Let me start by saying that while I have learned a LOT about taking photos in the past 3 years, I am by no means an expert. I’m not even a photographer, since my eyes glaze over when people start talking ISO and shutter speed. The only part of photography I actually understand is aperture, and even then I only know a small number means I get a fuzzy background and that looks fancy so, like, do that? Right?

But after owning a Nikon D90 for a while and reading a zillion articles and books and tutorials I feel like I’m qualified to give 5 tips for taking great photos even if you don’t know what you’re doing. And the top 5 things I’ve learned about photography DON’T involve super fancy camera settings or post-processing. Photoshop and Lightroom are amazing programs but if your main goal is to take better pictures of your kids – either for your blog or just for their scrapbooks – you don’t need editing software. I promise. Just be more mindful of the following things when you’re snapping away:

1. Use natural light. It’s all about the light. Yes, your camera has a flash and no, I’m not saying flash is evil. Skilled photographers can do amazing things with artificial light. But when I use flash, everyone comes out looking like a deer in the headlights and/or a flesh eating zombie so I take advantage of natural light whenever possible. I don’t mean direct sunlight – it can often be too harsh – but light coming through a window, a shady spot under a tree or that magical golden hour right before sunset are all better places to take you kid’s monthly baby photos than under your ceiling fan lights at 8 pm. (This goes DOUBLE for photos of food.)

August, 6pm – the light is behind the trees so even though Caroline is backlit it’s the nice halo-type of backlit. Plus it shows of her ginger curls in a way head-on light wouldn’t.

2. Pick a great location. My couch is moss green, filthy and makes a terrible backdrop for photos. My kitchen is OK but the dark counters and wood cabinets make it a cave. The rest of my home is always a mess. But the park less than a mile from my house is gorgeous – stone pathways, arbors, fountains, lots of shade, space for playing and running and bikes. I’m not capturing our “everyday” in the sense that we are in our house but I am capturing a typical afternoon in our neighborhood. It’s easy to bring the camera along, sit in the grass and let the gingers run in circles while I mess with my settings. Having a great location makes all the rest of the tips MUCH easier.

This was spontaneous wish-making…something that wouldn’t ever happen at home in our family room.

3. Pay attention to your background. This is why you’re shooting at the park instead of in your house (as cute as my tiny gingers are in those photos, the background prevents them from ever becoming prints I hang on the wall). But it also means take three steps to your left to avoid capturing that trashcan or people scooping dog poop or a couple having a fight behind your kid (all actual things I avoided during this shoot). Even if you are in your house, do your best to get blank walls, plain cabinets and doors in the background rather than piles of brightly colored toys and laundry. You can crop in post-processing – even basic, free programs allow cropping – but these are tips for AVOIDING all of that so try to remember to look behind your kid’s adorable face.

Things going on around Evan that you can’t see because I framed the photo well – trash can, people fishing, teenagers loitering and smoking and doing general annoying teenagery things.

There were some people sitting on the edge of the fountain at first, so I took close up shots until they wandered off. Then I backed up and let Evan throw his penny.

4. Children looking at the camera are better than children not looking at the camera. I should have just called this tip “Bribery”, but that seemed crass. I take a LOT of pictures of the backs of heads, butts, shoes, etc. But when you’re trying to take memorable photos, try to get your kid’s face as much as possible. Some of the best ways to get a child to look at you are shouting, waving your arms, playing “Can you see my eye through this camera?” and promising candy/ice cream/ponies. Mostly it’s a matter of following step number 5…

As cute as Caroline’s ruffle skirt is, her “leader of the tiny bike gang” face is way cuter. (Although, technically, the composition of the facing away photo is better…BIKE GANG. I MEAN COME ON.)

5. More is more. As long as you’re shooting digital, keep shooting. At a photography class just a couple weeks ago one of the pros told us to STOP taking so many photos and really focus on getting the shots right the first time. I am definitely going to work on that…soon-ish. But if you aren’t a pro, my advice is take tons of pictures, especially of kids. You might only get a few worth saving but that’s the magic of digital – delete, delete, delete. When your kid is running away from you, shout their name and start snapping – those just-turning-around faces are great and you almost always get eye contact. The same goes for jumping, swinging, splashing, dancing, and running kids – it’s better to have too many shots to choose from than miss a moment you loved.

Dancing kids are hard to keep in focus but too cute to miss, so I took at least 30 pictures in 60 seconds.

Swinging pictures are even harder than dancing pictures (plus the light on the playground wasn’t as good) but I got this one from a collection of many.

