Simple Mom Photography Series | Angie Warren

Capturing your kids: the basics

Welcome to the first official post in our photography series, Capturing Your Kids. (We introduced the series last month, you may find that post here.)

Today I’d like to start out with the basics of shooting in manual mode: aperture, ISO, and shutter speed. The trifecta. Keep in mind this subject can be extensive, and for the sake of keeping it simple, I’ll be touching on each briefly.
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Capturing your kids: a photography series

kidphotoseries

Hello! I’m thrilled to be able to share with you over the next few months, a series on something close to my heart: photographing our children. I’ve been shooting professionally since 2008, but my camera has been in hand since the birth of my first son eight years ago.

I am self taught, through many years of trial and error, and am passionate about helping others document their own lives whether it be with their iPhone, point & shoot camera, or DSLR. It is through this passion that this photography series was born.
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Ten holiday photos not to miss

Written by contributor Angie Warren

For many of us the holidays bring joy and cheer, for others anxiety and a bit of stress. For me? All of the above!

When it comes to capturing this time of year in pictures, I try to to remember it’s more than the formal portraits or typical shots – it’s about the details, the bits and pieces that make up Christmastime for our family.

Today I’m sharing my own personal list of photos I don’t want you to miss!
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Memory keeping made simple

Written by guest contributor Jessica Turner of The Mom Creative

I started scrapbooking in 2003. It was right at the beginning of the scrapbooking craze and I fell in love with it all – the papers, the stickers, the circle trimmers.

By 2005 I was entering contests and submitting pages for publication and in 2007 I started teaching classes.

I was obsessed.

In 2008 I had my first child and was that first-time mom.

Every milestone of my son’s first year was documented.  I developed an online class encouraging other mom’s to scrapbook their chidlren’s first years.

But life got busier in the toddler years. And then I got pregnant with our daughter and was sick pretty much through the whole pregnancy.

As passionate as I remained about memory keeping I needed something simpler for documenting our family’s story.

Enter Project Life

This memory keeping solution has changed my life because of its simplicity.

Here’s why I love it:

  • It’s a kit

    I don’t need anything extra to document my family’s story.  Just a core kit of journaling cards, page protectors and an album.

  • It’s beautiful

    Every kit is beautifully designed.

  • It’s archival safe

    As a memory keeper, this is important. I want my scrapbooks to be passed down to future generations.

  • It’s easy

    You don’t need any skills to do Project Life. The products make it so easy.

  • It’s fast

    It doesn’t take long to get lots of photos and memories documented.

Instead of 12×12 layouts featuring layers of embellishments,  I now just stick my photos in divided page protectors, along with pre-printed journaling cards.

And what’s most amazing is I am documenting more than ever.

So if you have hundreds, thousands of photos sitting on your hard drive, my message to you is this: Develop some of them. Put them in albums. Maybe try Project Life. (Check out Project Life creator Becky Higgins’ website for more information about this memory keeping tool).

Your family will be so thankful you took the time to document your story.  Your pictures+ words are a legacy that will last for generations.

And it can be simple.

Have you ever tried Project Life? What are your tips for memory keeping? Share in the comments!

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Free fall printable art

Happy Friday, friends! Will you be working on some of your Fall decor this weekend? One really simple and stylish way to add some seasonal touches is by printing out digital art and giving it a fab frame and — boom — done.

I’ve gathered some of my favorite, fun and FREE printables for you to check out. Click through to each site to download the full printable size. Enjoy!

 From Tatertots & Jello (also in grey)

From Flaming Toes (also in pumpkin and light brown colors)


From Blessings in Disguise

By Craftily-Ever-After

From Crafting Mom

From Betty Crocker Wannabe

From Landee See, Landee Do

From Craftily-Ever-After

Do you have any Fall printables to share? Put your link in the comments!