8 Easy Tips For Creating A Photo Shoot With Your Children ♥

I'm not a professional photographer, nor do I claim to be, but I really do love having little photo shoots with my two sons and it's actually something I look forward to when we go on family days out or have an occasion or holiday to style for.

I love capturing them on camera - I don't think it's be wrong to call them my muses and I'm so happy that I begun having these little photo shoots with them and have been able to capture them through their ages, their adorable little expressions, personalities and memories with pictures that will last a lifetime.

Nowadays I get a lot of compliments on my photography, which always flatters me and brings a smile to my face, but back when my eldest was a baby I didn't even own a proper camera and my pictures were awful, but overtime I've found my way around a DSLR and have stumbled across some tricks to capture beautiful images of my boys.

I thought I'd share my top tips for any other parents out there who want to create a photo shoot with their own children and capture some beautiful images of their own (quite easily!) too.

For anyone who's wondering, I use a Nikon D3200 and have three lenses ranging from a 55mm to a 200mm. I have recently begun using Lightroom as an editor, but before then I used Fotojet and PicMonkey.

1. Make sure your children are happy and have their needs met before even going near them with a camera. I've learnt this lesson the hard way - you do not want to try and take pictures of a hungry or overtired baby, believe me! Make sure their fed and watered, have been to the toilet/had their nappy changed and aren't tired or due a nap.

I share my 'raining petals' pictures with the baby on my Instagram @dollydowsie - I must feature them on the blog someday soon too.

2. Bring along props. I honestly can't tell you how lovely props can be for really making an image all the more wonderful. We do a woodland Easter egg hunt every year and I always get compliments on my set up - even though it's just some fancy eggs on sticks and old fabric bunting, but they really help to make the image all the more magical - for the kids and for the people viewing the pictures.

You can see the set up of my annual Easter egg hunt photo shoots here.

3. Use nature as your backdrop. Honestly, I hate shooting inside and avoid it at all costs. I bring the boys outdoors and use the woods, meadows, fields and gardens as backdrops to my photos of them - and why not, it's free and oh so beautiful too. It also creates some great photo opportunities too when your kids start exploring the nature around them.

I use nature as a backdrop in almost all of my photo shoots and you can see more of my photography here and on my other blog Fawns and Fables.

4. Seek natural light. Again, this is me promoting the outdoors, but that really is where all the natural light is. However, if for some reason you can't shoot outdoors, take pictures as close to the windows as possible. Natural light really does make a photo and it's so important for capturing a clean, bright image, rather than a horrible dark and gritty one.

Our trip to Gougane Barra made way for me to capture lots of gorgeous pictures of my eldest son flooded in natural light. Some magical shots for us to treasure forever.

5. Embrace the candid. There once was a time when I thought taking a picture of children meant having them looking at the camera and smiling, these days I know that some of the best captures are the most candid ones, where they're looking away from the camera, have a sweet or funny little natural expression on their face and are just doing their own thing. Avoid getting your child to look at the camera and say 'cheese', those shots are ten a penny, letting them do their own thing is when the real magical moments are captured.

One of the most candid little photo shoots I've had with my boys was our trip to the woods on New Years Eve. I love these photos so much.

6. Shoot in sports mode. This is something I do regularly as I have two very fast moving little boys. Shooting in sports mode means that I can capture a batch of photos at once and they won't be blurry - even when my four year old is running away from me.

7. Set up a scene. This is something I'm fond of doing in my pictures and I love having a theme - that being flowers and nature. For the baby I love popping him in a sink bath with lots of bubbles and having lots of flowers around him. Dropping flower petals over him whilst he's lying on my bed is also a firm favourite picture of mine - and a fun game for him. For my eldest I love having him running around outdoors, climbing trees or playing with his daddy whilst I snap the two of them away.

I also set up seasonal scenes for my photos too, choosing particular flowers in bloom to show the season we're in, or falling leaves for an autumnal shoot. My Joys of Spring post on my photography blog Fawns and Fables has lots of springtime pictures of my boys.

8. Perfect isn't real. I think as parents we always find ourselves wanting the 'perfect' shot, but it's just not going to happen. There have been times when I've wanted my boys to sit down and just smile at the camera and it  only happens once in a blue moon if I'm lucky... but in reality, it's the shots where they're just doing their own thing, being their usual disruptive, playful and messy selves that results in the best shots. So just chill out and let the kids dictate their own pictures. It can be hard at times when you have a vision in your head of how you want a shot to look like, but it's worth it. Promise.