RitzBitz

Greetings Fellow Photographers!

Mother’s Day is coming up, so I wanted to do everyone a favor and provide some great tips for Dad and the kids to create a gift for mom that she will cherish forever. Sorry moms, don’t ruin your own surprise stop reading now and forward this on to your husband and kids!

Dads, this one is up to you to organize. The first thing you’ll need to do is pick a day when your wife is not around and you have the kids to yourself for a few hours. It may be best to keep this secret until that morning so your kids don’t spill the beans to Mom too early. You will be taking the kids to a photo shoot, and you are the photographer! But, I’ve done all the hard work for you. Just follow this plan and you’ll be just fine. Plus, you’ll end up with one of the best Mother’s Day gifts your wife or mom has ever received.

Phase 1

First, get the kids dressed up nicely at home. You should coordinate the color tones of their clothes, but do not dress them in matching identical outfits. Bring a nice blanket for them to sit on during the shoot to help keep their clothes clean and a casual change of clothes for each child. Oh yeah don’t forget your camera!

Next, take the kids to the location you have in mind for the shoot. This could be a location that has a special place in your wife’s heart (such as where you proposed, if possible), a naturally beautiful area, or something else entirely. Scout it out beforehand during the time of day you plan to take the photos. Pay attention to the light (the sun should be behind the kids), depth, and background (keep this in mind when planning the outfits).

Once you arrive at your location, get the kids posed nicely together for a group formal shot, stand farther back than normal, and zoom in to flatten the depth of field. You may also want to pop up your flash (”P” mode on many cameras). Take a few tests and see what looks best. Once you have several good shots from that scene, you are ready to move to Phase 2.

Phase 2

Have the kids change into their casual clothes, and bring them back to the same spot where you just shot the formal photos. This time, have the kids pile in together; let them play, wrestle, and have fun with each other. Take many photos as they do this candid shots of the kids having fun together often are the best for capturing the sibling bond.

Once you have several of these candid shots, move them to a playground or park and let them continue to play. This time, take candid shots of each child individually. This may be best achieved if you stand back and zoom in so you don’t interfere. At the end of this phase, you will have great formal group shots, candid group shots, and candid individual shots of your kids. One session with three different looks now that is a photographer’s dream come true!

Phase 3

Once you are finished shooting for the day, get the kids back in the car, and head home. You may be wise to stop and bribe them with ice cream to keep quiet about your outing. Then, when you have some time alone, go through the photos and pick your favorite, or favorites. You may be better off choosing only one photo from the day, or choosing one photo from each look (group formal, group candid, and individual candids). Once you decide which photo(s) you like, browse the gifts (the orange tab) in your online photo account. You can order the pictures and put them in a frame, or take it up a notch with canvas prints. There are literally hundreds of other gift items to choose from as well. No matter which one you decide on, I guarantee that the end result, combined with the effort of organizing the photo shoot, will make your wife, mom, or grandma one very happy lady!

One more thing I realize that some of you may not have kids, or have kids that are too old or too young for this kind of thing. If that is the case, go through some old photos and put some special pictures of the kids in nice frames. Do the same for your mom using photos of yourself and your siblings if you do not have kids of your own. Trust me she will love it!