Taking Better Photos
by Brandie Valenzuela

Description: Tips for taking better photos for your scrapbooking layouts.

Taking better photos doesn't have to be a chore. By putting just a little more thought into your photos before you snap away, you can capture those special moments the way they were meant to be captured.

Tips For Taking Better Photos:

1) Try variation on the traditional family/group photo. If you have all the family around, there is nothing wrong with everyone posing for a big group photo, but how about smaller groups? Consider taking a photo with only the grandchildren (or cousins, uncles, etc.) in it, or maybe all of the women (or the men) in the family. The possibilities are endless and the photos are truly special.

2) Take "before", "during", and "after" photos. These are great to use in a scrapbook layout - everyone just loves to look at them! Consider taking before, during and after photos of changes to your home (such as remodeling your kitchen), haircuts, your child's messy bedroom on an average day, Thanksgiving dinner, a new home being built, your teen getting braces, or anything else that will have the same effect.

3) Try out black and white film. It gives your everyday photos a classic look that can't be beat.

4) Take photos of the everyday traditions in your life. Each family has them, so make sure that those traditions will live on for years through your scrapbook. Do you go back to school shopping each year? Take the camera along. Does your husband's day not start until he has a cup of coffee? Take pictures of that. Be sure to explain the everyday tradition in detail in your journaling.

5) Keep your camera loaded. Try to always keep film and good batteries ready in your camera at all times. You never know when you will take that perfect photo!

6) Take your camera everywhere. If you really want to be sure to capture great photos of your loved ones, always bring your camera. The last thing you want to do is think, "I should have brought my camera."

Brandie is a wife and homeschooling mom to three children, who also works fulltime from her home designing custom scrapbook albums and teaching scrapbook classes.