Photography for Mommies | Documenting your Kids’ Lives

Hello everyone! My name is Kimberly Jarman, the owner of Kimberly Jarman Photography, a boutique studio located in downtown Mesa. We are so excited to be back guest blogging for Scottsdale Mom’s Blog. Last time we blogged you met KB, our associate photographer. She’s amazing and really talked about some great tips on how to get some great pictures of your kids and avoid the “cheese” factor.

Today I am going to actually talk about the importance of documenting your childs life no matter what camera you have with you. We are going to continue to guest blog and give tips on what makes a great picture and how to make the pictures you are taking better, but I really wanted to make sure that before that you are at least taking pictures of your kids!!

The other day I was at my parents house and we pulled out the photo albums. We sat there for hours looking at our childhood and I was so thankful that my parents documented our lives. As I was looking through the pictures I realized it wasn’t because of the “amazing quality” that I LOVED these pictures, it was because of the memories and the ability to look back at my childhood. My parents weren’t GREAT photographers, but they were GREAT at photographing and documenting special times.

Chase Jarvis, an amazing photographer, has a saying that has stuck with me for a long time now, “the best camera is the one that’s with you.” I truly believe in this statement. I am notorious for not carrying around my beautiful SLR camera everywhere I go. I know that I will get the best pictures out of that camera, but its heavy and big and a pain to carry around. I need to be mobile, especially with a little one and I don’t have the time and patience to carry a professional camera around with me. I do have a point and shoot, but again, it’s not always with me. It’s in my purse or at home on the counter and I find myself not pulling it out much. So, the camera that is always with me, tends to be my phone. I do have an amazing phone, the IPhone, and it takes really great pictures – of course not professional looking ones that my SLR takes, but pretty decent pictures. I use it ALL the time. It’s become my camera of choice and I document my little girls life constantly with that phone!

Before we start talking “camera shop”, my challenge to you is to make sure that you are truly capturing your childrens’ life all the time with whatever camera you have with you! Pull it out and take pictures of whatever is happening at the time. Take at least one picture a day of your kids. It doesn’t have to be an extensive shoot, but just make sure that you do it!

On my phone you can actually see the progression of my baby girl and how much she has grown. I’ve caught some of my favorite pictures of her on my IPhone and I cherish those memories!

Now, this being said, I still believe that you should grow in your picture taking skills and learn how to take better pictures. We will give you some tips on here and we also have 101 classes at the studio that will help you grow as a photographer, you can find out more information on them at www.createbetterimages.com.

I also still highly value professional photography and believe that someone other than me should take pictures of my family at least once a year. In my household I still make sure that I get professional pictures taken of my family about twice a year. I cherish every time I get those pictures and put them on my walls because they really document our history as a family. For some reason, when someone other than me pulls out a camera and chases my daughter around they are able to get things that I am not able to and they are also able to capture pictures of me with my daughter, which is something that usually is lacking in our pile of images. Professional photography is important and I believe something that everyone should try to do at least once a year; however, if you take professional pictures once a year, you still have 364 days that you are missing images of your kids.

So, get out there and start capturing your children’s life whether it be a point and shoot, an SLR, or even something as simple as your camera phone. Don’t let life pass you by and document these cherished times!

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Kim

Kimberly Jarman Studios is a team of creative photographers and thinkers specializing in family portraits, weddings, and photography workshops. Visit the blog for recent work and updates.