Photographing Motherhood : 5 Must Have Photos Of Mama and Child

motherhood is one of the most beautiful things there is.  the easy times and the hard times are so compelling and beautiful, leaving me desperate to photograph every moment for what it is.  as i go on this journey of motherhood, i am realizing just how fast time disappears.  in the blink of an eye i am meeting my baby for the first time, then planning her first birthday the next.  it seems unfair that time speeds up upon having children.  but knowing that i can’t control the time, it makes me realize that i can control how i spend my days as a mother.  it is important for me to live intentionally and, as i do that, i am passionate about documenting these beautiful, intentional moments of motherhood.  photographing motherhood will look differently for each mother as she determines what moments she wants to savor within the frame.  but regardlesss, i believe every mother should have at least the following 5 photos of them with their children.

need help jumping into the photo with your children? be sure to check out my step-by-step guide for taking self portraits with a dslr.

this post contains affiliate links.  thank you in advance for supporting bethadilly photography.

Photographing Motherhood : 5 Must Have Photos Of Mama and Child

1.  Teaching Your Child Something

motherhood is all about teaching our children how to do things.  everything from eating, sleeping to eventually riding a bike.  photographing motherhood should depict your tireless efforts to teach your child new things.  pick something that you are currently trying to teach your child whether it be reading or knotting their own shoes and photograph the two of you learning together.  i promise you it will be a moment you will want to remember.  in the image above, i am teaching my 11 month old how to wash her hands.  it was important to me that i photograph this not only to document this milestone, but to capture her fascination with water and how it feels in her hands.  this image was achieved using the self timer on my nikon d750.

2.  Photograph What Makes Them Laugh

laughter is something that is so unique to each child, as each child finds humor in different things.  as your child grows, things will become funny to them and those things will change with age.  get in front of the camera with your child and document what makes them laugh.  whether this is making silly faces or tickling, photographing motherhood can mean photographing what makes your child happy and carefree.  in the image above, my daughter currently loves flying through the air and it encourages a fit of giggles that i wanted to remember.  it’s amazing that an image can hold sound.  just looking at this image makes me hear her sweet laugh.  this image was achieved using a self timer on my nikon d750 and my tripod.

3. Your Everyday Life

photographing motherhood will change from day to day, just like your everyday looks different from one to the next.  as your child grows, your daily life will take on a new normal.  if i were to photograph my day to day life when my daughter was just born, it would look like sitting on the same couch cushion all day feeding, only to get up for diaper changes!  🙂  just like in 5 years from now, my day to day may look like carpooling between school and sporting events.  today, my everyday looks like maintaining a perfect balance between play time and nap time.  in the image above, i wanted to document putting my daughter down for nap and achieved this image with a self timer using my nikon d750 and my tripod.

4.  Taking In Your Child

photographing motherhood includes photographing the mother.  it includes photographing how that mother feels.  it includes photographing how that mother looks.  one very beautiful way to document motherhood is by photographing you looking at your child.  there is something so beautiful about the way a mother looks at her child, a look that cannot be faked or recreated.  when mothers look at their children, their eyes and entire body resemble love and adoration.  it is one of the most beautiful portraits to take of yourself because you are truly embracing happiness.  in the image above i used a self timer on my nikon d750 and a tripod.

5.  Reading To Your Child

or if your child is old enough, your child reading to you!  there is something so beautiful and honest about a child and mother reading together.  especially in our current day of busyness and electronics, a quiet activity like reading is a beautiful time for a mother and child to be together.  choose one of your favorite places to enjoy a story together and be sure to photograph there.  it’s important that your images reflect honest moments of motherhood so photograph things in the way they normally occur.  in the image above, i used my nikon d750, tripod and wireless remote to achieve this photograph.

photographing motherhood can be so beautiful and it’s so important that you do it.  for the times when you can, hand your camera to another person and have them photograph for you.  it’s okay to ask for help, you don’t have to do it all on your own!  i personally do it myself only because i am a little picky about composition and like the challenge of creating imagery on my own, but don’t feel like you must do it all by yourself.  any photo of you and your child will be beautiful and will be cherished.  what are some of your favorite ways to photograph motherhood?  please share with us in the comment section below!

be sure to join my exclusive email list to receive my latest photography tips and tutorials.  it’s free!

need some photography tips + inspiration?  check out what posts are trending below!