Take These Photos of Your Children Before It’s Too Late
The photos you didn’t know you needed.
I recently shared some photos I took of my tweenage children with their childhood comforters, or lovies as we call them. These were photos I didn’t realize I needed until I had taken them. The connection that my daughters have with these grubby, worn pieces of cloth is a huge part of their childhoods. It’s a relationship that has been incredibly special to them and to me, so why have I never captured it?
If, as a family photographer, there were precious photos that I had failed to make, other parents must also be missing out on capturing some of these essential aspects of childhood. It got me thinking…
What photos of my children am I thankful to have captured before they hit the teenage years?
I take a lot of photos of my children. Last year I completed a 365 Project (one photo, every day, for a year). But at a time when we are spending so much time at home (we are in UK lockdown 3 as I type), I find myself getting a little bored of photos of my kids on their tablets or sitting at the computer. The mundanity of our day-to-day existence doesn’t really inspire me to pick up the camera. But equally I still want to record this weirdest of times in our family history for them to look back on in years to come.
So I have had to think outside the box a little and find different things to capture. Some have been silly, some a bit abstract, and some have been photographs that I should have taken long before now, but just never got around to. Like the ones of their lovies!
So I thought it would be useful to make a little list so that other parents would stop and take just a few moments to get a photo that will mean so much to them in years to come.
Top Ten photos you should have of your kids…
1. A photo with their childhood comforter
I’m sure that you have a few photos where your child’s comforter makes an appearance, especially in those early years when they seem to accompany them everywhere. But try and get a photo where the relationship between child and comforter is the sole purpose of the image. Get in close, capture the way they hold it with such love and familiarity. Wait for the squeeze or for the inhalation (often the smell of their favorite comforter is hugely comforting) then click.
2. A close up of their little hands
Hands are such a distinctive feature, yet when time moves on it is hard to imagine them any way other than how they are now. Take photos of chubby toddler fingers, sticky chocolate covered mitts, peeling nail polish and hands muddy from the garden. Take photos of their hand in yours, and don’t forget to capture the contrast between their hands and those of older relatives such as grandparents.
3. Don’t forget one of their feet too
This little piggy went to market… we count their toes when they are babies, lets make sure we have photos too. All good newborn photographers know that the ‘foot shot’ is hugely important. When we look back it is so hard to imagine that our six foot tall son with size 12 feet was ever that small. And photos of those tiny little wrinkly toes are enough to melt any parent’s heart. But don’t stop taking those photos once they move out of the baby stage. Chunky toddler toes, feet taking their first dip in the sea, cute socks and messy nail polish, muddy soles running in from the garden… look down and capture those memories.
4. The details
Which of your child’s features make you sometimes stop in your tracks. Is it their long eye lashes, the baby curls at the back of their neck, stork marks, freckles or crinkly noses? Have you got a photograph of it? If not, get up close and capture those tiny little details that you love but that are all too easy to forget.
5. What they love to do the most
What is it that your child would happily spend hours doing, lost in their own little world? Do they have a toy that gets played with every day? A train track, or Legos, or a doll that takes afternoon tea every day at 3? Or maybe it is an activity that they would choose over anything else. Do they spend hours hula hooping or bouncing a basketball or swinging on a swing? Do they love a play park? Maybe they are happiest when they are swinging, spinning, climbing or jumping? Whatever it is that they love to do, take your time to watch them become absorbed in it. Watch their expressions, try and capture them when they are in the zone, or if they are moving fast, take lots of frames to get that perfect action shot.
6. All weathers and all seasons
We often get our cameras out on sunny days. After all, who doesn’t love an ice cream photo at the beach? But don’t forget to get photos of your child enjoying kicking through autumn leaves, or building snowmen. A walk in the rain can be fun to capture, especially if there is a bit of puddle jumping involved! When my two were little we knew all the best carparks for puddles, and used to visit just for the pure and simple joy of leaping into that muddy water.
7. Bubbles and kites
Catching and chasing things that float and fly, a staple of childhood. If you start blowing bubbles at a park or beach it is like a child magnet, they just can’t resist the chase and the pop. Playing keepy-uppy with the left over party balloons, or keeping a kite in the air, can occupy a small person for hours on end. Make sure these memories end up in the family album too.
8. Friendships
We all know that friends come and go throughout childhood as circumstances change, but it is lovely to come across a photo of a long forgotten acquaintance and reminisce about the good times spent together. We never know when a move to a different neighborhood might come upon us, meaning the end to a perfect union. So if there are children that your child connects with, make sure to get a few photos of that friendship (with their parents’ permission of course). Those special relationships will be looked back on so fondly in years to come.
9. Pets are part of the family too
Most of us will have plenty of photos of our pets on their own, being goofy or playing with a favorite toy for example. But it is our connection, the relationship we share, that is our lasting memory of them. The pets we have throughout childhood have a huge influence on us. They introduce us to unconditional, uncomplicated love and companionship. So when you see your child really engaged with their pet in some way, make sure you pull out your camera and make a record of your children learning to care for and respect all creatures great and small.
10. Unposed sibling (or cousin) shots
The relationships children have with their brothers, sisters and cousins can be complicated. They tend to go through many phases, but how do we record that? Are you someone who regularly says ‘Stand next to your brother and smile’? If so, hold back for a while and wait for a genuine moment of connection between your children. Capture them playing together naturally or quietly sitting and chatting. Get action shots of rough and tumble, or snap moments when they are working on something together such as baking or a craft project. They might not always get on, but these photos will allow them to look back and reflect on their childhoods spent together.
While writing this list, I started to think of lots of other photo opportunities that could easily be missed. The best way to make sure you are getting all the photos that you really want to have of your children is to sit down and think about all the things about your children that you love; their uniqueness, their goofiness, their little quirks and individual features that set them apart. Then think…
‘Do I have a photo that will help me to remember this detail of my child in 10, 30 or 50 years time?’
And once you have made those photographs, please make sure that they are the ones you print. A photo in a cloud is no substitute for a print that can be held in the hands or hung on the walls to be enjoyed by everyone for generations to come.
Take them. Print them. Share them with your children. I promise you won’t regret it!
