Capturing memories of your children with you in the frame - selfie moments, candids and camera timers.
Are you taking time to be in the moments with your kids, making a few memories and participating in the fun where you can?
Every day there are a few windows of time where you get to be with your kids when they are in their element or playing and you get the chance to participate and enjoy their activities and sharing their every experience. As they get older, they want you in their space less and less, so i encourage you to get in there with them for the fun, and a couple photos, when you can. No one ever says they wish they had less photos of their kids or loved ones, unless you ask the kids who don’t want to be in any more photos themselves. So take your moments where you can.
Many of us only get to do this outside of working hours and school hours so that’s a shorter window. You are loving their joy and everything they are learning, seeing and doing, but all of a sudden a month or two has gone by and you realize you have no photos of this time frame of you or your partner with your little ones, who are quickly growing by the day, and changing each year.
Just look at those little school photos, the missing teeth, the crazy hair and the growth spurts with each year. Most people remember to take a first day or last day of school picture, but what about the rest of the year that isn’t a holiday? And are YOU in any of the photos? What about your partner?
Time for a selfie! Especially a squishy family photo of all of you together if you can.
The same can be said about your beloved pets, your parents, anyone who is important to you. Because you are always together, you kind of forget to pause for a moment and take a photo.
Today we lost our senior dog of 16 years, he wandered off in the snow last night.
LUCKY for us a neighbor found him and he is home, safe and warm.
But in that moment this morning I panicked looking for him all morning, called all the animal control options and then went on to facebook to post a lost and found, only to realize I had to go back all the way to Christmas to find a photo of him.
There are like 400 images since then on my phone alone, but, my buddy for 16 years and constant selfie companion, has been missing from my moments with our kids this year since he doesn’t get out, or up much. The facebook community came through for us and we were reunited in a couple of hours after I posted his photo but it was a tough morning. He’s old, blind and deaf and we might have lost him without even a photo from this 2024 year.
So here he is, our old man in his happy place now and his first photo of 2024… on March 2.
How to be in more photos with your family and kids - use your camera timer
When you want to see but also be in the fun but you are also excited to capture them, see if you can do both by using your phone’s camera timer., especially if you are celebrating an event, or on vacation.
I still take more photos with my phone that with my camera most days, but I also use the timer for both.
Most cell phones have a 10 second timer in the camera app, which allows you to set up the camera like you’re taking a selfie, then position it somewhere so you can actually back up and pose and capture the landscape views or activity with more than just a squishy headshot with your arm outstretched. Its just like how most people take their videos now, but just in the good old fashioned printable, still frame images.
It’s easy to look up how to activate your phone timer by your specific phone model if you do an online search. Its usually an option in your photo settings where you can choose from 3 seconds or 10 seconds.
If you have an Iphone you can also use the SAY CHEESE app and ask Siri to take a picture for you. This is also handy if you use a handsfree holder and need to take a photo of a licence plate or something while you are driving. In my case it’s usually some sort of wildlife.
Ideas to use your timer and take a few photos
I use the timer often in our kitchen, with my phone or camera propped up by the toaster while me and one of the littles take a coffee bar selfie. Or sometimes it’s just me and my coffee because I’m having a rare good hair day.
It works great to put it by the tv, maybe with the tv still on, while you all hop together for a moment on the couch. At least they will all be looking the right direction
I also do this in the kids rooms while we play on the floor and dance and be silly or propped on the dresser while we jump on the bed.
I attempt to do this on some of our scenic walks too, but generally we are too distracted with keeping a toddler out of the water, every park has water it seems.
Don’t forget to think about light ON your faces if you can, unless you like silhouettes. Posing in front of a window doesn’t work for most phone cameras well, but standing with the window beside you works great, or better yet, pose the camera on the window ledge and while you are so nicely lit by the window, catch a little family group photo.
You can still do a long arm selfie with you getting in the moment, the timer just gives you more variety.
Don’t be afraid to take a blurry or funny outtake too. Just snap away, you never know what you’ll get.
