simple ways to take better pictures of your child :: review

Several years ago I heard MeRa Koh speak at a blogging conference. I’d seen her photography before that and already loved her work, but after listening to speak I was really blown away. This woman is strong, witty, down-to-earth, and she is incredibly talented at sharing her knowledge with others. She breaks things down as simply as possible to explain how and why photography works, while never talking down to anyone.

She had a book signing at the conference and even though I didn’t have baby-babies anymore I bought “your baby in pictures“, her first photography book. (She also wrote a book prior to the photography books about her personal recovery following sexual victimization). The book-signing line was pretty long so I decided to go grab a bite to eat and come back. When I got back, there was no one there but MeRa. I almost didn’t go up. See…I’m a terrible fan girl. I get nervous and can’t figure out what to say. I trip over my words and ramble unnecessarily. Besides, I reasoned, she’s been signing books and being chatty all afternoon. Surely she’s tired of small-talk by now. I really almost talked myself out of “bothering” her. But I decided to step out of my comfort zone and say hello. As I walked up, she smiled and said, “Isn’t this place just amazing?” I was instantly comfortable with her and we talked all about the conference, our children, mutual friends, and food. The conversation was so easy, like talking to an old friend…so much so that I almost forgot to get her to sign the book!

While I loved the baby book, all of my kids were beyond those stages. So I was really excited when I found out she was working on a book about taking pictures of kids – from toddlers all the way up to those early pre-teen years. This book is full of tons of great ideas and incredible images. There are two things I love about this book. When I read it, I hear her voice in my head just as if she were speaking it. Her words are calm and gentle and encouraging. She breaks down the images shown and tells you not only what the settings of the camera were, but also details of the moment. How the light was coming in, what the mom was saying to the little girl, or how she invited the child to be a part of the picture taking process. I love that she points out that some of the best photos aren’t technically “correct”. There may be too much blur or a little underexposed or too grainy or too whatever, but it’s not always about the “perfect” photo…it’s about capturing the moment in a way that tells the story powerfully. She even reminds us that sometimes we’re working so hard for the “perfect” shot that we miss the moment. “Slow down,” she says, “look for the story you want to tell before you even lift the camera to your eye, and focus on capturing one moment, rather than every moment!” That’s one of the things that she mentioned when she was speaking at the conference and it completely changed the way I took pictures of (and with) my children. Now I know that I want to get a shot of this or that so I take a shot or two and put the camera (or phone) away.

In this book she also touches on something that she’d said in her conference session that really stuck with me: don’t be afraid to take “conflict pictures”. It’s okay to take (a few) pictures of you children when they are scared or vulnerable, maybe when they’re trying something new. And then…when that thing that scared them is no longer scary you can go back and show them that moment. They can look at that time, that moment when they were afraid and then see how they’ve grown. They’ll be able to see something in themselves that they might have otherwise missed, and they can look at the progress they’ve made and be proud of how they’ve changed. I’ve done this a few times with my children and I always love to watch their faces when they go back and look at their “conflict” pictures. A smile slowly creeps up and pride sparkles in their eyes.

This book is more than a photography how-to guide. It’s more than a picture book. It’s more than a collection of photography facts. This book has a story of its own and through it, MeRa is encouraging each of us to find our story and really capture it as simply and beautifully as we can.

your child in pictures by MeRa Koh :: $19.95

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*Photo by Dawn Camp of My Home Sweet Home. Find more about Dawn here.