CP Photo Fun: Summertime Photography - CP Gal Naomi Atkins

We leave behind this weekend a different kind of post filled with tips and ideas for capturing FUN summertime photos–CP Gal, Naomi Atkins, is an avid professional photographer running and managing a photography business called Inspired and Enchanted Photography. Her work is phenomenal - we invite you to enjoy and linger.

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Naomi here today with some summertime photo tips, and a quick project that you can make and then swap out your revolving summer photos.

It's summer, and time to take your camera outside again! Who am I kidding...I take my camera outside all times of the year. Just ask my daughter while they're shivering outside in the snow with tutus on. However, you have much more time and opportunity to get the perfect shot! My favorite photos are a mixture of things I stage, as well as snapshots of my kids having fun, doing what they love to do. I know it can be a pain, but take your camera everywhere!! It's the only way to capture those summer memories. I love my iPhone, but it doesn't give me the control I want and I'm always wishing I had my nice camera with me!

Some of my favorite photos of my children are them just playing outside. They love their swings, and we put a big wooden one up that two kids can fit on. I came out the other day and my husband was pushing my two littlest on the big wooden swing and they had their arms around each other...LOVE!

Also LOVE getting the kids blowing the dandelions! The way their little lips pout when they blow the seeds off is just adorable!

Also, the golden hour, near sunset, is by FAR my favorite time to shoot.

We go on walks after dinner and I love that sunset light. When we are at a place where the sun sets beautifully, don't forget those silhouette shots!!

If you shoot manually, expose for your sky (with a high app) and your subject will be dark...these are some of my favorites!

When you are at the pool, grab those shots of your kids jumping and their excited faces wehn they get out! I love the shots of my kids when they are little and drowning in life jackets. All of my kids have been a bit afraid of learning to swim, so they have lots of 'Gear'...and these are some of my favorite pics, too! My son is wearing the dogs life jacket in this photo, and he was sooo happy because the life jacket went around his neck! I love my boys in goggles as well.

At the beach, the best shots are if you are able and willing to actually get in the water...my favorite photos are when I can get down low and get straight on shots of my kids jumping and playing in the waves. If you shoot manually, don't be afraid of the full sun. Try and make sure it's behind you so that your subject is exposed properly rather than dark or squinty. The ocean will probably be a bit overexposed as in my shots, but I can darken that back up a little when I edit.

I also like to get a shot of my feet in the waves, and often make it a screen saver...reminds me of how relaxed I was when I took the shot! Also, don't forget to get yourself in the shots. I set up the shots sometimes, and have one of my kids snap it. They love it!

Last but not least, don't forget those posed shots. I took my littlest to an orchard in bloom in early may and dressed her up of course!

Also, my oldest daughter recorded her own cd for a fundraiser for our missions trip to Africa, so I took urban-type shots of her with her guitar.

Don't forget to photograph your children with the things they love, or things that are special to them...and most of all, HAVE FUN!

And in case you want to make a little project to showcase those photos, all of the neat embellishments in the Open Road collection make for an easy project. I love to swap out my photos, so I took an old wooden frame, pinned some burlap twine to the back and hung some photos and Open Road embellishments to the twine for a quick and easily changeable project! You can get frames cheaply from thrift stores, take out what you don't like, and either distress or paint them for easy projects!