Mommas are busy and juggle many roles in the life of the home. They are cooks, maids, chauffeurs, planners, entertainers, nurses and so much more. One role that can easily be overlooked in the daily life is a documentarian. As a momma, you get the privilege to document your child’s growth and development every day. If you stay at home with your child, you get an added benefit to be able to take images of them all the time and show milestones with other family who may miss these moments otherwise.
While I am invited to capture special moments of a family or child as a professional for a session, that shouldn’t detract from the day-to-day joy of capturing memories of your child. Here are a few tips as you navigate your role as documentarian.
Use the tools and resources available
I’ve had mommas tell me that they can’t capture photos of their children because they don’t have a fancy camera like mine and wouldn’t know where to start. I like to encourage mommas to start with what they have. Whether it’s a point-and-shoot camera or a phone camera these tools are adequate to document your child’s life. While images taken may not be professional they will be memories that will be cherished by your child when he or she is grown. My mother was thankful I took photos of my younger siblings even when I was a teenager. She didn’t have to worry when graduation parties came because my mom had a slew of images to choose from. I was the documentarian of my siblings as they grew and became adults and I’m thrilled to do the same for my own kids!
Don’t worry about the mess
As a mother as well as a professional photographer, I often want to capture an image to share with others but feel bad that the backdrop isn’t picture perfect. Don’t worry about clutter or mess in an image that captures your child’s personality or milestone. Most of the time when I post an image with some clutter I don’t get any comments about the clutter, but of the real subject in them, my child. I often have to remind myself that we are making memories and often that involves some mess.
Make memories with your child
You’ve taken my advice so far. You’re going to use your phone to capture images of your child and you’re going to try to be okay with the clutter in the background, but now I want you to take the biggest step (at least this was for me): Take some images with your child. Selfies have become the norm and often they are taken when makeup is on, hair is done and the person feels great in their outfit. My children love taking photos with mommy but most of the time when they want to take images my hair is up and may not have even been combed that day, there’s not one ounce of makeup on my face and I may still be in my pjs. I may not feel like these selfies are the best but when I look back at them I see the amazing moment I captured and I’m okay that I wasn’t picture perfect for the camera.
I hope you mommas take these tips to heart. It might be hard to start at first but I’m sure you’ll take off in no time. Don’t forget that I am here if you have any questions, comments or need some encouragement. Drop me a line, I love to hear from you and your journey to documenting your child’s life!
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