• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to header navigation
  • Skip to footer navigation
  • Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Display Search Bar
  • About
  • Contact
  • Subscribe
Follow 5 Minutes For Mom on Facebook Follow 5 Minutes For Mom on Twitter Follow 5 Minutes For Mom on Pinterest Follow 5 Minutes For Mom on Instagram Follow 5 Minutes For Mom on YouTube Follow 5 Minutes For Mom via RSS

5 Minutes for Mom

Main navigation

  • Home
  • Recipes
    • Course
      • Breakfast and Brunch
      • Snack
      • Lunch
      • Appetizer
      • Dinner
      • Dessert
    • Ingredient
      • Apple
      • Beef
      • Blueberry
      • Chicken
      • Chocolate
      • Cranberry
      • Peach
      • Pumpkin
      • Squash
      • Strawberry
      • Tomato
      • Vegetables
      • Zucchini
    • Method
      • Air Fryer
      • Baking
      • Grilling
      • Instant Pot
      • No Bake
      • One Dish
      • Slow Cooker
    • Type
      • Breads and Rolls
      • Cakes and Muffins
      • Condiments
      • Cookies and Bars
      • Drinks
      • Food for Kids
      • Gluten-Free
      • Main Dish
      • Pies and Crisps
      • Salads
      • Sandwiches and Wraps
      • Side Dishes
      • Smoothies
      • Soup
  • Crafts & DIY
    • Crafts
    • DIY
    • Kids Crafts
    • Printables
    • Scrapbooking
    • Sewing
  • Family Life
    • Giveaways
    • Lifestyle
    • Marriage
    • Motherhood
    • Parenting
    • Pet Care
    • Special Needs
    • Time Management
    • Travel
  • Holidays
    • New Year’s
    • Valentine’s Day
    • St. Patrick’s Day
    • Easter
    • Mother’s Day
    • Fourth of July
    • Halloween
    • Thanksgiving
    • Christmas

Becoming a Better Photographer — and a Better Mom!

October 16, 2008 by Janice

This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

ShareTweetPinPocketMail

The other day, in a fantastic post in her Photographing Your Children column over at 5 Minutes for Special Needs, Melody reminded me of something I have been trying to work on, but continue to mess up — relinquishing control and keeping my photography sessions FUN, for my children and for me.

“Relinquish control. Face facts…the child is really in control. If he isn’t happy, no one is. Snap images on the go without limiting your child’s activities. In other words, rearrange yourself, not your child. Follow his movements.”

While photographing baby Olivia is as easy as it was to photograph Jackson when he was a baby, (my babies LOVE to laugh and interact with the camera,) photographing Jackson now as a rambunctious six year old can sometimes be a bit more stressful.

Some days he insists I get my camera to take shots of him and we have a great time together.

But other times, I have a shot in mind and my perfectionist nature clashes with his impatient, high energy behavior, and I find myself getting grumpy during a photography session.

Especially if I am photographing him with a post or a goal in mind, my obsession with getting the “perfect shot” ruins our time together. I can feel it happening — and yet sometimes I feel powerless to stop it.

I end up trying to “control” Jackson and the direction of our “shoot,” instead of letting my son be who he is.

While I was scanning through my photos after reading Melody’s post, this series of photos stood out.

I remembered how the photo session started.

I had a bunch of Lijit stickers from BlogHer sitting next to my computer. Jackson grabbed them and started pasting them on his face and on his baby sister.

I thought it was a fun idea – and I could use the shots in the Lijit post Susan was writing – so I grabbed the camera.

We had a ton of fun — I even got out some Lijit t-shirts for the kids.

But in the middle of it all, my voice deepened with tension a few times as Jackson’s exuberance for life and fun tipped over the top and he got a bit too silly and a bit too crazy with Olivia.

As I tried to get him to “behave,” the fun meter dropped a bit.

I lost my focus. Instead of trying to record the story of my children and their incredible interactions, I began trying to get a “perfect shot.”

Fortunately, with a baby and a six year old, the photo sessions can’t last too long anyway and I stopped clicking and we took the stickers away from Olivia before she ate them all.

But I knew I had failed a bit. I had soured our beautiful time together.

Perhaps Jackson didn’t even notice. He is used to being reprimanded for bouncing off the walls and nearly killing his sister! But I resolved once again, not to let my perfectionism hurt my kids.

I want to capture the stories of my children’s lives – the craziness, the intensity and the fun!

And, I want to make sure that we enjoyed the stories together as they unfolded, one laugh at a time.

Relinquishing my control instinct when I am behind the camera will make me not only a better photographer, more importantly, it will make me a better mom!

