Father’s Day Pictures ~ The Perfect Gift
Last Updated on May 8, 2019
Hi there! Ummmm, so I am realizing that Father's Day is JUST around the corner. Yikes! I need to get on top of it. If you have followed my blog for a while, you know that I have twin girls and that I have a tradition of taking special Father's Day pictures to give to Joe as a gift. I am brainstorming ideas for photos this year–stay tuned! In the meantime, I thought it would be fun for me to share some of my past Father's Day pictures with you.
Let me stress that I am NOT a professional photographer. I do have an SLR camera, but it's not super fancy, and I don't have expensive lenses. The reason I tell you that is because I genuinely believe that ANYONE can take adorable photos of their kids. You need three basic things: 1) beautiful natural light, 2) an uncluttered background, and 3) an adorable subject(s). TRUST ME, if you like these ideas, you can take these photos yourself!!!!
On Joe's second Father's Day, I took these photos of our girls, Attley and Avery. I still smile every time I look at these photos, which are hanging in our girls' playroom.
Last year, I decided to try something a little more classic and timeless. I had always thought it would be cute to photograph a little boy helping his daddy shave, but, we don't have any boys :) Then it occurred to me that I was being sexist! Why not photograph our girls “helping” their daddy shave?! I decided to go for it. Here are the adorable results.
I chose to take my photos in black and white for two reasons. First, I really wanted the photos to have a timeless look. I want to still have these hanging on a wall 40 years from now and I think black and white stands the test of time more than color photos. Second, our bathroom is terribly, horribly outdated and is swathed in brown tile that would not photograph particularly well in color. Black and white hides all sorts of imperfections, like drab tile :)
I just LOVE the way they turned out. I spent about 5 minutes shooting Joe with each of our girls. So we have photos that we will cherish forever with little more than a 10 minute investment. And I have to say everyone, including me, had a lot of fun. The girls thought it was AWESOME and didn't even notice I was taking photos, since they didn't have to “pose” for any of them. Here are a few more of my favorites!
I have just a few tips for you if you choose to take similar photos:
1) Clear off your countertop and any background clutter that might be visible in the background through the mirror.
2) Stand far enough away from your subjects so that you can crop your own reflection out of the photos, if necessary. Somehow, I managed not to catch myself in a single shot, but depending on the size of your bathroom, that may not be possible, so just leave yourself room to crop.
3) Buy disposable razors and LEAVE the blade covers in place while your kids “shave” your husband's face. Your husband will thank you.
4) Shoot from lots of different angles. Some of my favorite photos are the ones that I shot through the mirror. Don't know if something will work? TRY IT! It may look great and if it doesn't, no harm done. That's the beauty of digital photography.
5) Most importantly, go with the flow and capture all of the natural moments. Just see what happens. Your kids want to put shaving cream on themselves? GREAT! Shoot it. They want to put it in their hair? Why not?! Shoot it. Just capture it all. In the blink of an eye they will be grown up and won't want to help their Daddy shave any more. Capture these moments and treasure them forever.
This would also be fun to do with a grandfather and his grandkids. The possibilities are endless.
After you take the photos, if you are looking for a nice way to display them, check out my tutorial on DIY photo canvases with the secret to creating REAL canvas texture. You won't believe how authentic they look and how inexpensively you can make them!
If you love this post, please share it on Facebook or Pinterest! Oh, and if you take these photos for yourself, please let me know how yours turn out!
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