5 Tips for Taking Valentine's Day Photos At Home

5 Tips for taking super cute Valentine’s Day photos at home with your little loves.

It’s no secret that I’m kind of obsessed with photography. Sure, I love styling and shooting parties and pretty things, but I’ve really fallen in love with portraits over the last year. My goal for 2016 was to improve my people photography and so needless to say, my children got to be my guinea pigs!

For the past few years, I’ve pulled out my camera and done a Valentine’s Day shoot just for fun! (I think also to add some color to our bleak winter!) Taking photos of kids is tricky, but I learned a few tricks over the years and thought I’d share with you in case you want to take some of your own pictures.

You don’t need to be a professional photographer to capture your little loves and their cute personalities. Here’s 5 Tips to Help:

Create a Festive Backdrop

A pretty photo needs a good backdrop. Be thinking of a place in your home that would make a good place to take photos.

Here’s a few ideas:

Use your bed! Do you have a fun headboard?
Or use a neutral wall in your home.
Cut XOXO out of paper and attach to baker’s twine
Use some heart balloons from the store
Wear a heart sweater or other festive accessories

Give Kids Something To Do!

This is my #1 tip! Photos with kids seems to turn out better when they can hold something in their hand. You can give them a balloon or other prop. Or have the children give their siblings a hug, whisper a secret, or give a kiss on the cheek.

Giving kids something to do in the picture will create candid, more natural shots.

Wear Neutral Colors

Don’t go out and buy a new wardrobe, but try to keep everyone in neutral-colored clothes, so that your props will really pop! I’d say the neutral rule applies to sheets, too. If you take photos on the bed, use light-colored or white sheets so that your subjects really stand out!

Let Go of Perfection

Taking photos of kids is tricky business! Just remember to have fun and not expect perfection. I know, this is easier said than done when so often I just want to keep shooting to get the perfect one. But, chances are you probably aren’t going to enlarge these Valentine’s Day photos on canvas, so they don’t need to perfect.

Tip: just try to have fun and capture their personalities! And if you are brave, get in with them!

Send Some Love!

If you can pull off Valentine photos early, you can use your darling photo for a Valentines Day card. Better yet, send a love note to a relative, grandparent, or friend. Who doesn’t love happy mail? This was our Valentine’s Day photo card we sent out last year. I loved the way it turned out.