Mom's in the Picture: Setting Up the Shot

As a Mom, some of my most treasured photographs are the ones of me with my children. But let's be honest... us Mamma's are not the best at getting in front of the camera. Someone once told me that the pictures we take as parents are really a gift to our children. Moms, it's so important in your documenting of your days that you get in some shots too! Not just for you, but for your children to cherish one day. 

Last year I set a BIG goal for myself! After noticing how little I was in pictures the previous year I decided I needed to be better at getting in more shots with my kids! By the end of that year I had taken some of my favorite photos of my kids and I EVER!  I was so thankful I got out of my comfort zone and got in some shots! Along the way I learned a lot of great tricks to achieve the photos I wanted to have with my kids. And It turns out, it’s not as hard as it looks! In this post I want to share with you some of my favorite shots as well as pullbacks to show you how I set them up in the hope of inspiring your photography to include YOU too!

We chalk art with the best of them! When I’m composing my shot I usually use one of my kids to get my focus and set my settings, then I run back to where they are after I press the shutter! For shot above I used my self timer and set my Drive Mode to 10 seconds and ran back and forth a few times to press the shutter! It’s usually a guessing game with what the shot will look like and my head is sometimes cut off... but I like it! Haha!

Here is the pullback, I placed my camera on the ground so it created an interesting depth of field on the bottom!

In this shot below I accidentally cut my head off again but I have no makeup on so I promise that’s a good thing! ;) This was one of those days where we stayed in our pajamas all day and let the house go! It was too sweet not to document!

Here is a pullback of that shot. I placed my camera on one of my kids stools and used my self timer again. A little trick, especially in a shot like this, is I will sometimes allow my kids to press the shutter button after I get the focus and settings! They find it so fun to be involved in the process and it usually creates the best laughter! Only attempt if you are brave though! ;)

Baking cookies is our thing! These are some of my favorite photos of the two of us!

Here is the pullback. Self timer for the win again!

You don’t have to own a tripod to get a great shot with your kids! A good old coffee table will do!

Here in the pullback you can see that I had my camera sitting flat on the table and used my self timer at 10 seconds to get the shot! I had my kids sit on the couch first to get the focus and settings!

Find good light and snuggle up!

Here is the pullback :) My kiddos took turns pressing the shutter!

Now this is where a tripod might come in handy! Getting a great shot from above takes a little creativity but they are some of my favorite types of shots! You’d never know there were toys at our feet and an Everest mountain of laundry on the couch!

Here is the pullback. My tripod allows my camera to point down which is one of my favorite features!

Teepee kisses are the sweetest!

Here in the pullback you can see I used that stool again! For this shot, because it would have been hard to run back and forth from the teepee I used my remote on an app on my phone, which is hiding in the teepee!

Bath time is a favorite of ours especially when we have bubbles! I realized I didn't have a bath pic with me in it so I snapped this last night! It explains why I end up just as wet as they do ;)

Here is our bath time pullback. For this shot I used the remote timer on an app on my phone again which is out of the frame and I had my Drive Mode set to 10 seconds. I pushed the shutter on my phone and then the shot would happen 10 seconds later. With that delay, it helps it to be not so rushed and more organic.

Here is one last shot that I took this morning! And just to show you how easy this can be I chose the hardest possible moment to stop and take a picture together! Right before they leave for PreSchool! We only had a minute to spare before we would be late but I knew we could do it!

Excuse our Boxer baby in this shot :) In this pullback you can see my camera is laying flat on the kitchen table and the kids took turns pressing the shutter button with the self timer set to 10 seconds.

If you want an even bigger challenge, try to use your self timer to get in the shot with your entire family like I did in the shot below!

I hope this post was helpful in encouraging and inspiring you to get in the shots more! If I can do it anyone can! I promise you won’t regret making this a regular part of your documenting of your family! I can also promise that one day your children will thank you for it! Now go grab your camera and make it happen!!

Join us in using the hashtag #momsinthepicture on Facebook and Instagram!

• Mom's in the Picture: Setting Up the Shot by Jessica Foreman
• Mom's in the Picture: Tools to Make Getting in the Photo EASY! by Gayle Vehar
• Mom's in the Picture: Photographing the Fun by Tammy Porter
• Mom's in the Picture: Photographing Motherhood by Zach Egolf
• Mom's in the Picture: Capturing Connection by Lea Hartman
• Mom's in the Picture: Keeping It Real! by Kelley Smallman
• Mom's in the Picture: Getting in the Picture with Your Grandchildren by Tina Auten