If you’ve been following my blog, you’ll know how I love photographing details and capturing the true stories of my kids’ lives. Now that my kids are a little older their interests are rapidly changing like they did during their first year. I found myself putting the camera down figuring, that I’ve already seen them play with Legos or books or tea sets 100 times, and I’ve photographed them doing it. So why bother? But you’ll be amazed at what you capture when you photograph your kids’ favorite things again.
One morning while Milo was at preschool, Sawyer and I were having some focused time together (a goal for the year). We were having a little tea party per her request. She put on this chef hat and just started making tea and chatting away with me. I had my phone handy and snapped a quick photo. But I thought, why stop there? I need to capture this! (Here’s my iPhone photo as shared on my Instagram feed).
Last year I blogged about Milo and Sawyer’s tea party. In fact, I even had 7 Tea Party Photo Tips featured on Me Ra Koh’s blog. Even though one of the tea party photos is still a favorite that sits by my desk, they were taken last May! I went and got my camera and found how even though the activity was the same as I had captured before, how Sawyer played was not. As I clicked my shutter I was truly photographing her growth.
For one, Sawyer actually sits in her chair, instead of stands on it. And she pours herself and me a cup of tea to drink. She even blows it off to cool it down for you.
When I look at the middle photo below, I can hear her chatting away, explaining how she’s fixing the tea and who each cup was for. She was even more methodical in her pouring and sharing of tea, whereas before it was much more fun to sit on the table and have her brother pour for her.
Another favorite. This one I shot a little wider and didn’t clean all of the clutter. But I love her little figurines organized just so on the window sill along with the pile of books on the table showing what we had just done. Fitting for capturing a true afternoon in my home.
I was even able to take advantage of the moment and capture this new favorite portrait type shot of her. It’s a new favorite of mine, as I can see her spirit as she looks the camera down. I also see a little baby left in my baby girl, along with big girl. This moment would have been missed had I figured that I had already captured a tea party.
I challenge you to see how you can photograph your kids favorite activity again. How long has it been since you captured him playing with his trucks, or her reading her favorite book, or them playing together with Legos (all activities that still take place in my home yet I’ve neglected to capture more recently)? You might find that they do play differently, or maybe even the same, but you find a new way to capture it. Either way, you’ll have captured your children right now, telling their story for the beginning of the 2015 year.
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