I’ve decided to start a Friday series about photographing our own child and our experience with it. Capturing the daily ins and outs of her little world as she grows. It’s something that is regularly on my mind and I thought it would be fun to write about and share. I especially like this topic because so many of our clients and friends photograph their children on a regular basis, just like we do. Some use their phone and some use a DSLR and others hang out in the middle with a nice point and shoot. Whatever it is, we definitely love capturing moments in our kiddos lives. We personally use all three options.

Here’s what we usually use to photograph Norah:

Our iPhones: I love the iPhone camera because it’s quick and convenient and in a perfect lighting situation it does a decent job. If we are friends on instagram (@guzgram) you’ll notice that a lot of the pictures of Norah playing are in our kitchen by our back door. This isn’t a coincidence. I often convince her to play in that area because it has the best available light (and the best floor for messy play).

 ^ iPhone pic ^

Our point and shoot:  We have a Canon PowerShot G15. It’s a fancier option, but we love it!  This camera is more technical than our iPhone and better in low light situations. It also has a better flash available when we need it. We often use this in planned situations (holidays, birthdays and other occasions).  The quality of these images is also better if we ever plan to make enlargements.

^ Canon G15 pic ~ 1st birthday cake ^

Our DSLR is obviously our preferred camera as photographers, but not very realistic as parents. First of all, our camera bodies and lenses are our babies, so we don’t often take them into situations where they could be damaged or put at risk in any way. We need them to be ready for our clients! Second, it’s just not convenient. Even on holidays, it’s much easier to use our point and shoot. We do however break these babies out for a quick session with Norah every few months or when we want to try out something new. She’s a great model! :)

Window Light {Canon 5D MarkII body, Canon 24-105 lens - ISO 800, f4, 1/60 sec}

In the future I’ll be more specific with posts. Today I just wanted to talk about what we use for the most part. For those of you who are interested, I’ll also try to include our camera settings when it’s applicable.

What do you like to use when you photograph your kids? Do you always stick to one device or use multiple like us?