There are photos of our children everywhere. We have them on our phones, our iPads, our cameras, our computers, our FaceBook accounts and our walls. There are albums of pics we have printed out, and canvas art prints we’ve hung up. Photography is so easy and accessible nowadays that we take it for granted. We change our profile pictures, our screensavers and our digital photo frame files weekly. With infinite amounts of data storage available to us, we could keep every photo we ever took. If you had to whittle your enormous portfolio down to just 5 photos, how would you choose?
The challenge is to pick 5 key moments in your child’s life to the age of 3. From the archive of dozens of shots per day, you need to pick the pics that define those moments, but also have that little something extra. Maybe it’s how their hair has flicked up at the front, or that sparkle in their eye as they take their first step. It could simply be the light was right that day. When all of our photography is ‘point-and-shoot’, capturing moments as they happen, many of the pictures fail the wow test.
Your 5 key moments may be selected from this list:
Mum or Dad’s first cuddle
Meeting grandparents
First smile or giggle
Sleeping in his new cot
Sitting up on his own for the first time
Feeding herself
First special outfit
First steps
First holiday
Playing with the family pet
First time at the play park
Kicking a ball
Playing with a sibling
First birthday party
First Xmas present unwrapped
You can probably find several examples of each of these, but how many of them pass the large print test? If there are 5 of a high enough quality to pay for a large framed print, then they have passed the 5 photo challenge. This is far harder than it sounds as small cameras on devices like phones have limited abilities, and can perform badly when subjects move.
If you are keen to have a collection of high-quality photography, it may be worth investing in having a studio photographer take the shots. Many photographic studios like Silver Bee newborn photography specialise in capturing moments to provide images you’ll want to display forever. Photographers who work with babies and children every day can stage a shot to make it look like a completely natural moment. This staging ensures the light is perfect, and the kids look stunning. A good photographer will provide you with shots that really capture the children’s personality. Of course, it is far easier to have a good family photo if one of you isn’t having to run back into the frame after hitting the time delay button!
Professional photography does not come cheap, but the difference in quality between what you can achieve on a phone, and what can be captured in the studio, is enormous. And what price those moments that flash by? Newborns and wobbly first steps are all gone within such a short space of time.