I’m not saying you’re going to get magazine-worthy photos from your point-and-shoot or your cell phone camera, but I wish I had known all this stuff from the beginning when I was taking pictures of Baby Evan with my Panasonic. Just remembering to set the baby down somewhere without burp cloths in the background would have made a huge difference.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask and I’ll try to help or find someone to help. And feel free to link photo tips that you’ve found helpful (or written!) in the comments.

All my photos in the post are straight out of my camera (Nikon D90, 50mm 1.8f lens) – no cropping, no exposure changes, no editing. All I did was watermark and resize the files for uploading. I did use my camera’s manual settings when I shot but I do that fairly often now and still don’t get great results. These photos look nice because I took them mindfully, not because I have amazing technical skills with a DSLR. 

(Anyone remember Zoobilie Zoo? I can still sing the song, but holy cow was that a trippy show. I should really stop complaining Yo Gabba Gabba is weird.)

Robots, sunflowers and running – oh my! This feels like the last week of summer to me. Not because it’s going to suddenly get cold but because this week I have BlogHer (THIS WEEK) and then adjusting to a new life with E on shift work (7 days a week, 12 hours a day, no days off). So there won’t be very many more boat trips or family zoo days or…well jeez, now I’m depressed. I guess I’ll have to just spend as much time at the lake as possible before the gorgeous New England fall hits. (And you know I’ve had a pretty good summer if I’m thinking about fall in a pleasant way.)

Sunday:

Robot Evan is fueled by milk and hummus

Caroline didn’t really understand the concept of all the presents being for someone else

The pink ones were the best, but the salted caramel weren’t bath either

Monday:

New favorite way to get 15 minutes of silence

Scoping out the frozen desserts at BJ’s

Still recovering from the weekend

Tuesday:

Library play time

Sunflowers

The track has lights but isn’t lit. I don’t know where I’m going to run once it gets dark at 5 pm.

Wednesday:

Too cool for school

Improvised dinner ended up being a hit

Turns out Caroline is perfectly happy to look at her OWN face on my phone, she doesn’t need to see other babies

Thursday:

We discovered Imagination Movers and she is obsesssssed

For today’s episode of musical beds, Caroline chose Evan’s

I dropped my kids off at a friend’s house which meant she was babysitting SIX KIDS all afternoon (ONE was hers). I owe her a bottle of wine.

Friday:

Zoo navigator

Pretending to be a penguin at the penguin exhibit

Evening run

Saturday:

Buckets are so hot right now

She’s so fashionable she wears my heels to bed

Couch naps for everyone!

Tomorrow we’re going out on the boat, Monday is packing and cleaning, Tuesday I pick up my mother-in-law and then Wenesday is NYC! I’m sorry sorry sorry that I can’t stop talking about it. I realize almost no one cares, unless they are going too. I also realize BlogHer is not the be-all end-all of blogging, or conferences, or anything at all, but it’s hard not to get caught up in the excitement and hype. Bear with me one more week and I promise it will be all gingers all the time.

Did you take any camera phone photos this week? Link up with one or lots using the linky below and grab the code (so it shows on your blog too!) over at Amy’s . It’s really fun!

An extremely nice PR rep I’ve worked with in the past sent me an email waaaay back in May asking if I’d ever heard of Moringa Oil and would I be interested in trying some out? Oh and did she mention it’s great for sunburns? Since I knew we’d be spending a lot of our summer outside/at the beach/on a boat I said “No but yes and yes please!”

I wasn’t exactly sure what I was getting into, but this is what I learned about Moringa Oil:

Because of its potent composition with high levels of oleic fatty acid, Moringa oil spreads easily on the skin, without causing greasiness or stickiness, and readily penetrates the top skin layer. This allows Moringa’s mixture of naturally occurring vitamins A, C, E and other beneficial compounds such as zeatin to permeate skin cells below to support new cell growth and faster repair.

Rich in over 90 nutrients such as vitamins, proteins, amino acids, iron, calcium and anti-oxidants, Moringa oleifera is the most nutrient dense plant yet discovered. The health and beauty applications of Moringa oleifera, the “Miracle Tree,” extend from supporting increased energy, auto-immune health, focus and emotional balance, to reparation of skin elasticity, minimizing wrinkles and making hair more manageable.

Hey, that sounds pretty good. When I got my sample I decided to try it out on as much of me as possible. I got a bottle of plain Moringa Oil to use for beauty type stuff, but not for eating – although they do make capsules if you wanted to try it as a supplement. I already mentioned that I’ve been using it in my hair as a de-frizzer and to soften the dry ends, but here’s my full report:

The oil is a tiny bit thicker than other body oil products I’ve used, so it’s easy to pour a little into my hand and spread it on my whatever bit of me needs oiling. It absorbs well – not instantly, but it doesn’t leave me greasy and unable to get dressed for hours (although I wouldn’t put on a silk dress for a couple minutes – if I owned any silk dresses). I’ve tried it on all my rough spots and it smooths them out nicely all day. It doesn’t have a strong scent, which means it doesn’t make me smell like a a coconut or a flower and I can still wear my own perfume if I want to.

