We’ll start with the coordinating of the outfits. I have a family of 4 and our 2 kiddos (3 and 10) have quite a big age gap. It’s sometimes difficult for us to find matching color schemes or similar patterns from the same company, with a 7 year difference between them.

I have found, that the best thing for us, is to have 1 person wearing a pattern, usually with multiple colors (florals are a no brainer for Easter). From there, 1 or 2 of us will wear a solid color that is utilized in the pattern. The last person will complete this look for us by wearing a subtle pattern with only 1 or 2 colors

contained in the initial pattern (think plaid, gingham, polka dot, stripe, etc.). Target and OldNavy typically have great budget friendly deals with coordinating color schemes for all shapes and sizes. Gap is another great company that tends to repeat like colors in different sizes making it easy for the whole family. We will often times buy the kiddos outfits together (Eliza James Kids is a personal favorite) to coordinate and then shop at our personal favorites to find something in the same color scheme needed. If you are like me and plan events and pictures early and often, there are so many online childrens boutiques like Sweet Southern Smocks, Busy Bee Smocks, and Cecil and Lou just to name a few, but you have to preorder matching sibling sets usually before Christmas to ensure timely delivery. Another favorite is Etsy for that extra personalized touch. 

 

Once you’ve got the outfits, it’s time for all of the pictures. Do you ever wish you could take pictures from your cell phone without them being as blurry and distorted as every bigfoot picture ever taken? Well, you can.Amy P Photography is home to an amazing photographer, Amy Dunn, who has agreed to share a few of her tips and tricks with us. Keep scrolling as we highlight 5 simple tricks everyone can use to take great pictures with your cell phone.

 

1. Use burst mode. This is really great for those summertime sports and activities where everyone seems to be running around nonstop. You’re never really sure if you’ll press the button and freeze time exactly when you wanted to but burst allows you to quickly take multiple pictures ensuring that 1 of them is bound to be picture perfect. 
2. The rule of thirds is important. Instead of putting every object/person you shoot in the center of the frame, try to create a more dynamic and interesting composition using the rule of thirds. Imagine a tic tac toe board and place your subject at the intersection of one of those lines. Our eye’s naturally gravitate to those points more so than the center of the shot. And most phones these days offer a photo grid that shows up on the screen to help you do this actively or even after, when cropping your pictures. 
3. Get in close. You want to shoot pictures that leave people feeling like they are IN the action and not just looking at it. You have to get in close and on their level to achieve this but again, super easy to do. I think often, people forget that our kiddos are tiny miniature humans so we tend to shoot downwards. If you simply squat down and fill the frame from that angle, the entire perspective changes.
4. Bye bye flash. 90% of photos don’t require a flash first of all. Secondly, the flash on cell phones is about as useful as a rolodex in 2022. Most phones have the default flash setting to auto but you can change this by clicking the little icon that looks like lightning bolt and selecting off. You can always repeat and change it back if there’s a situation requiring a flash such as, outdoors during a sunset to capture silhouettes or inside dim buildings with minimal window lighting.  Bonus tip: Our eyes are naturally drawn to the lightest part of an image. Work to make the subject either the brightest spot in the photo or highlighted by it in some way. 
5. Editing. Even if your picture is great to begin with, putting final touches on the lighting and exposure just gives it a little more of a professional vibe. Everyone and their Mama (except my Mama) has Instagram and with it comes all the filters you know and love. You can use a filter as is, or you can even tweak them based on your liking and preferences as well. And it’s FREE! Snapped is another mobile editor suggested often but I am not super familiar with this one. My personal favorite is Lightroom. There is a free version that has a large amount of functionality included but you can upgrade and pay for storage and additional features. I am also big on buying templates and filters to use but that is all just optional.

 

Outfit? Check. Pictures? Check. Now they can eat real food without fear of messing up their Easter clothes you worked so hard to coordinate.

 

We have a few Easter favorites at our house every year like deviled eggs, ham, and potato salad but the Easter snacks is what everybunny really lives for, am I right? I have linked 6 of our favorite easy Easter snacks below.

 

Amy P Photography 

Birmingham Newborn & Family Photographer My studio is located in Fultondale, Alabama

info@amypphotography.com  |  205.540.0224

Amy P Photography offers custom newborn portraiture to all Birmingham, and surrounding areas

Maternity, Newborn and Family sessions are also available!

Bookings are limited per month, advanced scheduling is advised to guarantee your baby’s session.

Please contact me today for more information and to book your session!