We love Pumpkin Patch time! Living in South Florida, picking out pumpkins is one of the few things that make it feel like Fall. This was our first year being able to take our daughter and of course we had a camera in hand. With the holidays approaching I have more of an appreciation for moments like this than I have in the past. It is not because we are now parents, but it is because we have witness several of our clients lose loved ones over the past year. Some were sudden loses, and some were not. Some were young and some were not. All in all I know that these families cling onto photos of the loves that they have lost. Photographing moments and freezing these moments in time have become more important to me than ever. I want more than ever for everyone to share this same feeling. Now, we all can’t hire a photographer 24/7 to capture these moments (one can only dream) but we can document our own moments and memories. I hope that you find these tips helpful in capturing your own memories.
Tip #1. Documenting Vs. Photographing
I hear all of the time, “I wish I could take better pictures”. I want to encourage all of you to approach the holidays and special occasions as documenting and not photographing. The difference in the approach is that documenting is capturing real life and real moments. It is not always about being “Perfect”. Perfect is boring. Look at your photos are those are YOUR moments and memories and no one else.
Tip #2 Make it Fun!
Kids do not like being forced into anything. Right? So relax, make it fun and let the magic unfold. Even if the kids are being a handful,fighting or crying document it! What?? Really?? YES!!! These are your moments and this is your story. When your kids are older and you are telling the story of when you took them to the pumpkin patch and they were fighting because {insert reason here} The key to this is to let go and not stress out yourself. {Easier said than done, I know} The more you stress, the more they fight, cry or do not cooperate. Great ways to make it fun is to start talking about the pumpkin patch the day of. Talk about the different sizes of pumpkins and how you are going to carve them. Get them excited! For your little ones, the small pumpkins are great for them to hold and keep them happy!
Tip #3 Plan Ahead
The best time to go to the pumpkin patch is on a weekday evening. There will be less crowds than on the weekend. We went around 6:00 p.m. since the sunset was at 6:45 p.m. If you get off work at 5:00 p.m. this can be rushing things. Being rushed, can be stressful. Plan ahead and have things like outfits and dinner (or a snack) ready to go.
Tip #4 Interact with your kids
Parents will ALWAYS get the best reaction from their kids. The more parent involvement the better!
All of your photos do not need to be with your kids looking directly at the camera. I love this photo of me and Lucy. It really shows her size and will be meaningful when she is all grown up!
