Last week, I kicked off a 5-part series called “Kiddo Personality Portraits” that stems from the power portrait minis I did several weeks ago.

You can check out Part 1 HERE!

The only thing people had to do to get some photos was to purchase one of Kate T. Parker’s books “Strong is the New Pretty” or “Heart of a Boy,” and they’d get a 5-minute mini session for one kiddo. I know 5 minutes doesn’t seem like a lot, but we got a TON of pure gold.

Kate’s books are all about celebrating children for who they are, just as they are. I fell in love with the images, story and heart in “Strong is the New Pretty” and wanted to share it with others. In keeping with the sentiment behind her book (and in keeping with how I prefer to work with children, anyway), I told parents to let their kids dress themselves. That meant that some came in bathing suits, some in pajamas and even one girl came in a swim cap, goggles, rainbow tutu and mardi gras beads! It was perfect!

This week we’ve got a sister & brother, another sister & brother and then their adorable new-big-brother cousin in a cape!

A shoot like this can be purchased as well if you want something similar for your children. They make great images for playrooms, kids bedrooms and common areas!

A few weeks ago I had the BEST time doing the BEST shoot for 3 hours in the heat and I didn’t get paid for any of it.

The only thing people had to do to get some photos was to purchase one of Kate T. Parker’s books “Strong is the New Pretty” or “Heart of a Boy,” and they’d get a 5-minute mini session for one kiddo. I know 5 minutes doesn’t seem like a lot, but we got a TON of pure gold.

Kate’s books are all about celebrating children for who they are, just as they are. I fell in love with the images, story and heart in “Strong is the New Pretty” and wanted to share it with others. In keeping with the sentiment behind her book (and in keeping with how I prefer to work with children, anyway), I told parents to let their kids dress themselves. That meant that some came in bathing suits, some in pajamas and even one girl came in a swim cap, goggles, rainbow tutu and mardi gras beads! It was perfect!

Before each kid got their photos, they had to show me their favorite page and tell me WHY it was their favorite page. This part was amazing & heartwarming. So many kids connected to so many of the kids in the book. And parents who had never heard of these books before were telling me that their kids pick up the book and look through it on their own, and that it created dialogue among parent and child that had never been before! How beautiful!

I’ll be sharing some of the images over the course of several posts. For Part 1, I have one boy who was by himself and then I had a brother and sister. As I’m sure you’ll be able to quickly tell, I’m really partial to the black & white images!

First, let me show you their favorite pages, then on to their images!

And, don’t forget, you can always book a regular session with me and we can do something like this!

CHECK OUT PART 2

This is my FOURTH year doing birthday photos for this set of cuties! Well, technically, fourth year with the oldest two and second year with the youngest. Last year the baby turned one and we did a smash cake session along with all the usual photos, and it was ADORABLE.

Their mom does the neatest “show their growth” thing that I have ever seen a mom do. We all know that many moms will document baby’s first year month-by-month with a onesie that says the number of months or maybe a nursery blanket, but this mama captures each year in a very special way. She has her daughters “wear” her wedding dress (“wear” in parenthesis because it’s a loose term when you’re putting it on a two year old - haha!), and she has her son wear one of his dad’s white button-down shirts. As they grow, they begin to fill out these items more and more.

It’s a sentimental and magical way to document the inevitable passing of time.

It’s also kind of hilarious to document how their personalities change over the years because THIS year big brother and sister were not nearly as amused by me! They’re getting to that stage of being more self-conscious and they were definitely not as into smiling readily, but more into giving me all kinds of anti-smile faces. But that didn’t mean I couldn’t crack ‘em! Haha!

The littlest one was just the sweetest. I have always had the oldest girl grab the sides of the dress and spin from side-to-side, so this year the two year old was old enough to stand up and try the same and she LOVED IT! She just spun and spun and threw the dress in the air. It was the sweetest. It’s a perfect way to capture a birthday milestone in photos.

After we finish with the dress & shirt looks, we always move on to something a little more fun! We do a different background each year. This year, for their 2nd, 6th and 7th birthday photos, I did a background of all different color streamers. It looked so festive!

This type of shoot isn’t a traditional lifestyle session like I normally do, but I’m all about customizing my shoots to what works for my clients so that’s what we do here every year!

Warm weather is HERE and it’s time to pull out the sprinklers and pop-up pools! Summer is so ripe for photos with it’s long days of sunlight, colorful palettes and large, popsicle-stained smiles!

We want to be able to capture that summer magic in photos. It’s so fleeting and the years move on too quickly, so having memories of our summers is so important. While I love gathering all the kiddos in one big group and asking them all to give me a crazy grin, I’m REALLY a fan of candidly capturing these hot-day & warm-night moments.

Now, I am always available for a summer lifestyle session - which I fully believe more people should do!! No one ever thinks to have a summer day or night professionally captured and it’s just THE BEST!!! But, since I can’t be there for you allllll the days…

…I want YOU to be able to be the best memory keeper that you can be for your family, I thought I’d share some of my top tips when it comes to taking candid photos of your kids!

And what would photo tips be without photos?! haha! DUH.

I’m often not far from my camera, and when we blew up this darling little MiniDip pool from Target for the first time, I KNEW I had to grab it and capture the first dip of “summer!” (Summer in quotes because it’s technically still spring.) And it has shows just about all the tips I talk about!

