The Best Moments for Any Photo Book: Childhood
Life is the ultimate contradiction. There are different people living different stories over the course of many, many years – countless days that drag or fly by in no time at all. But a lifetime, when looked back upon, only amounts to about a second.
So, what is there to do but savour what we have, while we have it? That’s why we take photographs. They are the perfect way to make a moment last forever. Looking back at our memories in our mind takes a second, but a photograph can throw another log on the fire. That’s why we make photo books. They are something physical, turning photos that may otherwise be lost in the cloud into something you can keep forever.
As self-proclaimed photo buffs, we spend a lot of time thinking about the most important aspects of life and how you should capture them. We will start with something which flies by like the flashes of a camera: childhood.
Here are a few moments to consider, ensuring that those flashes of the camera are perfectly timed to capture the most cherished of memories.
The First Event
Whether it’s a christening or a wedding, at some point you are going to get the chance to dress up your child for a formal event. This is a great moment to capture, especially if you haven’t decided to take any professional photographs of your child yet. For the cover of your baby boy book, a snap of him in that first suit will be the perfect finishing touch – while the same goes for that first ever party dress on the cover of your baby girl photo book.
The entire experience will be brand new to them, so it’s a great way to capture those early smiles – and that special look of curiosity only the youngest generations can achieve. They are sure to be glowing, and this will really stand out amongst all the other photographs in your photo book when you come to look back at it.
The Beginnings of Their Interests
A lot of the time, taking pictures of children can be hard, and this moment will not be any easier – but it is achievable. Over the first few years of your child’s life, their personality will slowly start to reveal itself, so be ready to grab the camera whenever their hobbies and interests start to reveal themselves.
If your child picks up a pretend microphone and starts singing into it, then make sure to take out the camera and capture it. If they dress up as a fireman, a doctor, or if they pretend to take the heartbeat of their toy doll, then make sure the moment is not lost. Depending on the route they go down as an adult, you may look back at the photo book and be able to see the beginnings of their career in the very first few years of their life.
The First Day of School
It might seem like an obvious one, but there is a way of getting the ‘first day of school’ picture right. Most people will remember to take a picture of their child before they set off, but there are two pictures you should take: one just before school and one just after.
Often, you’ll find that the child is nervous before school. After school, when the nerves are gone and the day is over, your child will be beaming when they see their parent waiting for them at the gates. This makes for a heart-warming moment which you will never want to forget.
The Birthday Cake
Birthdays are a great way to not only see your child grow, but also remember the friends that your child has had throughout the years. Take a photograph of your child with their friends at the table, scoffing their faces with party food. This will be something they will certainly appreciate when looking at the photo book in the future. The phases of their childhood, the friends who they had and may still have, as well as the ones they had since forgotten.
The Day They Fly the Nest
Of course, our children still feel like children until they’re no longer with us. Going to university is a difficult day, and they will most likely not appreciate having a camera shoved in their face but try to fight against this. Taking a picture of the day they go off to college is crucial. They are finally grown up. They are their own person, ready to take their first step into the world. Capturing this for the photo book will be the perfect, bittersweet image to close the last chapter of their childhood.
There are many more moments to capture, but these are just a few which you should endeavour not to miss. Living in the moment is important, but it is also important to take the time to make the moments last. When you come to look back at them, what feels like a second will instead transform into a wealth of memories. It will become full again. A whole story. Not to skim through, but to read over and over again.
