Post by Jessica R.

With the Tiny Prints Talent Search contest under way, we thought you might appreciate a few tried and true real mom tips for getting great pictures of your kids.

1) Take tons and tons of pictures.

Most kids freeze up at the sight of a camera. They start to pose. They act goofy. They plaster a cheesy grin on their face. And they become a child you don’t know. The more pictures you take the less they’ll act up in front of the camera. After a few dozen shots they’ll get bored and go back to being themselves. That’s when you get the really great shots.

2) Never say “Cheese!”

Kids are used to cracking into an incredibly goofy, totally unrealistic smile as soon as you break out the camera and say “Cheese!” That’s not the child you want immortalized on film! Don’t worry about making them smile and face the camera. Follow them around and see if you can capture the emotions and facial expressions that are truly their own. Those are the pictures you’ll want on your wall.

3) Get down.

We’re all so used to looking down at our kids we forget what they look like face to face! They’re stunning! Get on your knees, lie on the floor, you’ll love the resulting pictures.

4) Get in their faces!

Push your camera up close, use a zoom and fill the frame of your viewfinder with your child’s face. Don’t worry about cropping out some hair, an ear or even a chin. Get right in there and capture the twinkle in those eyes!

5) Focus on the eyes.

Whether or not you’re filling the frame with your child’s face focus on the eyes. You’ll make sure that his face is in focus and you’ll bring the whole picture to life.

6) Have fun!

Goof off, make your kids laugh, giggle, be silly! Fill your camera with life and laughter.

7) Be flexible.

I get that you need a great picture for your holiday card, but you’ll just get frustrated if you try to make everyone behave and sit still. Anyway, who needs another picture of kids sitting still? The one of your brood all piled in a heap is going to get front and center placement on the mantle.

8 ) Keep your eye on the background.

Is a pole sticking out of someone’s head? Is there a huge pile of trash or laundry in the back? You might not notice while you’re shooting, but it’s all you’ll notice later.

9) Don’t make anyone pose.

Stalk your children. Capture them being themselves. You’ll treasure the photo of your daughter reading to the family cat much longer than you’ll keep the one of her sitting primly on the couch.

10) Use the Child Mode or the Sports Mode on your camera.

Those modes are perfect for capturing moving objects. Kids move. Lots.

And don’t forget, send us your best shots! You could win $1000 and your kids could be the new face of Tiny Prints!

Are you looking to start your holiday card order, but you don’t have the time to browse through all our designs? Now, you no longer need to spend hours shopping for the perfect design because with our new personal shopper service, our professional designers choose, create and customize your holiday photo cards completely free of charge!

To get started, visit Tiny Prints and submit up to 10 photos for our designers to choose from.  Once you submit your photos, our designers will pick the perfect card for you from one of our five new holiday collections.  You will then have the opportunity to review and edit the design before we send it to the printers.

This service is available on Tiny Prints through the end of October.  So, act now to take advantage of this opportunity.

We recently launched our first-ever line of Eid  holiday cards on Tiny Prints, which offers a variety of stylish photo and non-photo cards with an emphasis on vibrant colors and traditional design motifs.

We are proud to add this collection to our offerings as a part our commitment to providing consumers with stylish stationery to suit every occasion.

You can find some of my favorite designs below: