Whether you have had professional photographs taken recently or not, here are some fun and important ideas that you can do with both professional photographs or those you've just taken on your phone!
1. First Step - Print Your Photographs!
We take so many photographs of our kids but we often forget to print them. This also applies to families who have had professional photographs taken and have just purchased the Digital Files.
Time just flies by so fast and before we know it we have thousands of photographs! But time is less of an issue as we are asked to stay inside during the Coronavirus and we are looking for things to do. I encourage you to go through your phone and print your favourite photographs! Those that capture special memories and show just how much your children have grown so you can look back on these in years to come. Printing your photographs will ensure that your memories will last forever as it's so easy to loose your photos if your loose you phone, it breaks or your computer crashes.
Use a trusted printer so that your prints don't fade over time. Generally speaking, cheaper prints mean cheaper quality. Try Michael's Camera in the Melbourne CBD, Camera House stores across Melbourne and Australia (there is one just in Croydon - Melbourne's Eastern Suburbs) or Streets Imaging (https://www.streetsimaging.com.au) who are based in Qld but deliver straight to your door. If you have had professional photographs taken, speak to your photographer as they can most likely organise top-quality prints for you!
Before you print your photographs you may wish to decide how you'd like to display them in your home first. This brings me to my next suggestion...
2. Frame and hang your photographs on your wall!
Displaying your photographs on your walls is really special for many reasons!
Firstly, it makes your house feel like a home and gives you that warm and fuzzy feeling :)
Secondly, even on the worst of days you can look at your photographs and remember the love and connection you share as a family. Even when the kids are driving you a bit crazy from being home 24/7, your photographs will remind you of the family you have created with love and just how grateful you are to have them by your side!
Lastly, it's been proven that displaying your family photographs in your home increases your child's self-confidence and sense of belonging. This to me is just priceless!
Have you recently had professional photographs taken and received professional prints? This is the perfect time to organise frames so you can hang them on your wall! If you are printing your photographs yourself from a USB, think about the many ways that you can display your photographs and what sizes you may like. There are many creative ideas on Pinterest on how to display photographs together on the one wall - search 'photo wall gallery'!
3. Create a Photo Book / Scrapbook
Photo books and scrapbooks are great fun!
PHOTO BOOKS - a great way to have all of your photographs printed together in one little neat book. You can create different subjects such as: Wedding, My Baby's First Year, Our Family 2019, Our First Family Holiday, Family Tree, etc.
Photo books are generally created online and can take hours to put together, so now is a great time to do this! A google search will show you a heap of online printers who create photo books. A couple I know of are Blurb and Momento.
Or you can go traditional and create a simple photo album!
SCRAP BOOKS - the kids can easily get involved and get messy with some arts and craft! Print some photos and glue these into your book but also include other things such as stickers, tickets of events you went to, plus the kids' drawings. You can also include text of your favourite sayings or funny things the kids have said! You can get very creative! For great advice on how to start a scrapbook: https://www.wikihow.com/Start-a-Scrapbook
4. Finish your kid's Record Books
My son is nearly 2 years old and I've been meaning to finish his Baby Record Book for months now! Time can so easily get away from us all and we forget to finish things like this ~ however, I know he will love to look back on it in years to come and learn about what he did in his first year. My son's book has spots to place photographs, so I'm going to make sure I go and print these to put in his book and make a conscious effort to get it finished for him!
Other record books ideas: your child's kindergarten, school or sports.
5. Back up all your digital files
This is more of an important task, rather than fun, but it can be fun looking back at your photographs while you are making sure your photographs are never lost! The digital era means that it is so easy to lose our precious photographs if your phone gets lost or stolen, or our computer crashes, or hard drive decides to die. It's at this moment that we wish we had backed up our photographs, but unfortunately it's too late. While you have time, do this now!
I supply all of my customers with a USB when they purchase digital files from their photography session, but I still explain to them that it's best to copy this to another hard drive - preferably two if possible.
I recommend to copy all photographs that are important to you to two hard drives PLUS an online storage system. Remember that technology moves fast! I can remember CD's and floppy disks and now it's impossible to purchase a computer that will read these. Purchase a hard drive that is the latest technology so you shouldn't have to replace it too soon.
I hope all of these tips help you to be constructive with your spare time, and also give you some fun ideas that you will treasure and love to look back on. Take the time to appreciate your family and enjoy time together while you can! And once all of this is over, I would love to capture the special connections you have with each other :)For any enquiries, please contact Michelle on 0401 514 969 or email kiddykatsphoto@gmail.com
Kiddy Kats Photography is based in Ferntree Gully in Melbourne's Eastern Suburbs.