I can clearly remember one Easter picture from my childhood. My sister and I are sitting on my grandmother’s sofa in our Easter dresses, including hats and gloves. I think we may have even been holding up Easter eggs from our basket. Not a very inspiring picture.
I’m happy to say that taking Easter pictures can really be easy and fun. You don’t need fancy equipment {although, it is nice if you have it}. A Point and Shoot camera works quite well.
You just need to follow a few tips to capture meaningful memories ~ not photos that will make your children cringe in a few years.
1. Get Photos of Kids Coloring Eggs
You don’t have to snap a picture of a child saying ‘Cheese” to have a memorable photo of Easter egg dying. Give kids the tools they need to color their eggs and then step back. Have your camera ready and snap pictures while they are concentrating on the activity. Try to capture their personality as they decorate eggs.
2. Capture the Action of the Hunt
Weather permitting, outdoor Easter pictures are the best. Have your camera set in ‘burst’ shooting mode and just start taking pictures as the kids run and hunt for eggs. Look for spontaneous moments when they find a hidden egg. Be sure your camera is set to take pictures of moving kids. My camera has a “Scene” setting with an icon of a child running. I will set my camera to this and then put it on ‘burst’ shooting mode. That way, I will get lots of action pictures.
3. Get Photos of Easter-related Things
Colorful eggs make great photos. Focus on color for this photo. Before hiding eggs, take a few pictures ahead of time that highlight the decorated eggs. Remember the rule of thirds for this picture ~ have the eggs off-center in the picture. Use something besides a basket to showcase colorful eggs. Set the eggs on a white background, like a poster board. Have a child hold a few eggs {or jelly beans} cupped in his hands. Put colorful eggs in a white bowl. Your photo of eggs will be a lot more interesting.
4. Include Action in Family Photos
For photos with the whole family, include a little action. In this photo the daffodils are very prominent while the Dad in the photo is in the back of the picture. You don’t have to have everyone lined up together to get a good photo. Let the activity be part of the picture ~ like picking flowers or searching for hidden eggs.
5. Don’t Forget About the Fancy Frocks
Remember the picture of me and my sister sitting on the sofa ~ not very inspiring. The whole idea was to get a picture of us in our special Easter clothes. The photo would’ve been a lot more interesting if we had been in my grandmother’s backyard running around in our fancy frocks. If you want photos of your children’s special garments ~ let the kids be kids ~ then snap the photo.
Remember to capture the joy and you will have wonderful Easter memories.
So true!
Wonderful tips! I love candid shots so much more than the “say cheese!” shots! I am going to keep this in mind and pin it to my photography board.
Again, Great tips!
Candid is always better!
I love your tips. I agree that it’s so important to capture what life is really like be getting action shots not just all staged photos.
Great suggestions … I love the candid pictures. It always makes for more memorable photos!
Awesome suggestions, thanks so much for sharing them! I’m sharing this on my FB page tomorrow!
Thanks!
Thanks so much for sharing these tips! I just got my first DSLR and can’t wait to snap some cute Easter shots! I found you at Skip to My Lou–thanks for sharing!
~Abby =)
Congrats on getting a DSLR ~ you’ve entered a whole new world of photography.
Fantastic tips! I love action shots and candids, they are usually the best photos.
Great ideas for taking pictures! Thanks for sharing.
We just dyed eggs yesterday and I didn’t get photos since we just used a store bought kit. Next time! These are great tips!
Thanks ~ I don’t think any child would object to a do-over!
Good tips! Going to look for an area full of daffodils. We have a neighborhood easter egg hunt so I am sure to get an action shot or two.
Thanks for all the ideas – and reminders that photos can show personality and joy.
Love these tips! Especially the one about capturing action in family portraits!
These are some wonderful tips! I not only get to get some pictures of some of the grandkids hunting Easters eggs, which I haven’t been able to take in several years because they live out of town. I get to get pictures of a new grand-daughter that was born March 31. Looking so forward into see them all Easter Sunday!
As a wedding and event designer/planner capturing the moment is so important! You give great tips! Thanks for linking up to Pretty Pintastic Party, where every post gets pinned! Sarah, Sarah Sofia Productions
I love the idea of just letting them run in their fancy Easter clothes and snapping away. I want to do that next year! And, I agree, I love pictures of beautiful and bright eggs. So happy!
I really appreciate the insight here in this post and it is so useful for me. Many thanks for your share.