I'm going to get you!

• The “I’m going to get you” game is one of several you can play to engage with the kids and get natural smiles…the ones that come with the anticipation of the game.

You know the game… the one where you say “I’m going to get you”, then go tickle the kid for a couple of seconds, back up, then fake another attack, be sure to be ready to take a few photos when they giggle.

• Tickling Game version B

Put a feather duster on the end of a broom stick to tickle toes much like the above “I’m going to get you’ game. Have the siblings tickle each other by counting 1 - 2 - 3 - tickle ! …reset….and count.

• Don’t Smile

Typically telling the kids to ‘don’t smile’…’no don’t smile’.. will have them cracking their serious face and giggling. Catch the merriment in their eyes as they laugh.

For Mom’s who enjoy taking their own kids day to day pictures but want to learn more in-depth camera / posing / easy set ups join our FB Group Slice of Life for Mom’s on the Go

What does Peppa Pig say?

There is a certain appeal to Peppa Pig for toddlers.

She certainly is unforgettable in her red dress and antics.

Some of the attraction could be the simple shapes and colors used in the series.

There is also something appealing with a proper British accent.

But I think the main attraction is kids can resonate with a character who is much like them as they explore their world..ie ) what kids doesnt like jumping in a mud puddle to make a splash?

Peppa Pig does it well in her daily adventures which easily could be a slice of life in any busy little person's life given the opportunity.

The story lines are simple.

And when she is happy she snorts. ( I think all kids like obnoxious noises )

So here's the cue to ask your kid and to get their attention

'What does Peppa pig say when she is happy?"

Be ready with your camera

They will either laugh at themselves or you the adult as you snort like Peppa.

Sometimes you just have to be silly and make a game out of things in life.

For Mom’s with kids that want to build their camera skills to capture those day to day moments join our FB Group Slice of Life For Mom’s

Do at least one of these...

Do at least one of these and you will have more success in getting your kids pictures…

Kids have this endless energy they have to burn off in a day making it challenging to get them to stay still long enough to take their pictures.

Pick a few things from the list , make sure your camera is ready.

By short I mean a few seconds/minutes and change it up on the fly...that will keep them engaged a bit longer.

Keep it simple :

• Give them somewhere's to sit

• Give them something to hold

• Give them something to look at

• Give them something to do

Keep it Short:

Keep it down to a few minutes ( seconds for some ages ) so the kids will co-operate on another day.

The more you drag out ( to them it feels really long ) the more they will hate it. Remember to have your camera ready before you even start.

Be Silly:

Ask them silly questions and don’t forget to be silly yourself...most kids love the silly stuff and have a great sense of humour.

What silly questions can you ask to lead into silly conversations?

• Does Daddy/Mommy snore ? How loud is it? Can you show me how loud? …and you get the drift

• Does Daddy/Mommy where diapers?

• What/who has stinky feet ?

What does Peppa Pig say?

Want more in depth photography tips to capture your day to day moments ?

Join our private FB Group called Slice of Life for Mom’s on the Go

Stickers can save the day!

I love stickers.

You can put them on the chair and have them sit on the 'bug' sticker or put on a flat stone and have them step a foot on the 'bug' and not let him get away.

This way you can Pattern them to come back to the same spot.

Have them sit down and toss a soft ball / bean bag / toy to them and have them toss back.

The anticipation brings out natural smiles as play they game.

Take your time tossing it back. Keep things moving along and change things up to keep them entertained. Remember to give them breaks & let them run around.

Important : Be always ready with your camera.

Make sure you have your settings dialed in , before *you even start.

Keep your sessions short and fun.

There is always another day to capture your child if they are having an off day…

Join our free FB Group Slice of Life for Mom's on the Go for more tips on taking your day to day pictures of your kids

Mother's Day will be a little different this year

Mother’s Day will be a little different this year..

below is a started list of ideas to help think of ways to celebrate it.

What’s important is time spent together, no matter 'how it happens'.

Feel free to share.

• Flowers and brunch are still deliverable or can be picked up. Or do the traditional 'breakfast in bed' ..likely the *favorite amongst families with children

• A Gardening kit consisting of plants / seeds / garden shovel / dirt / gloves

• -Have a Picnic / BBQ in your backyard with a fun theme

• Front porch drop offs of gift baskets ie ) books , baking goods , coffee /wine, specialty teas / treats...oh and chocolate

• Have the kids make cards / posters. Send a hug through the mail to Gramma or a favorite Aunt ( a roll of Kraft paper can be picked up at a post office..have the child lay down to trace around / cut out and decorate before mailing ) Know that suggestion may be a little late in doing but who doesn’t love getting personal mail?!

• At Home Spa Day: Plan a well-deserved spa day without leaving the house. Pick up or order some face masks, foot scrub, and bath bombs. Light some candles, download a spa playlist and make some cucumber water. Consider your house transformed and tranquil.

• Do a Zoom visit to connect everyone. Share a virtual cooking / family meal online.

• Have the kids interview Gramma with a few questions...and to take that a little further think what a cool Xmas gift this would be to have a Keepsake Grandparent/Grandchild Photo Book with pictures with some family history weaved through out it. Check out the video that was part of my 12 days of Christmas gift ideas.

Make A Grandparent & Grandchild Memory Book from Cathy Bishop on Vimeo.

What Lens to keep in your camera bag

What lens (s) should I have in my camera bag?

The short answer is you can cover a lot of areas with one wide angle and one zoom...which ones will depend on your budget ( new / 2nd hand ) shooting style and interests.

Know that there will always be gear on the 2nd hand market when starting out until you know for sure you need 'that lens' . There are a lot of lens sitting in people's camera bags that get little use as we journey along with our camera's.

I purchased a 35mm that I 'had to have' as people on the forums were raving about it...I don’t like it, it gets used very little in a year. I would of been better off $ to have purchased that one second hand.

Lens Focal Length :

Focal Length describes the angle of view and magnification of the subject or scene. The lower the focal length number (eg. 24mm), the wider the angle of view and lesser the magnification of the subject or scene.

Note on the edges of the frame in a wide angle you will have a stretched distortion so don’t put anything of importance on the edge of your frame unless aiming for something creative/artistic.

The higher the focal length number (eg. 200 mm), the narrower the angle of view and greater the magnification of the subject or scene.

*For reference, we see similar to 50mm focal length.

PRIME LENSES :

Prime lenses have a fixed focal length (eg. 50mm). They are often more compact and lighter in weight than zoom lenses of similar quality. They generally have a larger maximum aperture, often in the f 1.2 to f 2.8 range, compared with many zoom lenses.

This can be advantageous in low light situations and when a very shallow depth of field is desired.

The downside to a fixed focal length is you need to move your feet to change your field of view.

ZOOM LENSES :

Zoom lenses offer a variable focal length (eg. 24 – 70 mm...one of my favorites ).

They are highly versatile, offering the ability to capture your subject / scene at different focal lengths.

Which can be pretty handy without having to change a lens... esp when working outside with dust particles flying around ( esp on the prairies when wind is a given )

The more we get out there and practise shooting we will discover what we like/don’t like in terms of style, ( type of lens that consistently helps with that ) If we want our feet to do the walking ...or the lens.

Take away thought..often times the person who works with what they have, has better skills than the person with the camera bag of lens/gear, as it forces you to really learn how to use ( maximise ) those lens to the best of your abilities.

Good gear does help but really it's the *person's skills using the gear that shines through.

Another way to stay connected and gather stories while you are doing it

I grew up with Grandparent stories of what life was like in the 30's and the hardships and the little things that brought joy. In their shoe boxes were bits of memorabilia and pictures from those times.

Those stories have been retold but never really recorded and made into a family book ( a working project of mine as it’s important not losing our family stories before it’s too late )

Which leads me to my stories and my family that may work for your family.