Along with those selfies, look for some opportunities to take silly and candid moments too. Maybe your kiddos look peaceful in the window light, or you have an amazing new outfit an want a selfie NOT in the mirror, even if the house is showing some “real life” chaos behind you. They are your pics, no judgement here. You also don’t have to share them, it’s whatever you want for YOUR memories.
Here are a few of my family selfies and candids for the past month. And after all this, the only ones on my camera are with our baby, not with my son. So I guess I need to try again this month.
Scroll down for a more staged and stylized selfie shoot and a story about how RIDICULOUSLY HARD it was to pull off what seemed like a simple moment.
It’s blurry and silly but it’s real
good hair day coffee selfie in my fave #westcoasttees hoodie
Hanging on the bed catching some sunlight - it’s the only room with good natural light
Quite often I set my camera up in the same way as these idea, but with a tripod. You can get little octopus looking tripods* for phones too that are a great idea for vacations.
I use the Canon Remote App to trigger the camera so I don’t have to actually run and get into a pose and have my kids looking the right way all in the short 10 seconds. At least we get a start at being in the right spot while waiting for the photo to happen.
It doesn’t matter what you are up to, just try to make a new habit out of regular photos here and there. Habits are easy to form with a bit of consistency, but ideas are easy to forget by the time you turn your attention to the next article or instagram post, there goes another 3 months with no new photos of you with your sweet family or fur babies.
Take one right now if someone is sitting with you while you’re reading this - And tag me @alannadportraits on instagram if you post it, I would love to see you in action.
playroom moment with the cat photobombing at just the right time
i keep my camera handy just as much as my phone for candid cute moments like this little bed-head cutie
Keeping the camera handy in the living room as sometimes things just catch my eye in the moment.
Take your self portraits and home photo adventures to the next level by trying something you saw on social media.
Nothing crazy, just something interesting, pretty or fun. Here’s my attempt below.
Remember when it all started with pinterest back around 2010, and then #pinterestfails.
And then came instagram and other things like tiktok that now flow mostly in video format but with endless challenges and trends to try for photos, videos, and random activities.
I am inspired, and often overwhelmed, by the incredbile creativity I see on Instagram, and every once in a while I have the time and energy to attempt something I have saved in my bookmarks.
This week, it was the kitchen sink baby photos.
These are nothing new, but they are oh so sweet and I think it’s a perfect childhood moment that everyone would love to have in their “scrapbook” of memories these days. This setup was planned ahead of time to use the last of my beautiful valentines day flowers before they were totally dead, they lasted almost 2 weeks!
It was also extremely difficult.
I want to reiterate that seeing pinterest ideas, instagram, tik tok all those amazing cute ideas that are trending and seem simple, in many cases the effort behind the scenes is crazy. It's also totally ok to just be you and not do any of the above. Just take unstaged, imperfect photos of everything and everyone that is important to you.
You can have fun doing selfies like this or you can just be quick and take photos of your little ones, your pets, just anything in that moment that made you smile.
My new offering of childhood documentary sessions are all about the unscripted life moments, though I am experimenting with stylized activities like this too.
Here's the behind the scenes details for these pictures.
I had to get the scene set up by cleaning the kitchen in full, clearing clutter, prepping flowers, cleaning the sink.
took test pics on an awkward angle while trying to see the focus on the remote app, which is not very focused.
The camera is sitting on the far side of the kitchen, on top of the toaster to be in the right spot as the tripod didn't fit in this corner of the counter
The Bubbles only lasted a couple minutes and she was grabbing the flowers.
Baby wiggles and wants to look around, and eat the bubbles and flowers. Mom is also trying to be in focus and not looking like a total disaster after taking the time to do my hair and make-up for the first time in a week.
The baby was not loving this game because i wouldn't let her eat any of the things.
We are trying to take this photo with the remote control which requires that you tap the screen to get it to focus on her, and then it activates the 2 second timer so i am looking at her and not looking at my phone in every shot.
And I can only do all of this in the short window of time where my toddler naps in the afternoon.
so needless to say there's a heck of a lot of outtakes from this 2 minute photo op
But there are a couple of split-second successful images.
She's so cute, the adventure is worth it.
Celebrating her curiosity with this 6 month old photo with mama.
Bubbles on bubbles. The cutest 6 month baby portrait.
