I know on Wednesdays, a lot of blogger types participate in “Wordless Wednesdays,” – essentially, they just put up a picture and let it do the talking. I am always saying I’m going to do this because I take lots of pictures and it seems like a good way to show them off. So I get a picture and I paste it in my blogging platform, but instead of hitting “Publish” I always start writing. It should surprise no one who knows me in real life when I say that it’s hard for me to be wordless.

Nonetheless, I am always thinking about Wordless Wednesday on Tuesday nights when I sit down to write. I know a lot of you enjoy the photos I put up because I get comments like, “how did you get that shot/get her to do that/PUT SOMETHING FUNNY HERE.” So I thought in honor of Wordless Wednesday, I’d share my photography secrets. DISCLAIMER – I am not a photographer, I just play one on the interwebs.

  • When taking a picture of a baby, it helps if her parents are ridiculous hams who have no problem making fools of themselves. It’s usually pretty easy to spot these types of parents.

madness over Mad. he's like Ben Stiller. But super gross.

  • Babies with parents this insanely over the top will most certainly possess the same trait. It’s genetic.

What's that Love?
Seriously.

  • Next, be willing to put this baby in strange new places. New experiences are key. My baby is pretty expressive, but in my experience, most babies are. You just have to capture the moment. The next experience I plan to capture? Maddie eating bananas. She makes a face like she is eating poop. It’s quite possibly the funniest thing I’ve ever seen, and that’s including the time Mike peed on our patio when he was sleepwalking. Anyway, tonight I put Maddie in her new bouncer. I took 40 plus shots to get this one:

oh, hello!

  • Find a photogenic baby. That’s a trick tip. EVERY baby is photogenic. Seriously. You just have to find the right circumstances, and have at least an hour to kill. The right circumstances mean the baby is there when you’re there. That’s pretty much it. And really, who doesn’t love at least one crying or sleeping photosession? My mom has several of me. What can I say? I was a tired drama queen. One of my favorite pictures I’ve taken lately is of my best friend Tara’s daughter. She is one of those kids that sees a camera and freezes up. I spent a while with the camera all up in her grill. I got this picture, and I’ve stared at it every day since.

My darling Reilly

  • Take a LOT of pictures. This is KEY. You have to just click away, no matter what your subject is doing at the time. 95% of my best photos were taken when I was just focusing on my subject (Maddie) and not on what my camera was doing. Of course, that means I get a poop-load of pictures where Maddie looks stoned or droopy. Or whoever else I’m taking pictures of. But it’s usually Maddie. Anyway, here is an example of Maddie looking not so hot.

Um. Open your eyes, dude.

  • Have an extremely patient dog. EXTREMELY PATIENT.

Rigby's Posh Life Rigby Bug Rigby Claus Coordinated

  • Have a lot of patience yourself. It took me over an hour to get the two shots below. Was it worth it? Totally. Did I think, 45 minutes into trying to get the perfect shot, it wasn’t worth it? Oh yeah.

Presenting...

the most patient dog in the world

  • Finally, take pictures of the details. I used to always take pictures of my subject’s face when sometimes, it’s the smaller things you’ll want to remember. Like how tiny her little hands once were.

little features

So, there you go! Those are my “secrets” to getting good photos. Now you, too, can play a photographer on the interwebs!!