The beauty of photography is the ability to capture memories. Memories that, if you couldn’t look at them or see them, you would forget. I believe that capturing everyday moments on camera should be one of your priorities. Daily photography sounds like a great idea, but where do you start? I have a few tips today for capturing all the important, mundane, and simple moments of your everyday life.
Daily Photography Tips: Capturing All The Moments
1. Make A List Of Things You Want To Document
Everyday life is full of beautiful everyday moments and capturing them on camera should be one of your priorities. But getting started can be hard. One of the things I did when I first started out (and still do if I’m honest) is sit down and compose a list of things I want to document:
- My son eating his everyday bowl of oatmeal
- My morning cup of coffee
- Homework time
- The dirty dishes in the sink
Think about what happens in your life everyday that you want to capture that memory of. Put that list on your phone in the docs or keep it in the back of your mind.
2. Have Your Camera Ready
Have your camera out and ready! And take it everywhere! I keep my camera in a central spot (our busy busy living room), so it is always only a few steps away. When at home, my 35 mm is always on my camera, because it’s not too wide and is perfect for capturing everyday moments. This way, if I see action happening, it’s easy to pick up my camera and just shoot.
Most of the time, I shoot in manual mode, so I usually have my settings already set and ready to go based on my house: my ISO is always around 800 (I live in a cave), and I usually set my aperture to 4.0 and bump my ISO up based on the light I have, to get my shutter speed to where I want it to be. Also, I shoot Kelvin for white balance, so I usually start at about 5000 for my house and go up or down from there.
If you are truly intent on shooting your everyday, you cannot plan everything, but you can at least be prepared for capturing everyday moments!
3. Or Your Phone
Processed with VSCOcam with c2 preset
One of the best things I ever did was to let go of perfection when it comes to capturing my everyday. The best camera, as we know, is the one with you. Sometimes, you might not have time to run and get your Canon or your Nikon or your sony.
Remember: It’s about capturing those moments! No matter what camera you have!
Sometimes, all you have is your phone in your pocket. Use it!
4. Look For The Light
Always be aware of the light wherever you are and use it to your advantage. That could be as simple as opening up your blinds or changing your position.
Remember: Great moments moments sometimes happen in bad light.
Embrace it. Don’t be a perfectionist. Capture that memory.
5. Tell A Story
When you are capturing everyday moments, think about the story you want to tell. What do you want to remember about this moment? Sometimes, one shot won’t do it, but several will.
Think about the story or moment you are trying to show and capture photos based on those moments.
6. Capture Real Life: The Details And Yes, The Messes, Too!
Processed with VSCOcam with f2 preset
Don’t forget the close ups and details of the moment you are trying to capture: the little hands, the untied shoes, the long eyelashes, the pile of legos that you always trip over, the close up of the cupcake. It’s the little details that complete the story you are trying to tell.
I hope that these tips are helpful for you! Capturing all those beautiful everyday moments in your life should be a priority, but it doesn’t have to be hard! Now pick up your camera and have fun capturing your everyday moments!
Do you have any questions about capturing your everyday moments?
Leave them in the comments!
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Well…Awesome photos to view and capture the best moments of our life.
Thank you…!!
Your photography is amazing LaShawn! I just love VSCO, it’s my favorite editing app. I need to get in the habit of taking my DSLR out with me more. I tend to keep it at home and rely heavily on my iphone.
Yes! Great tips. One of the best pieces of advice I ever received about photography was from my older sister, back when my kids were little. She told me to capture everyday events with my camera. I didn’t do it nearly enough, but I did follow her advice frequently, and I’m glad I did.
That’s wonderful! People always think they have to stage every moment! But everyday moments are the ones I want to remember!