As for sunburns, so far this summer I’ve managed to mostly avoid them (yah for diligent sunscreen applications!) but I have been using Moringa Oil on my skin after long days outside. My tan looks really great and the pinkness from just a liiiiiitle too much sun always fades quickly (something it doesn’t usually do, thanks to extremely Scandinavian genes). The one painful burn I got was on my upper thigh – the kind of spot that NEVER sees the sun unless you’re sitting at just the wrong angle for too long. I put Moringa Oil on it before bed and in the morning it was much less red. I reapplied and the burn faded within 24 hours. I never peeled. I used it on Evan when he got too much sun too (no matter how diligent I am with his sunscreen he always seems to get a little pink). He never complained of pain or itching, the red always faded very fast, and he didn’t whine at all when I made him hold still so I could apply it.

I have a small bottle I’ve been using fairly often since May, but it’s still half full. A little goes a long way, like with most oils. Besides the basic oil I used, they also offer a spa collection with scents like chocolate and lavender which sounds amazing. Check out their website for tons of great information.

Are you intrigued? Do you love kind of hippie, natural beauty stuff as much as I do? Would you be interested in trying out Moringa Oil for yourself? Leave a comment on this post for a chance to win a bottle!

I’m going to be out of town (for YOU KNOW WHAT) next week, so I’ll make this short and sweet. One comment per person, giveaway ends Sunday night 7/29 at 5 pm. Winner will be chosen using random.org. Good luck!

Disclaimer: I was given a bottle of Moringa Oil to try so I could write an honest review. No other compensation was received and there are no hidden catches.

Are you singing it now? Do you hate Genevieve as much as I do? If you have no idea what I’m talking about, count your blessings.

The kids and I made a quick trip to Pennsylvania to visit my BFF Erin and celebrate her baby’s 3rd birthday. I guess I should stop thinking of him as a baby now but OMG when will all these kids stop with the growing up!? I can’t take it! We went down a day early to make robots out of boxes and peel crayons and other various party prep (super cute robot party pics to come) but we managed to squeeze in a whole day of trains, big and small. I think the next party I plan might have to be train-themed.

We went to a train museum in the morning that was fun for the grown ups but not particularly kid-friendly. Did you know there are hundreds of train cabooses and boxcars just sitting around that you can buy for like $9,000? Or that there are still private rail cars with kitchens and bunks that are basically RVs on rails and that Amtrak will hook them up to their trains? I am now obsessed with the idea of owning a train car of ANY KIND. Maybe I read too many Boxcar Children books as a kid (False: there’s no such thing as too many Boxcar Children books).

After lunch we went to Kempton for a special Children’s Day at the WK&S Railroad. For $14 total Evan, Caroline and I rode a little motorcar on the tracks, rode on the big train in an antique car, saw a super cool model railroad, played with the Recycled Railroad, jumped in the bounce house and had ice cream. I believe the appropriate expression is: WINNING.

Model train set up inside an actual train car

Evansville

It makes me want to get my trains out of the basement…until I remember what a total pain in the ass they are to set up and run.

This guy made a Recycled Railroad entire out of trash.

Evan was REALLY excited to “drive” the train.

These little cars went REALLY fast. Ours had a rood and a windshield so it was a little less terrifying. The kids loved it.

Caroline thought we should go faster.

Then it was time to ride the train

Engineer

We had half a car to ourselves and the kids loved it.

She’s thinking about running away.

She loved the train.

Erin is sitting next to her in this picture, holding her ankles to make sure she doesn’t fall out. Because she was REALLY determined to fall out.

Amazed that he’s actually on a train.

Dreaming

My new dream house.

Whistle!!!

Friend Reid

The tracks aren’t connected to anywhere anymore, so the engine turns around at the end of the line and we go back to the station.

And here is the part of the post where I started playing with filters to break up the 10 zillion photos.

Chillaxing, vintage style (sandals, $15, Target)

Please note: I tried tinting my eyebrows AGAIN. It was a mistake AGAIN. This picture looks even more ridiculous in color.

So happy

And then I paid $3 so Evan could ride a pony because I am a sucker.

The pony’s name was Pokey and Evan wanted to take him home.

He was so brave about everything all day. I love my little adventurer.

And then we had ice cream.

Bouncing!

I kept thinking how adorable this place would be for a wedding.

Although this was the smiliest picture I got, he liked ALL the stuff we did, not just the ice cream.