Being a mom has been one of the hardest and most rewarding jobs I’ve ever had, and it has taken on a whole new meaning over the past few months. Being together with your kids almost 24/7, staying in your bubble with your family during the global pandemic to be safe, and thinking anxiously about what the year and beyond will look like for you and your business, not to mention your children’s schools—this has all been a familiar story in most households. 

[Read: 10 Tips for Photographing with Film at Home]

Amongst all of that, focusing on self-care as a creative and actually taking time out of your day to spend quality time with kids almost seems impossible with our busy schedules. But through it all, picking up my camera and turning to creative photography has been a blessing and a form of therapy for me.

Documenting our lives, especially now, can feel very hard; it’s almost something we don’t want to remember. But this is a unique moment in our history, and it’s definitely a story that needs to be documented for the generations to come. Photographing our togetherness, the highs and the lows, the joy and the chaos of being with our kids full-time—all of that is worth documenting. And while we embrace the reality of it all, letting go of perfection and lending authenticity to our work becomes even more important.

[Read: 5 Tips for Photographing Children]

Photography has been an outlet for me to escape into a world that is uniquely mine, and self-portraiture has been my outlet to express the emotions I’m feeling in this world. Whether you are just looking to get started with self-portraiture or are hoping to get more creative, these elements will help you refine your photos.

THE TECHNICAL ELEMENT

Essential Tool: Tripod

A tripod really helps to keep your camera stable. If you do not have a tripod, consider using a flat surface anywhere in your house to set your camera down. 

Focusing Your Self-Portraits

1. Use a self timer. Have your kids or spouse or anyone else stand in the spot where you want to center your focus. Set the focus on them and then run back in the frame. This will let you take one shot at a time. 

2. Use your camera’s built-in self-timer mode. Not all cameras have this feature, so if you don’t know, look it up in your camera manual. I use a Canon 5D Mark IV and use this feature quite a bit. It gives me the option to set the timer to take 10 shots continuously with a 2- to 10-second delay. I ask my kids to stand in the spot I want to focus on and then run back in the frame. 

3. Use a remote trigger to initiate focus. There are plenty of camera-brand-specific remotes available that help making focusing so much easier. 

4. Using your phone. I personally love using mine as a trigger to set focus. It displays the live view of the scene and makes it really easy to pick a focus point as well as use it as shutter release. 

Setting Your Aperture for Self-Portraits

When you are just starting out, set your aperture high. I usually start with f/2.8 and a shutter speed of 1/250 second, and then I compensate for light with my ISO. This way, I can ensure everyone is in focus especially when photographing with toddlers. 

THE CONFIDENCE ELEMENT

1. Let go of any negative thoughts you have toward yourself. Embrace the real you to get started. 

2. Start with something simple. Just smile and have fun with your kids during this time while the session is in progress. 

3. Consider making it an activity in which all of you can be involved. Examples include reading together, baking together, sleeping together, etc. This helps emphasize your togetherness, which can be hard to appreciate at times but will mean so much down the line.

4. The house does not have to be clean for you to get started! Messes can be hidden behind something or you can even use a backdrop, or pin up a blanket or throw to cover it all. You may even want to make the messes a part of your story!

THE STORYTELLING ELEMENT

Think of the stories you want to remember with your kids. Document those stories. They don’t have to be perfect all the time. Just document them anyway. 

Putting on Makeup Together

In this series, my daughter was getting ready to give me a facial. My story concept was that we have a beautician in our house, and despite the lockdown, we can provide ourselves self-care as well as enjoy that quality time with our kids.

Dancing Together

Just turn on some music and dance with your kids if they love music and dancing! 

Tickling Together

My daughter is two-and-a-half years old and loves being tickled! In fact, she asks for it all the time. The laughter and smiles are always genuine with tickles with little ones!

Reading Together

We love reading together in our house. And my kids love reading together as well. Documenting something we love doing together felt like a natural thing to do!

Sleeping Together 

Here, my goal was to capture the phase where my kids want me to be laying down with them for their naps. Extra cuddles from them are always nice!

THE PERFECTION ELEMENT

As humans and artists, we all get stuck on perfecting everything we do. When we take pride in our work and want to produce our best photos, we tend to lose ourselves in that process. While perfection may seem like something that is great on the surface, aiming for perfection is in fact superlative.

When you strive for perfection in art, you keep chasing a target that really doesn’t exist in reality. You see your art and find something that isn’t quite right. There could be a 100 things that may be wrong with the image, or a 100 different reasons why you shouldn’t take that photo, but letting go of that expectation and taking it easy while embracing the imperfection of your everyday can lead to unexpected yet beautiful results.

Jyo Bhamidipati is an award-winning fine-art lifestyle photographer, a mentor/educator and electrical engineer based in Sacramento, California, who has been published in numerous magazines. She last wrote about how to shoot creative indoor portraits using only window light.