How to take photos of little boys (and the occasional little girl!)

Hi, my name is Lauren Walker, from Tiger Lily Photography - im a family portrait photographer, based in Sydney, and working all over NSW.  I take photos of kids of all ages – from squishy newborn babies to smiling 6 month old sitting up for the first time; from 1 year olds learning to walk to 2 year olds learning to say no; from 3 year olds exploring the world to five year olds telling me what to do; and from 6 year olds who just want to please, to 12 year olds who are just ‘too cool’.... and every age inbetween!

Im also the mother of a 16 month old little boy, who is starting to get very determined, runs when he sees the camera – so I know a lot about the word NO!

Here are a few tips to get the best out of photographing your kids.... J

* Play Silly Buggers. This ‘game’ will depend on your kids age, but often I try tickling and playing ‘peek-a-boo’ with the kids first. Or asking them to find Thomas or Dora in the camera. In the photo below I pretended I was sneezing.... little Zac here wouldn’t stop laughing at me!

* Let there be light... natural light. Take your kids outside, turn the flash off your camera, and position your kids so they’re not looking into the sun (to avoid squinting, and to get some gorgeous backlighting).  If outdoors isn’t an option, open the blinds and let some lovely natural light into your house.

* Props, Props, Props. When kids are occupied, they’re normally really still (or at least not running around as much), and therefore easier to photograph. You won’t necessarily get photos of your child looking at the camera, but often they’re the best photos – see below.

* The closer the better. Some of the best photos of children are the ones where the camera has zoomed right in, and focused on the childs eyes (or eye lids, in the below photo!).  And, as you can see from the photo below, even when they’re throwing a tantrum, it can be super cute!

* The rule of thirds. A classic photography ‘rule’, but basically it means don’t always centre your child in the photo – try moving the camera so your child is to one side. These photos always look terrific blown up really big – a lovely lounge room canvas even!

* Belly Baby. As soon as a baby is happy on his or her belly, and starts to lift their head, get the camera ready! This is such a gorgeous age, and not one to miss!

* Get Down. As kids are little, you sometimes need to get down to their level. Lay on the floor, so you’re eye to eye to each other (tip – this one is good exercise, as kids often get up and run when you least expect it!)

* Family Time. For family photos, try positioning your family where you want them to be, shoot a few frames, and when you’re happy, set your camera to your timer setting, and jump in there. Or call me….. please mention this article for 10% off your session fee J

Happy Shooting!

Lauren Walker

Tiger Lily Photography: Simple, Beautiful Photography

m. 0416 006 779

p:  02 8824 7895

f:   02 8824 6266

e. lauren@tigerlilyphotography.com....au

w. www.tigerlilyphotography.com.au

b. www.tigerlilyphotography.com.au/blog

f. www.facebook.com/tigerlilyphotography ** become a fan! **

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Mother and sons hand

How time flies

It only, it only seems like yesterday This photo of Archie and my hand was taken. Where does the time go? I remember when Archie was really little it felt like the days went on FORVER I was wishing his little life away , I thought that with each stage things may get a little easier- hurry up and learn to roll so you can reach for a toy, hurry up and learn to crawl so you can get to the toy box, hurry up and learn to walk so you can play outside with a ball and explore. Now that he and Zac can do all those things I find myself wishing the time back - Oh I wish they would just sit still!!!

I especially thought that this morning as I was trying to juggle the two adventurers down at the local coffee shop/beach. Archie wanted to ride his scooter on the dangerous cycle path and Zac wanted to run under the beach showers. Where is my body double when I need her? These boys are so full of energy. I know with each stage of their lives their is going to be challenges but there is also some amazing positives too. I guess with this stage it's so nice to see them loving life and wanting to explore  the world. It's nice to see them try new things and the look on their faces when they have achieved it all by themselves.

As I look back on that frustrating, tiring newborn stage I think the real positives were being able to snuggle with your little one, being able to take them with you wherever you wanted and of course being able to enjoy your coffee down the beach!!!

Technorati Tags: Motherhood

Mother and Sons –

The Relationship between a mother and her sons and how it changes.

I was one of two girls so never got to witness the relationship a mother has with her young son. I am now a mother of 3 boys (The eldest is my stepson) and am learning how to develop a loving relationship with my boys.  By reading books and through experience I am seeing that the boys go through stages and their relationship changes with me at each stage. Here is what I have learnt so far.

Newborn Stage

The very first couple of weeks of their lives I think that the boys did not really mind who was cuddling them/feeding them as long as they were warm and secure. If it wasn’t for the fact that I breast feed I think they would have been quiet happy to go to anyone to get their food and be settled. However what I noticed personally was that I had a strong desire to be with them at all times, I was deeply concerned about leaving them with anyone and felt that I had this intuition where I knew what they wanted and could comfort them quickly.

6 months old

The relationship started to change here I feel, actually could have even started earlier like around 3 months. The boys became harder to settle at night and you could see them looking around the room if I had gone anywhere, although they still were quiet happy to be with someone else

1 year old – 4 year old.

Now is where I could really feel the boys starting to need me as their mummy, they cried when I would leave the room or leave them with someone. When they were hurt they cried out for me and when they wanted food or to be changed I heard the cry for Mumma. My eldest is my stepson but this connection/need for a female parent or me was really strong at this age. He gravitated towards me and poor daddy was on the outer for a quiet a few years. My youngest are still in this age bracket; although they love their daddy and do go to him a lot you can tell that they are really still very dependent on the mother.

4 – 8 years old

Here is where I have noticed a huge change with my stepson. No longer does he hang for my attention but it’s all about the daddy now. He looks up to him and wants his dad to play with him. My relationship with him as moved slightly now I’m still important to him as a carer and someone to play with but it seems that he is more likely to want to impress his dad.

