As much as I miss capturing your families and especially all of my littlest explorers, I know that one day I’ll be behind the camera and my treasured clients will be in front of me and we’ll be capturing milestones and smiles and so, so much love. Until it’s safe (and legal) to do so, I wanted to encourage my families to make sure you’re still capturing memories, even now in this crazy season of life.

I don’t know about your family, but here at our home in these past two months, we’ve already lost a tooth, learned how to ride a two-wheeler bike and celebrated a handful of special days. These are all huge moments that we want to remember. I’m lucky in that I have the time and the gear (hellooooo, Nikon!) to pause and make sure I’m grabbing some of these moments each day. You can, too, even if it’s just with a phone camera. (Did you see my tips for taking better phone pics? You can find it HERE).

Here are 5 tips to make sure you’re capturing your kiddos during quarantine (and beyond):

1. Capture the candid!

Don’t focus too much on formal, posed photos — these are important, too, but you’ll probably capture more authentic emotions and joy if you keep it candid. I love sneaking around a corner or walking the long way around the house just to make sure my kiddos aren’t always super aware of my camera or phone being out.

2. Honor the hobbies!

Capture your child doing things he or she loves to do — are they an avid bike rider? Have you been on a lot of hikes? Do they have a favorite stuffed animal? These things are important — they are a part of your child’s identity.

3. Moms matter, too.

Get in the photos, Mom! It doesn’t matter if you look tired or are wearing your favorite leggings for the fourth day in a row or you can’t remember when you last took a shower. None of that will matter to your child and none of that will matter to you when you look back at these images in 15 years when the house is eerily quiet.

4. Let them lead!

Every once in a while, I let my son or daughter take the lead and create a photo session. (They love this — so much creativity and a great activity for these days at home). They choose the location (I sometimes narrow it down to 2-3 and let them choose from there); they choose the outfits (you should see what they come up with, haha!); and they help direct me. I’ve had so much fun doing these and some of my favorite photos of my kiddos are from “their” photo sessions.

5. Set a reminder!

I use an app to help me with this, but you can just set a daily reminder on your phone, too, to help you remember to grab a photo of your kiddos each day or at least a few times a week.

Don’t forget to check out my Tips for Better iPhone Photos, too.