I am a mom, which makes me a photographer...

This morning I spent about an hour browsing through my new Mum the Photographer online photography program.  I can’t believe how much I learned in that small amount of time about photographing my children!  I happen to have three beautiful children (biased opinion), and a superb digital camera, therefore, I take hundreds if not thousands of photos per year.  In just a short time, I learned a few quick tips on how to make my photographs even better. 

The program includes 10 modules with instructions and tips on how to make your photographs worthy of displaying in your home or to give as gifts.  Modules include: lighting, posing and colour, perspective, and location.  Each module has a practice assignment and a gallery of examples, so you can get your own camera out and practice what you've learned.

The modules also have a sub heading: “Only got 5 minutes?” that highlight the most important things you can take away and learn from the module.  A quick 5 minute read through will improve your photos immensely. 

The Quick Tips section is definitely valuable with “Top 10 Tips” for taking photos and “Tips for your most frequent problems” (such as blurry or grainy photos).  This section even has information about what type of camera might be right for you, and when calling in a professional photographer is necessary.

I've been taking photos of my kids now for almost 12 years, and I have never heard of the “Rule of Thirds”.  Apparently it is a design concept dating back to the Ancient Greeks.  It ends up that putting your child's face right smack in the middle of every photo is not part of this design concept.  After reading the module on composition, and browsing through the photos in the galleries, I realize how this "rule of thirds" concept will forever change the way I photograph my children. 

Here is how I usually center my subject, in the middle of the photo.

Here is a "rule of thirds" photo I took this morning after my first tutorial.

I love the suggestion of taking photos of children playing with their day to day toys and making a story board.  Their interests change so fast, so it is important to catch the moment when you can, even if the stage seems insignificant and everlasting at the time. 

I'm most excited about the module that will teach me how to use my “advanced camera”.  My camera has more bells and whistles than I care to know about, but at least after completing the module,  I will be able to understand and use just a few of the key features.  I plan to take my time with this module and learn the basics of aperture, shutter speed, iso, exposure, and light metre.  It seems a lot less daunting to learn this at home on my own time, rather than taking a course or reading an entire book on the subject (or the entire camera manual for that matter)!

Once you've learned to take that perfect shot, Mum the Photographer program has a "polishing and presenting" module that walks you through how to display your precious photos including mini albums, story boards, framing, and photo walls.  There is also a “finishing room” service where you can submit your photos to be professionally “polished” in just three days.  There is a fee for the finishing, but the service seems affordable, and worth it for that perfect picture. 

I'm heading out now, with camera in hand, to practice some more of the things I learned this morning.   My kids may hate me now, but I know they will thank me later!

Mum the Photographer lifelong membership is only $69.95

Click here to find out more.