How to take a Photo with your Mom

I was a photo major at Sac State a few years back. There was this one semester that my class and I hosted our own gallery. For my piece, I created cinematic movie stills. I worked with studio lighting, and I hired my friends to act out the scenes. I even made my own marquees— just like the ones that light up at movie theaters. The hardest part about the project was cutting the glass for the marquees. I shattered around ten sheets of glass before I finally got one to fit inside the frame. In order to get it to the studio I had to wrap it up in bubble wrap, blankets and I even seat belted it in my car.

Once I finally got to the studio, and started setting up, I got a call from my dad. He let me know that my mom was in the hospital, and there was a good chance that she wasn’t going to make it. Now my mom’s okay, she’s still alive. But in the moment while my dad and I talked, I gripped the marquee so tightly— the glass shattered.

But I didn’t care. Because in that moment, I realized something that made a pivote in my photography career. I realized in that moment that there are so many cool things that you can do with photography. I mean heck, you can create cinematic movie stills and hang them up in lights. But in that moment I realized that the coolest thing that you can do with photography— is you can take a photo with your mom.

Now at the time, my mom and I didn’t have to many photos together. And why who’s fault is that?! My mom isn’t a flashy person, so hiring a photographer is out of her element. As for me, I just always thought there would be more time. But there isn’t always more time…

So, let’s get into it!

Everything that I’m about to teach you can be done with a camera or a phone. You can do this at a gorgeous venue, or in a Walmart parking lot. The rules will stay same regardless!

How to take a good photo with your Mom:

Step One— I want you and your mom to stand in a spot with even lighting from head to toe. Now “even light” is just a fancy photographers way of saying find shade. ;) Bonus points is you can find a spot that’s completed shaded from head to toe, but you can still look up and see the sky. The reason why, is because if you find a place that’s covered (like under a tree), then the photo could be too dark, and could have a weird color cast. So find a spot that has even lighting from head to toe where you can still look up and see the sky!

Step Two— The background of the image also needs to have even lighting from top to the bottom. This means that the same shade that you’re in, the background needs to be just as shaded too. The reason why, is because if the background is lighter than the shady spot that you’re standing in, then it will be too distracting. When you look at the photo on your screen, then your eye will naturally gravitate towards the background. We are PEOPLE. CENTERED. photographers!! We want our mom to be the star of the photo! So choose a spot that has even light from head to toe, and even light in the background.

Step Three— We can place our moms in the most beautiful lighting in the world, but if she doesn’t look good in the photo she’s just going to whine, “my arm looks fat, delete it!” But seriously, if we don’t like the way that we look in our photos, then we’re never going to post them on social media, and we’re definitely never going to print them! And that’s how photos get lost. So, I’m going to teach you how to pose your mom. Have her stand at a 45 degree angle, then have her twist her torso towards the camera. What this does is it creates a sliver effect with her body. Bonus points if you can get her to pop her foot! Close the space in-between you guys, and go cheek to cheek! (My mom has a bad hip, so I couldn’t get her to do the pose. I’ll try to add some more examples later. ;) )

That’s it!
I hope that this inspired at least one person to take a photo with your mom. <3