Time is already flying by during my first year of motherhood.  I can hardly believe Logan is already 10 weeks old!  Can someone please freeze time for a moment or two??  It seems like we just brought her home from the hospital!

As she grows, I’ve been documenting Logan with her current favorite things, which has changed several times already.  Below are Four Ways to Capture Baby with Her Favorite Things, an exercise I love because those favorite things never stop evolving.

She started out by being smitten with Mr. Bee, a toy hanging from her bouncer.  Then as her eyesight strengthened, she discovered the pair of decorative pine trees we have on our fireplace mantel, and just stares at them all the time.  So funny!  Now she is having a ball lying in her crib after diaper changes, talking and dancing while she watches her mobile spin around and around.  Isn’t this puppy mobile just the cutest?!

With each new favorite, I first snap a few essential photos of Logan and her new “friend.”  I begin by taking a detail shot of her favorite thing, like the image above.  Logan’s crib mobile won’t always be around, so I want to make sure I have a great shot of what it looked like. In the shot above, I got in close and focused on her favorite pup – the brown one, which is the exact color of our dog, MacKenzie!

Next, I wanted to take an overall shot of both Logan and her favorite mobile in equal focus.  In order to get this shot, I had to make sure Logan and the mobile were on the same plane of focus (the mobile being right above her).  Then I had to get down low and shoot through the bars of the crib, which I used to create interest in the image!  The bars help me to frame the shot and draw my eye to Logan and her mobile.

For the third image, I wanted to capture Logan’s point of view of the mobile, but I also wanted to see her.  I got down to Logan’s level so that I could see the underside of the mobile and still see her face.  Again, I had to shoot through the bars of the crib to get this image.  I love how the bars create the feeling that we are peeking in on Logan!

The last shot was my fourth way of documenting her favorite things.  I wanted Logan looking at the mobile with only Logan in focus.  I decided I would take this photo from above the mobile, looking down on Logan.  While you can’t see the whole mobile and while the mobile isn’t in focus, you can still tell what it is.  I just love how focused she is on the puppies spinning around and around!

I know in the future my husband and I will enjoy looking at these photos with Logan and showing her what her favorite things were during her first year!

What are YOUR children’s current favorite things?  Isn’t it amazing how photographing your child with his or her favorite thing isn’t limited to the first year in life but continues throughout their childhood?  I plan on photographing Logan with her favorite things until she graduates from high school!  And you can, too!  Using the tips above, I’d love for you to take some photos of your kids with their favorite things.  Me Ra and I would love to see your favorite image you’ve captured – please share it on Me Ra’s Facebook page with a description of your child’s age and what his or her favorite thing is!  We can’t wait to see them!

Meet me here next week when I share with you some images I have taken of Logan and her dad – nose to nose – which were inspired by one of Me Ra’s Photo Recipes from her book, Your Baby in Pictures!

First Year Cheers!

Jen

*Jen is teaching an April and May Workshop for Moms in Georgia.  Click here for more details on Jen and her workshop dates!