5 Tips on Being in the Photo | jen faith brown photography

This year I have started a personal project '52 Weeks of Me'. I will take at least one photo a week with me in it. This is the third week in and so far so good! I am just like almost every woman in that there are plenty of times I am self conscious about being in the photos. However I am going to power through and be in the photos anyways! Today I am going to share 5 tips on getting in the photo either by yourself or along with loved ones.

1. Shoot in the Shadows
There are plenty of times that I don't feel 'photo ready'. My hair is a mess, I am still wearing my workout clothes from my 5am bootcamp, and I still haven't lost those last pesky 30 pounds. Well, one day I saw one of Blissful Maven's photos on facebook and realized since that particular boudoir photo was so moody and in the shadows that I thought to myself 'I would be comfortable having her take my photo in almost no clothes because most of my body would be hidden in the shadows anyways'. So I am taking that thought and applying it to my 52 Weeks of Me. Last week I knew I wanted a photo of Matthew giving me his usual hugs and cuddles but I was looking a hot mess. So I found a good spot in my bedroom that had shadows to hide most of myself and took the photo.

2. Take 3 Minutes to Throw on Some Make-up
Some of you are blessed to have gorgeous faces sans make-up. However, even though I usually wear very minimal make-up, I always feel prettier with it on and would be more willing to in the photo if I was wearing make-up. This past weekend we took a short hike to enjoy the great outdoors. I quickly filled in my brows (because they are a tad sparse from over plucking in my younger days!) and put on some mascara. Brad commented 'getting all gussied up for the trails?'. Um. No. I am making it so I am comfortable being in the photos instead of thinking to myself 'ugh. I look awful without a drop of make-up on so I am not even going to be in the pictures'. And you know what, if you don't have make-up on and you are super duper self conscious, don on a pair of sunglasses!

For quick make-up tips, I consulted with my friend Nicki of Nicki Marie Gazlay Hair and Make-up. According to the pro, she said to load up on mascara to make your eyes pop and throw on a quick application of fun lipstick (think hot pink, coral or red) to instantly brighten up your face. That sounds easy enough and surely we can all manage to do that minimal prep if it means we will feel more comfortable in front of the camera.  Plus, look how gorgeous she is in her family photo so she knows what she is talking about!

3. Wear your Favorite Clothes
If there is even a possibility that I might be in the photos, I try to wear some of my favorite clothes that I know are flattering, or at the very least don't make me look like I weigh 300 pounds or like a dorky mom. Going out with the family on the weekend? Skinny jeans and a cute top. Christmas morning? Wear the pjs without holes in them (and yes, wear a bra!). All else fails take a close up where you can't see that you are wearing a shirt smeared with your three year old's snot, tears, and lunch remnants.

3. Throw Your Hair in a Cute Bun
Once again Nicki has inspired me to do more with my hair than simply put it in a pony tail. She taught our MOMS Club how to do a messy bun and then I looked on Pinterest for ideas on curly hair up do's. Find a simple hair style that you can do in a matter of minutes (and with about 10 bobby pins!) for the days that you didn't wash or fix your hair. For me, curly hair isn't all that easy to do if it isn't wet. I can't exactly run a brush through it. So, Nicki's tips of twisting pieces back to a messy bun and really helped me look more put together for photos. Nicki is like a miracle worker for hair!

4. Give up Some Control
I can't always be the one taking the photos if I want to be in them. So, I have to give up some control by handing the camera over to my husband or even my sons. Will the photos be perfect? Probably not. Does it matter? Nope. If you shoot in manual, dial in the settings and accept that you get what you get and you don't throw a fit.

5. Make a List 
Lastly, keep a running list of things to photograph so you don't have to think about it and you don't have a chance to talk yourself out of it. On those days you aren't feeling inspired or creative, refer to your list and just take the photo. Here is a list I started that you are welcome to save and add your own ideas.

I hope these tips were helpful! I would love to know what you do to encourage yourself to be in the photos more often.



Jen Faith Brown is a family photographer specializing in storytelling family photography session, either in home or on location. Jen is married with three young sons who keep her quite busy and give her abundant practice in photographing always-moving children! Jen is now booking 2016 sessions in Flower Mound, Southlake, Highland Village, Lewisville, Coppell, Frisco, and surround DFW areas. Please visit www.jenfaithbrownphotography.com for pricing and to view sample galleries.

Guest Blogger- Fun In The Sun!

