Hit Me With Your Best Shot

*You can still enter to win a photo book all day today. Just leave me a comment with the biggest problem you have taking pics of your kids and I'll pick 2 winners at random. And then go check out my beauty blunder and share yours. It's a doozy! Happy Friday!*

Clearly I am not known for taking great pictures.

I've been working on it. And since my Canon died (may that huge cumbersome annoying camera rest in peace), I've been playing around with my snappy little Olympus ($129.99 Thank you Target). I have to say, the editing system it comes with is fantastic (easy cropping, no red eye -- it rocks).

And I figure, I've got to work on this since I can't always rely on my friend to get pictures. I must be able to get a few of my own!

Or at least ones that aren't blurry.

So, check out my interview with Susan Getgood for HP! They were kind enough to send me some really awesome photobooks, two of which I'd be happy to give to two of The Mom Trap readers today. Just leave me a comment and tell me the biggest problem you have getting good pics of your kids. I'll pick two winners at random.

And while you're at it, check out my halloween cuties. (Note my crafty efforts ala dwarf costume!). Feel free to share the link to yours!

And don't forget about this awesome Blog Blast tomorrow. If you haven't seen this book, it's FANTASTIC. It's like a complete guide to cosmetics for dummies like me. And you can win FREE MAKE-UP! WOOHOO!

Comments

[Brenmom]

Hmmm, biggest problem? Besides the obvious of getting all three of them sitting still and looking forward, my biggest issue is the bluriness I get from my shaking hands! However, an "image stabilization" setting on my Fuji has saved the day! I highly recommend it for moms with shaky-hand-syndrome like me.

[Eryn]

My biggest problem is fake smiles. If any of them KNOW they are being photographed, they immediately make this face that looks like they are, well, constipated. So I need something that has no delay in taking the picture, because I only get the good ones by surprise!

[Jill H.]

My biggest problem? Getting DD #2 to smile, and keeping her from wanting to play with the camera - She's 18mo - and thinks it's a neat toy to play with.

[divrchk]

I can never get my 2 kids to be still or look at me at the same time when I try to get a picture with both of them.

[kate]

My in-laws have spent the last 5 years trying to get my daughter to say "CHEEEEEEZZZZ!" They don't believe there is such a thing as a good picture unless it is taken full-frontal, teeth glaring, preferably with the child subject wearing a velvet dress with ruffles. Put it this way, my husband was sent to the first day of first grade dressed in a 3 piece suit, complete with clip-on tie. But I digress. Consequently, my daughter won't produce a natural looking smile to save her life. It's all about the cheese. Pasteurized process American cheese food. Her "natural" look is beautiful, but it takes so many tries to catch her with a real smile instead of the schmaltz!

[crazymommylady]

Oh, let me count the ways.
1. My daughter does this weird thing where she beams a big smile with her face pointed right at the camera, while her eyes are looking off to the side as if a circus were traveling by in her periphery.
2. My son wants to eat the camera every time I try to get a close-up (I've recently been trying to get a shot of his new first teeth).
3. Just like divrchk, the odds of getting them both to be looking normal at the same time is nil.

[Stacey]

I have 2 digital cameras - a $99 Polaroid and a $350 Olympus. My biggest problem is that they are not DSLRs and don't react immediately when I press the button. There is always that slight lag between pushing that button and the camera taking the photo and in that time the kids have moved. Then there is the lag between taking the photo and the camera being ready for the next one (upwards of 12 seconds with the Polaroid, around 5 with the Olympus, depending on the size of the memory card). By the time I can take a second photo the children are no longer even in the area.

There is a heavily retouched photo of my kids in their 'our mom is so lame' costumes on my blog http://havocmayhem.blogspot.com

[JenniferB]

Between the "this is not what I want to be doing" attitude and the fake "perfect" smiles -- there are always problems getting photos around here!

[Awesome Mom]

My problem is getting my kids to actually look at the camera and smile. My eldest is just not the camera hog he used to be.

[AllisonR]

My biggest problem is that I have four boys who distract each other when taking a picture. I am constantly saying "Look here, Kolbe, no Michael, no everyone, look at mommy, Matty that means you, Gabe please..." I end up taking like five pictures and I do my best to photoshop the good faces on the best picture....but ultimately, there is always one boy looking at one of his goofy brothers.

[Cory]

My kid-pic-taking-problem is simply my ds thinks his best pictures come from trying to look really mean, so I don't think a photobook can help that *sigh*

Your pics are A-D-O-R-A-B-L-E! Snow White is sooo princess-y!

[Denise G]

I don't know which would be the biggest problem, there are so many. If I finally get a cute pose or smiles from my girls, I look at the picture once I download it and find out that they have 2 sets of eyes or an extra hand because I have once again taken another blurry picture. I made a photo book of my oldest daughter's 1st year and I don't know if I even have enough good photos of my youngest to make a book of her. I hope so because I don't want to be one of those moms who does stuff for her first child and slacks off when the others come along. I used to take great pictures I don't know what I'm doing wrong now. UGHH!!!!

[Dana]

The most difficult problem I have is getting the kid to look at me. He'll sit still, he'll say "cheese", but he's looking into space or at his feet or at the dog. It sucks!

[Tiffany]

I have two problems....the first being obvious, getting all 3 to stay still, smile, and attempt to look at the camera. The second, is the fact the girls would rather see the picture so with the delay using our digital camera I take the picture and end up catching the girls running towards me because they want to see the photo.

[Jeni]

My biggest problem, besides always forgetting the camera? My 4 year old is too busy striking a pose that pushes her sister out of the picture- she thinks she's a superstar.

[Naomi (Urban Mummy)]

My biggest problem? There are several, actually.

Getting the children to stop moving for even a second. Although that can lead to some great candids.

Getting my older son to stop making crazy smile face (remember that episode of Friends, where Chandler couldn't smile? Yea, that's the face).

Or getting the older boy to stop running at the camera saying "I want to see! Show me the picture!"

[Imstell]

Biggest problem? That's easy. My 2 year old is blind so he's always got his head bent down. I have a lovely sampling of the crown of his head. When I ask him to look up and smile he tilts his head straight up to the sky and gives me the cheese smile. Again... many great photos of the inside of his nostrils. Add to that a 7 year old with a penchant for the "thumbs up" sign who thinks he always needs to be the same height as his brother in every picture and, well, you can see the problem.