ShareTweetPinPocketMail
5 Minutes for Fitness: Energy boost
Babycapes – Innovative and Adorable Outerwear!

About Janice

Janice is co-founder of 5 Minutes For Mom. She's been working online since 2003 and is thankful her days are full of social media, writing and photography.

Reader Interactions


Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

8 Comments

  1. BlapherMJ says

    October 17, 2008 at 9:10 am

    Your pictures are great! I too am very into photography and trying to get all 3 of my kids looking happy together is a challenge! 🙂 So… now I just try to capture them as they are at that moment — and it is so much fun!

    Reply
  2. Jessica Stier says

    October 17, 2008 at 12:55 am

    This is a great post! I love the quote about relinquishing control. As a mother (and possibly as a control freak), I have a hard time with this but when I do, my photos speak volumes!!!

    Thanks,
    Jessica
    http://www.momshots.com

    Reply
  3. melody is slurping life says

    October 16, 2008 at 10:24 pm

    Yep, being a fun girl is not an easy job. 🙂 I know.

    Fantastic post…and thanks for sharing the linky love.

    Reply
  4. Rachel says

    October 16, 2008 at 8:59 pm

    Great post, and great reminder! I often catch myself turning fun events into photo shoots rather than just enjoying the fun events. If only we could have a personal photographer follow us around everywhere so that THEY could worry with the pictures while we had fun with the kids. . .now THERE’S a solution. 😉

    Reply
  5. Shasta says

    October 16, 2008 at 6:28 pm

    I really need to keep this in mind with my boys too, they are so full of energy and want to do their own thing and it’s so hard for me to let them. But sometimes the best pictures come from them just doing what they want.

    Reply
  6. Amanda says

    October 16, 2008 at 2:54 pm

    Thank you for this post. I find myself doing this a lot when it comes to the kids. Sometimes it is hard to remember just to have fun and let kids be kids.

    Reply
  7. Carrie Kerbs says

    October 16, 2008 at 2:24 pm

    I love taking pictures too! I need to let go of control too…but it is hard with being a control freak…!

    Reply
  8. hyperactivelu says

    October 16, 2008 at 2:22 pm

    Great tips! Lovin’ the pics! So cute with the stickers all over them!

    Reply

Primary Sidebar

Bringing Moms Together

We are Janice and Susan, twin bloggers and work-at-home moms. We're here to inspire, encourage & empower you.

Meet Us…

Work With Us…

Subscribe via Email

to be first to read new posts

Trending Now

“You Color My World” Free Printable Valentines

“You Color My World” Free Printable Valentines

Oven Roasted Potatoes and Peppers Recipe

Oven Roasted Potatoes and Peppers Recipe

How To Use A Moka Pot – Discover The Secret To Making Amazing Coffee At Home

How To Use A Moka Pot – Discover The Secret To Making Amazing Coffee At Home

Get Outside and Play with Spray Chalk

Get Outside and Play with Spray Chalk

browse around

  • Posts by Susan
  • Posts by Janice
  • Favorite Recipes
  • Favorite Crafts
  • Giveaways
  • All Posts

Footer

Recipes

St. Patrick’s Day Sugar Cookies with a Clever Decorating Trick

St. Patrick’s Day Sugar Cookies with a Clever Decorating Trick

Traditional Irish Soda Bread Recipe and History

Traditional Irish Soda Bread Recipe and History

Easy Valentine Sugar Cookies

Easy Valentine Sugar Cookies

Crafts/DIY

“You Color My World” Free Printable Valentines

“You Color My World” Free Printable Valentines

Buddy the Elf Hat Pattern – How to Make an Elf Hat out of Felt

Buddy the Elf Hat Pattern – How to Make an Elf Hat out of Felt

20 Free Summer Printables For Kids

20 Free Summer Printables For Kids

Giveaways

Holiday Gift Guides and Christmas Giveaway 2024

Holiday Gift Guides and Christmas Giveaway 2024

Valentine’s Day Gifts For Women

Valentine’s Day Gifts For Women

REDEEMING LOVE Set to Strike Gold on the Big Screen #RedeemingLoveMovie

REDEEMING LOVE Set to Strike Gold on the Big Screen #RedeemingLoveMovie

Follow 5 Minutes For Mom on Facebook Follow 5 Minutes For Mom on Twitter Follow 5 Minutes For Mom on Pinterest Follow 5 Minutes For Mom on Instagram Follow 5 Minutes For Mom on YouTube Follow 5 Minutes For Mom via RSS
  • About
  • Contact
  • Work with Us
  • Privacy Policy
Copyright © 2025 5 Minutes for MomTheme by Melissa Rose Design and Once Coupled