Teenagers

Well I cannot truly comment on this stage yet as I have all of this to look forward too!!!!! But from what I can gather and from what I have read, and also being a teenager my self I think that at this time the boys really look to their peers or role models for guidance. The mum is still there to look after them – when they want it- but they are busy trying to establish themselves and find their independence. I think this is a hard stage to go through with your children as you have to let them go a bit but at the same time you know they may not make the wisest decisions. I guess the relationship between mother and sons here is more one of mutual acknowledgment that no matter what they love and respect each other.

Adults

Again I’m not there yet but what I hope for is that as adults my sons will still look to me for assistance, friendship, and a safe house somewhere they know they can always go too. I think it will be truly amazing to see your children grown up and see what type of husband/father they make.

So I think that as a mother although sometimes it may feel that you are not the person your son wants to predominately be around, you are always going to be part of their support network. It’s a matter of being able to shift with the times and adapt to the age that your son is at.

Sonya

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I have breastfeed both my children and both times it was a totally different experience.

First Time feeding: cracked nipples/nipple shields/mixing bottle and breast feeding/easily distracted

I had NO IDEA how difficult breast feeding was going to be, I thought you just stick them on and away you go. To be honest I found it harder and more painful than labour!!! The first couple of days in hospital I actually thought this isn’t too bad and instead of sitting still while feeding I was up walking around – BIG MISTAKE little did I realize he wasn’t latching on properly and it lead to bleeding/cracked nipples OWWWWWWWWWWWWW It was soooo painful, they let me have a rest for 24hours where I used the expressing machine and bottle fed, I then tried again but still so sore. They then suggested (with great hesitation) nipple shields – these were my SAVIOUR!!! (I did have a friend though who found these the worst things ever so I guess it’s individual preference) I found the shields protected me and I was able to stand feeding him again. I actually used the shields for around 9 weeks and then was confident enough to remove them.

Archie was quiet small born and I felt he never really ate much but at the same time seemed a little unsettled. In hindsight I think he was a grazer and I should have probably fed more regularly, yet I felt that I should stick to a 4 hour feeding schedule (as that’s what the books I read say) I remember his feeds were roughly this:

7am, 11am, 3pm, sometimes another at 4pm if he was really whingy, then one at 7pm.

He then would have a feed at 10pm and one at 3am.

He did drop the 10pm feed around 4 months but that 3 am feed ......I’m embarrassed to admit this but kept going till he was 1year and 3 months old!!!!! As he was little though I took every opportunity I could to feed him, that was until the Dr said no more night feeds, as the night time is when they produce growth hormones and he needs this time to grow!!! That stopped me in my tracks.

The whole time I was feeding I feed Alex with a  mixture of formula bottles and breastfeeding. A piece of advice a friend had given me was always make one of the feeds a bottle feed that way you have reassurance your child can be looked after by someone else encase of emergency. I think this was one of the best bits of advice I ever got. Some nurses did warn me that the baby may have nipple confusion or not want the breast after the ease of the bottle but I didn’t find this a problem at all.

I started by just making the last feed before bed a bottle and my husband actually gave Archie this one. I then made all night feeds bottle so that we could share the load. I ended up breast feeding Archie until he was 7 months old this is when he started day care and to be honest I didn’t really have the time to express so chose to go on to formula bottles from that point on. By 7 months he was just having three bottles a day: 7am 12pm 7pm

I never really enjoyed feeding Archie, besides the pain at the beginning as he got older he was very easily distracted which meant he would unlatch himself and look around all the time while feeding, leaving me exposed for the world to see!!!

Second time feeding: Breast feeding easy/wont take the bottle.

Zac was a fantastic feeder from the get go, he was quick and was satisfied, it wasn’t long before he was sleeping through 630pm till 5 in the morning – so very different to Alex. The one problem I had with Zac is he would not take the bottle !!  I tried every type of bottle/teat/formula/breast milk/hot/cold etc... and NOTHING worked! He started at daycare when he was 7 months old and still wouldn’t take the bottle. I couldn’t actually go in and feed him during the day so he just went without – mind you they tried but he would just spit out the milk. Instead they would feed him baby porridge/formula with a spoon or some yoghurt.

When he was around 10months old I had had enough of breastfeeding, even though he was a great feeder I just didn’t feel like feeding him anymore and I wanted to be able to have him babysat without me worrying he is not eating. I decided I would just give up and give him cheese/yoghurt and other dairies to make sure he still got his calcium. I also decided I would try the bottle one last time and you wouldn’t believe it he took it!!!! And from that moment on he has been bottle feed (formula)

I know so many women have trouble with breast feeding and feel pressured to continue feeding even when they are in pain or find it stressful. I think that bottle feeding is a fantastic alternative for mothers in this situation.

Technorati Tags: breastfeeding, feeding routine, mixing bottle and breast, nipple shields, wont take the bottle

I have to admit I am not a newborn baby mother. I LOVE other peoples newborn babies but me personally, I thought my newborn babies were like little aliens sucking the life out of me. It took me about 3 months to look at Archie and think Wow I really love you. I couldn't understand mothers who thought there babies were the most amazing things ever the minute they were born. I honestly just thought Archie although super cute was this little animal that just wanted to suck suck suck, cry, sleep and suck some more!!

I was better when Zac came along and did appreciate him as a newborn a little bit more, I enjoyed the cuddles and the ease of putting him in the capsule or the bouncer for a moments rest.

But I still think that babies should be born when they are around 6 months old - on soilds, sleeping through the night and with their teeth already here

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