One way our family is staying connected besides the phone calls and face timing is we started a Private Facebook group. This is where we send updates, upload pictures and video clips.

This FB group serves both as a way to stay connected but as a bit of a 'shoe box' ...gathering all those tid bits of our daily lives during the 2020 Pandemic.

History is happening as we are journey along and when this is over and we come out on the other side...everything will have changed. No one knows the length of time but for each family there will be markers or goal posts to reach as the weeks / months go by...to literally years. Some people say decades to recover.

Since the pictures and memories are 'parked' in one spot in your Families private FB Group it can later be downloaded and turned into a family book for the family's book shelf.

It's not too late to start yours. You can easily screen shot your posts from your personal fb feed and upload any posts you made as well upload pictures from your cell phone(s).

This is one way your family's history can be documented as we live through these times. The stories to reflect back on as we get older, the stories & pictures our children/grandchildren will share with their children.

Step 2 Create a Family Time Line

Have you ever held a picture in your hands and it takes you back to that moment complete with touch, background sounds and even smell?

Randomly sitting in boxes , drawers and closets are, our collection of prints.

Our treasures.

These are the memory keepers of our personal story.

They help us reflect and remember a life well lived.

Dont lose your visual inheritance to disasters like a fire or to the ever changing tech landscape (anyone remember slides/old movies/VHS etc )

Our intentions are honestly good, 'one day' we plan on pulling out those prints and doing something more with them.

But the task of starting a huge endevour has us putting it off to 'another day'

But that day nevers seems to be the 'right day' to start.

Overwhelm certainly gets in the way.

Where do I even start?

Step 1: Gather and Bring them in to one location ( dark closet)

Step 2: Create a Family Time Line for your Family

(This will eventually be your reference file

tip: You can start with your immediate family and grow it out from there )

On a sheet of paper write out your rough draft of dates will include:

• Start/End Dates are from the oldest to newest print

• Major events like marriages / house / property purchased

feel free to add additional papers to add information , this timeline is ever growing

*World events in decades may be added ie ) immigration/war may help prompt dates

* You can add this in later if you wish , it makes for good history for future generations.

World events : include those that time stood still.

...when it happened you distinctly remember what you were doing on that very day

as you may want to revisit this and record in more detail.

What were you doing/how did it make you feel?

ie)

August 16th/1977 @ 3:15 pm

We all sat there, no one moving from the hospital parking lot for quite some time.

Staff sitting in disbelief & shock to the news coming across the radio station .

I distinctly remember that hot summer day, I had just gotten off a D8 nursing shift from the Misercordia (Peds Floor)

and as everyone else did, turned on the radio ; while going about the rest of the day.

The King of Rock and Roll had died.

Time stood still, a time marker for those of us who grew up listening to Elvis songs.

The kind of day that marks time you can easily can recall on what you were doing.

Another example would be 9-11

These are the memory keepers of our personal story

Have you ever opened up the closet door and looked at a big box of prints.

Only to close it , thinking one day you'll 'get to it'.

Thinking maybe the next time it rains or maybe that would make a good winter project to tackle?

Time passes by ... and that day never seems to come along.

Life in general has a way of derailing our 'good intentions'.

Unfortunately time doesn’t stand still for any one.

As it passes; our 'visual inheritance' is deteriorating.

Our stories are being lost as memories fade or people pass on.

Here is your first Action step:

If you don’t get a chance to do anything this week but this ONE thing,

( very important step )

Bring in all your boxes of prints from any outdoor storage units and put in a dark closet in the house.

The ever fluctuating temperatures / humidity speed up the deterioration process.

Between this and having my prints done through cheap labs back in the day ( cheap labs = poor inks )

I now have a box of my children prints that the images are literally vanishing from the print surface much like those old polaroid prints.

As a Mother I am deeply saddened to discover that few are salvageable and I have little to pass on to my son's families.