10 Must-Take Photos of Your Kids Each Month

While I was browsing though the blogs of my fellow moms, I came across Mommy Tin’s post on “10 Pictures You Should Take of Your Kids” as recommended by  Jennifer Little, a mommy photographer featured in the Circle of Moms website, to chronicle our little one’s growth.

Was I able to capture the “essentials” she suggested? I so thought as I don’t take pictures that much. Let me do the checking.

Here are the must-take pictures of our kids each month. The photos I’ve posted here however were not taken in one month’s time. They are just my favorites.  =)

1. A Portrait
Jenifer Little recommends us to capture our kid’s photo each month in the same location so we could gauge the changes in our kid over time. How does did he strike a pose three months ago? How does he pose now?

2. New Mannerisms
Go snap your camera if you see your kid displaying new mannerisms.  During the time this photo was taken, my little boy had this habit of biting his lower lip!

3. Siblings Cousins
I had to change siblings to cousins because Kyle has no siblings yet. It’s great to take their pictures recording their growth together.

4. Playtime
Take pictures while your child plays! When did he first learn to ride his bike? When did he first play basketball? Wouldn’t it be great to have memories of those?

5. Bathtime
There can be a lot of photo opportunities during bath time. Don’t kids look cute with bubbles allover? This bathtime picture of Kyle is no ordinary. This was his first bath under the rain in a countryside!

6. Squeaky-Clean Baby
I don’t have much pictures of Kyle right after bath. I got this from his aunt’s Facebook. Gotta take more!!

7. Favorite Toy
Go ahead and take pictures of your kid while he plays his favorite toys! Three months ago, Kyle’s favorite was his drum set. Now, he’s back to cars!

8. A New Trick
Kyle is now learning to write.  He is showing off his gift for daddy on the picture below. What is your child mastering this month? Take a picture of it and let him hold it proud while he does a cute little pose!

9. Pictures with Mom and Dad
Let’s make sure that  we also get photographed with our kids. Playtime? Hugs and kisses? Let those be captured!  

10. Family
These family portraits of ours are captured by my friend Jan. I love them because they don’t look staged.  Just some family portrait tips: (1) shoot in a place where your kid loves to be and, (2) coordinate your outfits, but don’t match completely. I honestly think that matching outfits don’t work as we they become the focus of the picture, and not the faces.

Admittedly, I am not the kind of mom who takes pictures of my kid every now and then. In fact, I sometimes feel that my DSLR camera is underutilized. It’s a personal choice. When we go to a beach, for example, I take a few shots of my kid and let him play freely without the camera as it might ruin his chance to just enjoy the moment. And this reminds me of the thought-provoking article I’ve read as to why we should take fewer pictures of our children.

But yeah, I also do believe that we need to capture the “essentials” to chronicle our kid’s growth as these pictures will be our timeless treasures.