Get with the Picture

Most families seem to have one person that ends up taking all the photos. Sometimes it’s because you are the best with the camera, and other times it is just because it happens to be one of your favorite hobbies and you just love it. The latter is the case in my family. I will generally be the first one to pick up the camera or video recorder at any opportunity. Because of this, I find that I’m not in the photos as often as I’d like to be. The solution for this is simple, let someone else take some shots or get a tripod. I try and do both.

By letting others take shots it puts a different style in the picture. For example, my 8 yr old son is always after me to let him take some photos too, and why not? After all, in this digital world we live in he can take as many shots as he likes and doesn’t cost a thing. My son is only 4 feet tall too which adds a neat perspective to all his shots. Side note: I am usually reluctant to hand over the camera to him, but I’m always surprised with just how good some of his shots are, even if they weren’t intentional.

The use of a tripod has become routine for me these days. I use it mainly for stability when taking shots in manual mode, but having it for timer shots is great too. Just put it on the 10 second delay, run out in front of the camera, and your in the photo!



Ty's picture of his friend through a pumpkin, how creative of him.

 The point is this, the last thing you want is someone looking through all of your photos later in life and saying “Wow, your wife and kids had some great times… where were you?”. Even though it’s obvious that you were the one taking the pictures, it is still nice to actually see you ‘there’ once in a while. So pass the camera around the family, use the tripod and timer, or just ask someone else to snap a couple shots of all of you, just get in front of the lens more!