Today we have Kendra from Paisley Layne Photography here to share some of her photo expertise!

5 tips for shooting in full sun

  

The temperature is rising and summer is just around the corner. I know that for us that means lots of days playing outside, splashing in the pool and vacations to the beach. Like most moms I do my best to capture these moments, but they don't always turn out as planned. Since most of our summer activities take place during the day when the sun is the brightest, it can be really difficult to get the perfect shot, but when captured correctly full some photos have can have some of the best bright colors and deep blue skies! Here are 5 tips for creating great photos when shooting in full sun:

1.  Watch the time of day - Mid-day sun can be the hardest to shoot in. The sun is directly overhead which means that your subject can end up with squinty eyes and shadows under their eyes and nose. When shooting at this time of the day, focus on capturing your subject engaged in an activity rather than looking directly at the camera. Get creative with your composition and shoot details (toes in the sand, dripping ice cream cone or that canon ball splash into the pool). If you are able to control the time of day that you are shooting, aim for morning or early evening hours. This is when the light is less bright and more flattering.

2. Look for open shade- You can capture great outdoor photos by using open shade. This can include shade from a tree, gazebo, pier or umbrella. Place your subject at the edge of the shaded area facing into the light. This helps to add natural light to the subject's face and eyes while keeping a nice shaded background. If you shoot the opposite way (subject facing into the shade with the sun behind them) you can end up with a dark face and too bright background. If you can't find shade you can always make your own. Use an umbrella, boogie board, or even a beach towel to create a shaded shot for your subject. If there are clouds in the sky, wait for one to cover the sun momentarily and then take your shot. Clouds work as perfect filters and create beautiful soft light. For the images below, we found a covered walkway and a few trees to keep her out of the sun, but still add light to her face and eyes.

3. 1, 2, 3 - Smile! -I use this trick all the time with my little one (and with clients) when shooting in the sun. If the light is too bright, have them close their eyes and count to three. On three they open their eyes and smile at the camera. They only have to have their eyes open for a second to capture a great shot without squinting.

4. Gorgeous Backlight - I love backlit images and usually shoot around sunset so I can capture the soft glow of the sun before it goes down. However, you can still capture beautiful backlit images during other times of the day as well. If you are shooting in the morning you have the same soft light that you get at the end of the day making it easy to get the soft backlit glow. If you are shooting around mid-day, get creative with your angle. Shoot low with your subject above you and the sun behind them.

5. Embrace the Sun - Sometimes you just have to work with what you have. One of my favorite parts of shooting in full sun are the shadows. Look for fun and interesting shadows and use those to add some drama to your images. Look for metal railing and fences that create lined shadows and position your subject so the lines fall across him/her. You can also get creative and capture your child's shadow on the sand or sidewalk.

While shooting in full sun is not always ideal, don't be afraid of it. In the end, the photos you will capture may not be award winning images but they are moments and memories you will cherish forever.

I would love to see some of your full sun images! Share them with me on my Facebook page or tag me on Instagram! Happy shooting!

Jen Faith Brown is a family photographer specializing in storytelling family photography session, either in home or on location. Jen is married with three young sons who keep her quite busy and give her abundant practice in photographing always-moving children! Jen is now booking 2015 sessions in Flower Mound, Southlake, Highland Village, Lewisville, Coppell, Frisco, and surround DFW areas. Please visit www.jenfaithbrownphotography.com for pricing and to view sample galleries.

Photographing for YOU | flower mound photographer

A couple weeks ago our family went to the lake to eat a super healthy donut breakfast. I got a million cute pictures of the boys and Brad, yet this was the ONLY picture I was in out of about 400.



That night as I was going through the pictures, I told my husband what I really wanted for Mother's Day was for me to teach him how to take better pictures so I could be in the frame. I really love all the photos I have of my sons and hubby, but I feel like most moms- I am missing from the photos. Rarely am I in the photos and a lot of that has to do with me wanting to be in control of the photos. Through no fault of his own, Brad doesn't take great pictures simply because he doesn't have a passion for it like I do. So I always want to be the one taking the pictures. I really want to give up my control issues and make sure I am in the photos too. And yes, even on the bad hair days and on the days where I feel like I need to lose 40 pounds (which, by the way, is about every day). And yes, even if it means that the photos are not perfect.

