Summer is just around the corner. My kids already know exactly how many more days till school is out, and you have probably already started your summer bucket list. I know I have. One thing I’ve notice people ask each other, while watching soccer games or hanging out at the park, is “what summer trips do you have planned?” It’s such a fun time of year anticipating the adventures to come. Whether you are escaping to Europe, planning a road trip, or just planning a hike I thought I would share some of my favorite tips on how to document your family adventures. To showcase these tips I’ve decided to use our photos from our favorite vacation last year. We spent a week exploring the Oregon coast. I had been there once before for a bridal shoot and was shocked at the beauty I experienced in those short 2 hours. After doing some research, and asking for places to go and things to do, we came up with a solid plan. It was seriously the best adventure we have ever been on. Here are some of my favorite tips I used, or learned, along the way.
Tip 1:
Get some landscape and detail pictures. Any good story will tell you where and when the story takes place. Your family vacation shouldn’t be any different.
Tip 2:
Schedule your favorite location according to the sun. I had a few places that I knew would be key photo ops. For example, the Yaquina Head Lighthouse. So I made sure we arrived there within a couple hours of sunset. It totally paid off with LOTS of great photos.
Tip 3:
When you find killer light, take a minute and get some portraits. I try not to bombard my kids with, “stand here and smile” pictures. But when the lighting is right they know it’s going to happen, but it will be fast.
Tip 4:
Find unique perspectives. For sure get that shot you have first in your mind but then move around, get high or get low and see if you can find something new.
Tip 5:
Give everyone a camera. Obviously I am the designated photographer in the family but my kids think it’s a lot of fun, too. Whether you give your kids a nice camera, an old Iphone, or do what we did and buy some disposable film cameras, it’s fun to see the trip from their perspective.
Tip 6:
Choose the right color of clothing. Not only is it important to dress for the weather, you should also dress for the scenery. This is something we learned on this trip and will do a better job of next time. The places we visited were so green and lush that our children, dressed in greens and earth tones were sometimes lost in the background. If you go somewhere like this, I advise you to wear clothing that would stand out more.
Bonus Tip:
If you haven’t visited the Oregon coast. Do it.
I was recently on Fox 13’s The Place where I mentioned some of these tips. Go check it out here.