That brings me to my tips:

1. Capture the FIRSTS. First dip in the pool this summer. First steps into the ocean. First lick of an ice cream cone. First one to cannonball into the pool without even feeling the water beforehand!

   In these images, it was our FIRST time in this adorable pool!

2. Capture the LASTS. The last one out of the pool. The last one left cleaning up. The last one to fall asleep. The last neighborhood gathering before school begins again.

3. Never ask anyone to look at you. That’s the whole point of CANDID! You don’t want to bring anyone out of the moment - it’ll stop the moment and ruin all the candid fun. Try to be a fly on the wall so that you can truly capture your kiddos all caught up having a good time (or maybe pouting in a corner - haha!)

4. Move around. Stand up. Lie down. I talk a lot about changing your point of view when shooting the same scene. Most people simple stand there at the normal height they normally and shoot normally. Normal is no fun! haha! Get high and get low and move all around!

5. Take photos of DETAILS. You don’t always have to see everyone’s face to tell your story! Don’t you love baby butt cheek hanging out of a swimsuit?! It’s the best! Take a photo of it! Wet hair, grass-covered feet, little fingers and little toes, even details of the objects that you’ll probably forget about years from now.

6. Make it so no one can see you. If it’s possible to get completely hidden, but still get some photos, this is the BEST for capturing candids! On this day, once my girls started inviting some neighbor kids over to play, I went inside and shot through our kitchen window. They had no idea! haha!

BONUS TIP: Use a black & white filter on some, especially ones that you took in bright sunlight. They look amazing and it will add a “moment in time” feel to your photo!

So, take a look at my little backyard shoot and see if you can see my tips at play!

You guys! I know SO MANY of you want EASY tips that you can implement FAST to help you take better photos of your kids. And today, I totally have you covered! Not only will this post provide some awesome visual inspiration, but it will also help you to document your days in a more well-rounded way. Because I know that if you’re reading this, YOU are the one who makes sure that memories get preserved in your family! And I want to support you by making sure that you know how to look for and capture the DETAILS that will serve as wonderful reminders of how things used to be.

HOW do you do this, you ask?! It’s really pretty simple! First, can we all just acknowledge how often we just STAND THERE and take a photo? We see our kids doing something that we simply MUST take a photo of, so we grab our phone and STAND THERE and take a photo and go, “THERE! GOT IT!” But did you think about if you got it…ALL? Or, if there was a BETTER way to take the photo that would TELL THE STORY more clearly? More intimately? More beautifully? Probably not, but that’s okay! Let’s start to change that right now! (cue confetti, because, duh, confetti)

It’s all about PERSPECTIVES and ANGLES. You’ve GOT to change them! Let’s get into how to do this:

1. GET HIGH - (Not Jim Breuer high) Literally, stand on something. A couch, a stool, move a chair, heck, I’ve been known to hop right on top of my kitchen island! Get yourself up high and shoot facing down.

2. GET LOW - Squat. Lie on your belly. Shoot from there. Then, roll over and shoot facing up. Have a glass table? Get under it while your kiddo plays Legos on it. Even just getting on the same level as your kiddo will give you a different perspective.

3. WALK AROUND - Yes, add some steps to your FitBit and walk AROUND your kid. Take photos from the back, the side, the side-back (you follow, I know you do). Don’t worry if something gets in your foreground a little - the sides of a couch, some wall or even a plant in the foreground can add a little visual interest and help set the scene.

4. GET NEAR - Get close up! Closer than you normally would. This is a great opportunity to capture DETAILS. Little fingers, toes sticking out of blankets, first curls, etc.

5. GET FAR (this is so Bert & Ernie) - LIke, way far. Keep backing up and then hear me lean in and whisper, “More.” And then you’ll be like ALL THE WAY BACK HERE? BUT I’VE LEFT THE ROOM!” Yes! Back there! (Provided you can still at least somewhat see your kiddo.) These big “scene” shots are so fun to look back at later - you’ll notice all kinds things that represented what life was like for you then!

Now, let’s move on to my example of using perspectives and angles. My daughter was all snuggly one day over Christmas break, just watching YouTube Kids on my phone, having nothing else to worry about or do. I loved the red that surrounded her and that this was our first Christmas in our new house. So, I grabbed my camera. SHE never moved, I did. Hopefully, these 11 photos will give you some good ideas as to how you can take better photos of your kids by changing your perspective and your angles!

Feeling inspired? Show me whatcha got by sharing and tagging me @lizahippler on Instagram!

So often as parents we say, "Stay here, I'll be back in a second," right? Maybe we need to run upstairs to grab something and don't want our toddler clunking up eight steps in the time it would have taken us to run up and down past her about 14, waving hello as we flew by.  For me, this time is walking the dog - either in the freezing cold, the boiling heat or simply when my kids whine I DON'T WANT TO GO.  So, there they are, left looking at me out the window.  Taking a photo of your kid with you on one side of the window and them on the other is a great way to show just how much we really are in two different worlds.  Maybe they're on the other side having tons of fun without you, or maybe, like this one, they wish they could grow up fast and be an adult just like you.  If you try a photo like this, put it on Instagram and tag #lhp-throughthewindow - let me see what you've got!