Less is More
You remember the saying “Less is More” in your English 101 college class.  The same principle applies to photography.  A mistake many of us make is having too much background in our photos.  The kids are super small and the background almost seems to swallow them up.  Challenge yourself to fill the frame with your child’s face.

If you need anything else in the photo other than your child’s face, make sure it enhances the story you are trying to capture.  I especially like to capture images of the kids that keep their faces hidden, yet exude emotion.

This picture was taken when Pascaline was four years old.  Her baby brother, Blaze, was crying a lot!  She was not happy.  Every day she would lie in the grass with the neighbor’s cat, Bobcat, and share all her troubles and woes.  What storytelling would I have lost if I had asked Pascaline to sit up and say cheese for the camera?