Daddy & Daughter Shaving Photos for Father’s Day

Hello Tatertots & Jello readers! I am so excited to be here today. I am Tasha and I blog over at Designer Trapped in a Lawyer’s Body. So nice to “meet” you! My blog focuses mostly on DIY renovations and home decor/crafts as my husband and I renovate our outdated home one room at a time. But, we also have adorable 3-year-old twin girls that I love to take photos of, especially for special occasions like Father’s Day. On my husband’s second Father’s Day, I took these photos of our girls, Attley and Avery, for him. I still smile every time I look at these photos, which are hanging in our girls’ playroom. Today, I am here to share with you the special Father’s Day photos that I shot for this year. Now, before I do that, let me stress that I am NOT a professional photographer. I do have an SLR camera, but it’s not super fancy, and I don’t have expensive lenses. The reason I tell you that is because I genuinely believe that ANYONE can take adorable photos of their kids. You need three basic things: 1) beautiful natural light, 2) an uncluttered background, and 3) an adorable subject(s). TRUST ME, you can do this! Given that our girls are now 3 and are a bit easier to capture on film these days {i.e., they no longer crawl away from cameras}, I decided to try something a little more classic and timeless. I had always thought it would be cute to photograph a little boy helping his daddy shave, but, we don’t have any boys. Then it occurred to me that I was being sexist 🙂 Why not photograph our girls “helping” their daddy shave?! I decided to go for it. I chose to take my photos in black and white for two reasons. First, I really wanted the photos to have a timeless look. I want to still have these hanging on a wall 40 years from now and I think black and white stands the test of time more than color photos. Second, our bathroom is terribly, horribly outdated and is swathed in brown tile that would not photograph particularly well in color. Black and white hides all sorts of imperfections, like drab tile 🙂 I just LOVE the way they turned out. I spent about 5 minutes shooting Joe with each of our girls. So we have photos that we will cherish forever with little more than a 10 minute investment. And I have to say everyone, including me, had a lot of fun. The girls thought it was AWESOME and didn’t even notice I was taking photos, since they didn’t have to “pose” for any of them. I have just a few tips for you if you choose to take similar photos: 1) Clear off your countertop and any background clutter that might be visible in the background through the mirror. 2) Stand far enough away from your subjects so that you can crop your own reflection out of the photos, if necessary. Somehow, I managed not to catch myself in a single shot, but depending on the size of your bathroom, that may not be possible, so just leave yourself room to crop. 3) Buy disposable razors and LEAVE the blade covers in place while your kids “shave” your husband’s face. Your husband will thank you. 4) Shoot from lots of different angles. Some of my favorite photos are the ones that I shot through the mirror. Don’t know if something will work? TRY IT! It may look great and if it doesn’t, no harm done. That’s the beauty of digital photography. 5) Most importantly, go with the flow and capture all of the natural moments. Just see what happens. Your kids want to put shaving cream on themselves? GREAT! Shoot it. They want to put it in their hair? Why not?! Shoot it. Just capture it all. In the blink of an eye they will be grown up and won’t want to help their Daddy shave any more. Capture these moments and treasure them forever. This would also be fun to do with a grandfather and his grandkids. The possibilities are endless. After you take the photos, if you are looking for a nice way to display them, check out my tutorial on DIY photo canvases with the secret to creating REAL canvas texture. I can’t wait to get some of my favorite shots on canvas ASAP. Thanks so much for hanging out with me today and a HUGE thanks to Jen for inviting me to post on her AMAZING blog. I hope you all have a wonderful Father’s Day with your families! I hope to see you all over at my blog, Designer Trapped in a Lawyer’s Body. And I love new social media followers! You can find me pretty much everywhere:

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Thanks Tasha! Those photos are priceless, and something that any dad would cherish forever! I love all the tips she shared too. Tasha has awesome ideas on her blog. Here are a few that I love that you might want to check out:

Her idea for updating doors with White Trim and Black Paint is so smart! Such a pretty, more modern look.

 And, her Playroom Reveal is absolutely amazing! She turned a boring room into such a fun space for the kids!

This DIY Personalized Pillow is adorable too. I love a good no-sew project!

I’m thrilled to have Tasha here today, and I hope that you’ll check out her blog, Designer Trapped.