As my daughter gets older, there’s less of those milestone moments and my photography goals have changed. I’m much more interested in photographing life in a more lifestyle/documentary style. There have been several family activities or events that I’ve been dreaming of photographing as Brielle gets older. I’m also realizing the importance of documenting not only the milestones, but the hum drum days we spend at home too. Here are 6 pro tips to help you photograph real life.
This is a project I’m able to schedule and complete on my own terms, and it’s also one that’s helping me fight my urge for perfection behind the lens too.
My husband has quite the sweet tooth and is in love with breakfast. Pancakes, waffles, cinnamon rolls, etc…he’s in heaven. Oh and donuts. Mmmmmmmm. Food allergies keep me from enjoying them so it’s been YEARS since we’ve set foot in a donut shop. So, we decided to introduce our little girl to the deliciousnesses of these special treats with a ‘daddy daughter donut date’. The images below are the result of their real life outing.
If more compelling storytelling is on your list of photography goals this year, not only am I leaving you with this set of images today, I’m leaving you with a few new tips to photograph real life.
#1 Tip To Photograph Real Life: Have a camera nearby
My first tip to photograph real life is keep your camera nearby. So many moms I meet keep their cameras locked in a closet or high up on a shelf so ‘their kids can’t break it’. But that saying ‘out of sight out of mind’ is so true and we can easily fall into a trap of taking too many photos with our phones or not taking any photos at all, simply because the big camera is not nearby. Keep your camera close for a day and notice how many more photos you snap! 
Photographing Real Life: Look for light first
You may find that your locations for lifestyle images are not always ideal. They’re likely full of people, clutter, or distracting colors. Photograph real life by looking for the light first. By finding decent light for your photos first you’re eliminating one huge distraction, poorly lit images. By taking shots that are exposed correctly, your viewer will be drawn into the subject and the moment instead of your perceived distractions. 
Photographing real life means you don’t direct, encourage
One of the most important tips for lifestyle photos is to just step back and watch a moment unfold. Most of my documentary style shoots don’t have anyone looking at the camera lens on purpose. That isn’t to say I completely become a fly on the wall. Sometimes there is an action I want to capture (‘hug your daddy’ or ‘say cheers!’) but I’m more encouraging a behavior that fits the activity instead of directing the entire shoot. 
It’s Real Life: Let go of technical imperfections
It can be so easy to beat ourselves up over the littlest technical flaws. Was your white balance off? Edit the photo in black and white! Was your aperture too low and wide open limiting focus? Embrace some creative bokeh! Did you end up with motion blur from a slow shutter speed? Allow that blur to help tell the story! Those technical imperfections are what make lifestyle photography feel like real life. 
Photograph Life on the Move: Take photos in continuous mode
Look for the icon or setting on your camera that looks like a stack of papers and switch your camera to turn that setting ‘on’. In this mode, when you depress the shutter the camera will continuously take a series of shots. This mode can help when you have a fast mover on your hands. The hope being that one image out of a series will turn out! 
Photograph What Real Life Looks like: Change perspective contstantly
If there’s one tip to photograph real life you walk away with, it’s this one. Moving around helped change my documentary photography immensely! I move A LOT when taking pictures. I stay in one place for a few shots and then I move to a difference angle, spot, or vantage point to shoot another series. This adds variety to the session and allows be to capture wide angle views of the big picture and close up details that help enhance the story. 
Remind your self that not every picture has to be a winner
You are photographing your real life after all! To often I find we as moms beat ourselves with guilt for the things we don’t do. This happens just as much for our roles as moms as it does in our photography journey. Don’t beat yourself up for the photos that don’t turn out. Celebrate the ones that do! Create a slideshow to share what you document, create a collage with our friends over at Picmonkey, or hang a favorite on the wall. I usually only consider 20-30% of my photos from a session keepers. The rest are simply practice and a great tool to learn what went wrong so I can improve the next time around!
Need help printing photos? I’ve got suggestions for that too.
Hi, I’m Beryl of Be Young Creative! I was never a person who carried a camera with me wherever I went. But I fell in love with photography in 2009 as a way to document the exciting time of becoming a mom and rediscover my creative spark along the way. I believe that when you choose the creative path, you discover it’s never too late to change course, find happiness, heal, try more, do less, be bold, get quiet, & cultivate a life of courage and connection. I created the Cultivate Creativity Journal as a way to make space for you in the chaos of daily life and explore what it means to create a life you love.
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