I wonder if your story is like mine.  I saw beautiful photos all the time…photos other people had taken.  Oftentimes professional photographers and formal family pictures, but sometimes on social media it would be another mom’s photos of her kids, or someone’s pictures from a vacation that made me feel like I was there with them.  In my mind, there was one thing all those photos had in common:

A Fancy Camera.

(If you’d rather watch a video all about this topic instead of reading, click HERE!!)

I didn’t really even know what a “fancy camera” was, how it would be different from my old point-and-shoot, and I definitely had no clue how to use one.  But after we brought our first baby home and I realized how quickly he was changing and growing (and my husband realized how many professional photo sessions I was going to want to capture it all!), we decided to buy one to see if I could figure some of it out.

But my first many months of taking photos with that camera left me feeling disappointed and a bit sad…because my photos did NOT look like the photos I had dreamed of (and they certainly did not bring me back to those emotional and joyful moments in an instant when I looked at them).

The problem?

I was letting my camera make all the decisions. 

I was shooting in Auto (*gasp*).

…of course I was! I had no clue what else to do (and when someone started whipping out words like “aperture,” “ISO,” and “shutter speed,” I think I glazed over a bit, thinking that was all NOT for me). I was sure my camera was way more qualified than my brain to make the settings choices for my photos…but I was wrong!  

In my head, it was over-complicated and impossible (especially as a mom with young kids!) to learn what all those numbers flashing at me on my camera meant.  But as a memory-obsessed new mama, I decided to figure it out anyways and see.   The result?  I was SHOCKED by what happened with my photos of my most precious little ones (and how it quickly turned into a career and major support of my family).  And, it’s not just me…my students found the same results after learning what I was teaching.

I learned that similar to how an artist needs to decide what color of paint and what type of paint brush they need to use to create their piece of art, I needed to decide how much light to let into my camera and what settings to use to make it all work. And once I did, magic came from my camera (and really, from me, because I was controlling my camera instead of the other way around!).

But I took the hard way and long road to get there, making bffs with google and youtube in a time when online photography courses were not a thing.  Which is why a few years later, I decided to make it my thing…so I’ve got a GREAT, simple, and highly affordable (less than $100!) solution for you, and it’s coming SOON!  Keep your eyes out, and you can be taking photos like this in less than THREE HOURS of learning!

To learn more about how to better photograph your kids using natural light in your own home, check out these other blog posts I’ve created just for YOU!

The Secret to Great Indoor Photos

How to Take Better Photos Using Natural Window Light

Must Have Photo Ideas for your Kids

10 Hacks to Get Your Kids to Smile for Photos