4 ways to take more meaningful photographs

Yes, I just did a post on taking less photos!  haha  So this post isn't to encourage you to take MORE photos, but just to make the ones you DO take more meaningful. What "meaningful" means, will be different for each person, but I wanted to share what I found for myself:

  

I started to find that I took pictures of the SAME things every year...holidays, birthdays, pumpkin patch, the school Halloween parade, the dance festival, the sports the kids play every quarter, the summer parades, etc.  I didn't really think about it until I went to put together my books with my photos in it and I realized that each year is starting to look the same!  I found that I rarely take pictures unless there is something big going on.  And those "big things" going on are usually the same year after year.  So I decided I wanted my photos to feel more SPECIAL than that and so here are my thoughts:

1.  STOP GETTING OUT THE CAMERA JUST BECAUSE IT'S A HOLIDAY

I find that some of my most favorite photographs of my kids are ones I took at a more random time.  Like this one of my youngest and his messy face after he just had a sandwich (AND I had to take a picture of the sandwich to go with it because he wouldn't eat the crust and he put the pieces back in their spot after he was done!).  And like this other one of our family gathered around an ipad watching a funny youtube video together.  Remember to be random!

2.  YOUR PHOTO SUBJECTS DON'T ALWAYS HAVE TO BE LOOKING AT YOU AND SMILING

In fact, I LOVE these photos my sister in law took of my kids.  Landon was trying to tell us something and there was a time where he struggled with this. This photo was taken 4 years ago and I love these almost more than any I have of him smiling and looking at the camera because it reminds me of how cute it was to hear him talk! And then I love the angle of the 2nd picture.  My daughter was laying on the trampoline and I love seeing how her hair falls, her long eyelashes and sweet face. Think angles!  Take a picture from above, from below, from the side...it sure beats trying to ALWAYS get them to look at you and smile!  

3.  SAVE THE PHOTO TAKING FOR NEW EXPERIENCES!

  I tried something new this year and have an album called "Howell Adventures". 

Whenever we tried something for the first time or went somewhere new, I tried to get just a couple pictures.  Not 30...just a few...just so we can remember what we did.  And then we documented it in the album with the date, location, and a short description. Not only did this give my photos more meaning, but it gave us motivation to see what other new things we could try and to find new places we could explore!!

4. LESS POSING and MORE ACTION!

I love posed and smiling shots, but I also love the ACTION!  Seeing the looks on their faces when they are in the middle of experiencing something is priceless.