So, the next day I was outside taking pictures of John because he lost his first 'real' tooth. (He had two teeth pulled so this was the first natural loss!). Then he asked to take my picture. Although I would like to believe he wanted to take a picture of ME, he really just wanted to use my camera. So I did and this is what he got.

Again when I was looking through the photos, my immediate though was 'I am in a photo, but not with any of the rest of the family!'. So while that is still a work in progress (and thanks to the tripod I got in a couple pictures last week during my Day In The Life), I had another thought pop into my head. I realized I don't have to be in photos solely to show my role in my kids' lives. Yes, I am their mommy, but isn't there more to me than that? Don't I have hobbies and interests that are worth documenting with photos just like I do for my family? So for this particular picture I realized it shows what I am like at 7:00 in the morning. Still in my workout clothes from a 5:30 work out class because I don't want to take the boys to the gym day care. Hair pulled back because that's just what you do with curly hair when you haven't showered yet. Big smile on my face because I am hanging out with my oldest son on the morning he lost his tooth for the first time. All part of ME, not MOM.

A couple days later I read this post from Fearless and Framed which talks about photographing people around you. It just so happened I was going to a Mom's Night Out scavenger hunt with my Moms Club friends so I took my big camera along with me to photograph other meaningful people in my life. I have been in this group for about 2.5 years so I have truly enjoyed all the play groups, parties, outings, and I have definitely valued our MNOs! All perfect reasons to snap a couple photos and I was in one of them! :)

So, have you taken photos for YOU lately?

Jen Faith Brown is a family photographer specializing in storytelling family photography session, either in home or on location. Jen is married with three young sons who keep her quite busy and give her abundant practice in photographing always-moving children! Jen is now booking 2015 sessions in Flower Mound, Southlake, Highland Village, Lewisville, Coppell, Frisco, and surround DFW areas. Please visit www.jenfaithbrownphotography.com for pricing and to view sample galleries.

8 Ways to Document Life Through Photography

Recently I shared my Day In The Life which is a fabulous way to document what life is like for your family on a random day through photography. I will absolutely love to look back at this to re-live those days of having three young boys at home. I thought today I would share some 8 ways you can document your life with photography- some more manageable than others!

1. Day In The Life
Obviously you can do a Day In The Life. Take a random day and photograph as much as you can of your day from the minute you wake up until you go to sleep. Try to power through at the end of the day to get as much of your day photographed as possible!

2. On The Hour
Similar to Day In The Life, pick a random day and take a photo every hour, on the hour. Or at least once an hour. This would be great for those busy lives and you only need to take about 12-15 pictures!



3. Project 365
Many people tackle the Project 365, which is taking a photo a day for a year. I started this project in January and made it until the middle of February. For me personally, I didn't like feeling forced to take a picture and many times I hated those forced pictures. However, I am also the type of person who is ALWAYS taking photos. So maybe I don't take one a day, but several days out of the week I am photographing something and so I decided not to do the once a day deal. If you do want to tackle the whole year, check out Facebook for groups dedicated to this for inspiration and encouragement! Lots of people like this project to force them to find things to photograph that represent their life and then make a big book at the end.

4. Project 52
Can you guess what this is?! Yep- taking a photo a week for a year. This one is more my speed and I could pick my favorite weekly photo. Again, there are facebook groups for this too.



5. Theme Photos
Several blogs and websites pick a theme for the month, week, or day. This is to serve as creative inspiration to photograph something that fits with the theme. Check out Snap Maven who usually posts a good list of links with themes or CM Glimpse which is an instagram project with daily prompts.

6. Before 9am
Photograph your family's daily routine before 9am (or 7am, 8am, etc). This would be great for people with older children who are in school or working parents.



7. Every Day for 30 days
Instead of photographing for 365 days straight, what just 30 days? Seems doable, right?! This might be fun for a summer month when your routine will likely be different than during the school year.

8. Bedtime
Lastly, photograph bedtime, or any other normal routine or event for your family. Perhaps baths for toddlers, dinner time with the whole family, afternoon walks, family game night...there are probably lots of small routines that your family has that you can quickly photograph throughout the year.




Jen Faith Brown is a family photographer specializing in storytelling family photography session, either in home or on location. Jen is married with three young sons who keep her quite busy and give her abundant practice in photographing always-moving children! Jen is now booking 2015 sessions in Flower Mound, Southlake, Highland Village, Lewisville, Coppell, Frisco, and surround DFW areas. Please visit www.jenfaithbrownphotography.com for pricing and to view sample galleries.