Today I’m sharing something SO near and dear to my heart and it’s all about documenting my kids lives! Life moves fast, it can change fast and I try to capture as many memories as I can while my children grow up (even though we only have one babe right now). SO here are 7 ways to help you better document your family and your children.
Do Something Different
Don’t feel pressure that if you created this giant scrapbook for one baby, you have to do it for all of your kids. You may do a maternity shoot for one child while you’re pregnant, you may document the birth of another, you may create a fun pregnancy announcement for your third… you can do different things. it makes it special for each child and allows you to enjoy it in a way that makes sense for you in that time.
Print Your Photos
I know from personal experience that our camera rolls can become a ghost-town of images but it doesn’t have to be that way. You can print 4 x 6 prints that you display on photo ledges around your house, you can create photo books that you make yourself or that you use the subscription that creates the books for you, you could hang canvases around your home… whatever you like best. Just don’t let your most cherished memories ONLY sit on your phone.
Journal
This is one that I really enjoy. Even though I assume my kids won’t read my journal, it’s special for me to be able to look back after years and see my deepest thoughts, dreams, hopes, fears and be able to see the milestones we’ve overcome.
Use Opportunities While You Can
In my daughters first week of life, I didn’t feel like I was in heaven on earth so the idea of getting my phone out to document the sleep-deprived nightmare I felt like I was sitting in didn’t come natural to me. But I told myself that today my daughter won’t be any smaller than she is right now and I wanted to take pictures and videos to remember. It wasn’t a big production but I took short 3 second clips on my phone and pictures of us because I wanted to remember someday. The moments change fast so do it while you can.
Take Short Videos
Photos are amazing, but they don’t capture the noises, voices, and all of the emotion. You don’t have to be a videographer to make cute videos. Use apps like InShot and combine all the 3 second videos you took throughout the year.
Get Organized
You’re going to thank yourself later (i promise) if you save your files in a very organized fashion. It’s easier to get an organized way of saving your content that works for you instead of trying to do it later and forgetting what year the photo was taken, etc.
Back Up Your Content
Our phones may seem like a safe place to house all of our favorite photos but it’s not perfect. We save our files in as many secure locations as we can to ensure that if something happened to our laptops or phones, or the cloud crashes (who knows) we have other ways to save our stuff.
Those are my 7 ways to better document your kids lives! I’ve never looked back and regretted capturing a moment and I hope these inspire you to try something new for your family!
