How to take family pictures with PERSONALITY by Dana at {MADE}

Leaving Texas was tough because of the people we had to leave behind. One of those special people is my dear friend, Dana. She is someone who you can talk to for hours and hours and still feel like you have more to say. Our kids have also spent hours together playing and forming strong bonds. Lyndon has even made it clear that he will be marrying Lucy (Dana's oldest) in the years to come. Here's a few pictures of them...

Dana is fun, positive, and so creative. Not only is she so fun to be with and talk to, she is an amazing streamstress who has an amazing sewing blog called, MADE. She inspires her readers with her great ideas and down to earth posts. I know I've whipped out my sewing machine WAY more after following her blog.

AND not only is she a great seamstress she is an great photographer!! You will love her fresh lifestyle photography.  And lucky us, she is here to give us some more idea's on how to take pictures of your family. 

Hi Photoberfest friends.

I'm Dana from the DIY site, MADE and I'm happy to join you for a week on family photography!

Everyone loves a good family photo, or photo of the kids, or individual shots of the kids, or snap shot of the family dog.  If the photos are "good enough" we like to display them in our home.  (Obviously).  But sometimes I think we get hung up on the "good enough part".   We feel like we need a professional photo shoot to capture our good sides (and edit out the facial blemishes).  When I think of the type of photos that really capture our family however, I think of photos that show us in our everyday life.   That's the aspect I really want to remember over time.  And that's the part that feels most like us.  

So here are a few tips for taking everyday family photos with personality:

• Be Natural.  My favorite shots of the kids are when they're interacting and have natural smiles.  Ideally, I capture these with my long paparazzi lens so they don't notice me.  But when my lens is closer and they know what I'm up to, I've found that giving them a prop to play with loosens them up and allows them to be themselves.  Lollipops, treats, toys, hats, bikes....these are all great distractions from the photo shooting at-hand.

• Take photos in everyday locations or places you visit as a family.  The kids and I often find ourselves hanging out on Mom's bed in the afternoon.  It's large and cozy and perfect for acting silly.  So.  On our bed I've taken old photos...

new photos... 

and photos I don't want to forget...like the shape of their little heads. I've already blown up one of these photos to canvas size and it hangs on our family wall.  I love that it's normal-us. Nothing fancy.  Just a slice of life.

• Edit photos together to create interesting art.  These photos were taken near a cool bridge in Waco, TX.  The location I loved, the photos I loved, and with 4 photos edited together, I loved it all even more.  Definitely "good enough" to print and hang on the wall.  

• Hand the camera to someone else and ask them to snap a few photos.....like a stroll along the beach (photo actually taken by Katie!).  

• Make it work, and improvise.  Last summer my mother-in-law asked me to take photos of all the grandkids at the beach.  I had no idea how I was going to get seven kids to sort-of hold still and look at the camera.  But, I spotted these colorful stools in the beach house and they were perfect.  Each child had their own stool.  Grandpa dragged them out to the sand and we plopped those kiddos down.  They loved it! 

And thankfully Grandpa thought to snap this photo from the session as well...

 Now that's a real life moment! (and something I'd also put on our walls)

• When all else fails, use your phone camera.  I always have my phone on me (so I can Instagram the heck out of stuff)  And some of my favorite family photos are taken this way:

Happy snapping!

(NOTE: Want a step-by-step cheat sheet for crisper, colorful and eye catching pictures? Download the Key to Pictures Cheat and stop guessing on your camera’s manual settings.)