Taking Photos of Your Kids Made Easy: Capture the Moment by SarahWilkerson

I can't say for certain, but I'm pretty confident making the following assumption: Parents want to capture every moment of their child's life. It's just human nature. And what better way to capture all the moments than by photographing them? But most of us aren't experts in how to capture the best shots, we lack the tips that would really give us the most bang for our shutter snap. Solution? Capture the Moment by Sarah Wilkerson (CEO of Clickin Moms).

Capture the Moment by Sarah Wilkerson

I love this book. LOVE it. This book is the perfect companion for any parent/ wanna-be photographer. Why? Because of it's simplicity. We all know that we should embrace all the rules and basics of good photography but sometimes what we want are tips to set up the shot. Ways to get our lighting bolt fast subjects to sit still just long enough to optimize the impact of the photo. This book is just that. Simple tips accompanied by GORGEOUS photos.

This book is for every mom (and dad) who has chased their kids around with a camera for the sake of posterity. Get this. The information is helpful, concise and easy to follow for even the most sleep deprived parent!

Blogger note: I received this book from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for this review. This review is entirely based on my opinion and contains my honest evaluation.

Finally Use That Fancy Expensive Camera with Some Help from Me Ra Kohin Your Family in Pictures

Okay so I'll be the first to admit it, when my son was born one of the things I bought (in addition to all the customary baby must-haves) was a fancy and very pricey DSLR camera. I justified this purchase quite easily: I wanted to capture all of the moments so I could have all of the memories. Birthdays, holidays and important events came and went. And I snapped away merrily, secretly hiding the fact that I had no clue what I was doing. I mean there are a reason people call themselves professional photographers, they know what they are doing behind their very expensive camera lenses.

Enter Me Ra Koh's newest book, Your Family in Pictures. THIS, fellow clueless picture-snapping parents, will now be your bible. I am not kidding. I have purchased other books that promised to help newbies like me master said fancy camera, to no avail. They were written like textbooks and I was unable to EASILY and QUICKLY access the tips and info I needed. Sure, the inner workings of camera can be very fascinating for some, but I'm a busy mom and I just don't have that kind of time on my hands.

What Koh manages to do is demystify the practice of taking good pictures. That simple. She presents the book in almost a cookbook-like way, dividing sections into topics that the picture-taker may want to capture. Very specific topics like: Bedtime, Fourth of July (seriously now I can take a good photo of fireworks!), Sisters, A Day at the Beach, Outdoor Sports...it's all here. Easy "recipes" give simple directions for capturing these moments with your DSLR OR P&S (point and shoot). It doesn't get any easier to capture beautiful pictures of your family in any situation you could possibly want to compose.

Got a new camera or just want to make the most of the one you already have? Get this book.

Your Family in Pictures by Me Ra Koh courtesy of Crown Publishing

Blogger note: I received this book from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for this review. This review is entirely based on my opinion and contains my honest evaluation.

Reasons My Kid is Crying: The Perfect Book to Kick Back with After anEspecially Trying Day of Parenting

Hey parents, do you frequently visit hilarious parenting blogs? Then chances are good you are familiar with the blog, Reasons My Son is Crying. (No? I'll wait while you go check out the site. Really, you must. It's a gem!)

The blog, and subsequently the book, is the brainchild of Greg Pembroke who decided in the midst of one of his 3-year-old son's tantrums, to start documenting the reasons behind the outbursts. Needless to say hilarity, as well as an instant web-following of parents, ensued.

Reasons My Kid is Crying is dubbed as "Part Diary, Part Therapy, Completely Hilarious" and is everything a time-starved parent looks for in a book: concise, funny and reassuring. It is presented in the same style as the blog: a photo of a toddler sobbing alongside a caption describing what caused the meltdown. My favorites include: "He met Bill Murray", "His Aunt wouldn't let him play with the ax" and "I wouldn't let him crawl into a 400 degree oven". I mean who hasn't been there??!!

This is the kind of book that you sit down on the couch and read with your spouse after you put the kids to bed. It is a solid reminder to parents that everyone's child will occasionally act like this and that the best way to get through it is to laugh (and ok, sometimes take pictures and document your kids' absolutely illogical but nonetheless pricelessly entertaining explanations for their tantrums).

Makes a great gift for a new parent or someone whose child is about to enter the everything-they-told-you-and-more-is-true realm of the terrible twos.

Blogger note: I received this book from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for this review. This review is entirely based on my opinion and contains my honest evaluation.

photo courtesy of: http://crownpublishing.com/