photographer in the making, it will get more of the images you are looking for. Siblings have a way of putting each other at ease and capturing what they see without thinking too much about it. You might be surprised and it’s worth a shot (no pun intended).

Want to connect with Kacey Luvi? Find and follow her here:
http://kaceyluvi.com