WELCOME to the new HOW TO PHOTOGRAPH YOUR LIFE website.Yes, you can be the photographer you’ve always wanted to be and yes, I’m here to help you become that photographer. I believe this may be the beginning of one of the most exciting and fulfilling things you’ll ever do. And fun, too.

You’ve picked the most fortuitous moment in photographic history to improve your picture taking skills. Miraculous digital technology and the desire of amateur photographers to capture what they see and feel are converging; it hasn’t always been that way. It wasn’t so long ago that what you saw through your camera and what you saw in your photographs were painfully at odds with each other. Now it’s entirely possible that soon you’ll be able to photograph your life way beyond your expectations.

The camera is an entry way to the heart and soul of your family but in ways you’ve never considered. Preserving all those family memories will make you a family hero, but expressing yourself creatively in front of your family, stepping back with your camera to photograph the spilled milk of everyday life and laughing at yourself instead of losing it is a gift to your children beyond measure. (And by the way, spilled milk is generally a good picture.)

I know you can become a better photographer because you’re reading this. Almost all you have to do is want to—almost. Photography may be the most user friendly of all the arts. Just a little effort goes a long, long way and you produce family treasures as you learn. (I have no memory of anyone describing the fruits of my piano lessons as family treasures.) Despite how you may feel now about f-stops and shutter speeds you’ll soon be looking at your camera and your world in new light.

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The photographs you see here were taken by people just like you. They’re all members of the wonderful incredibly supportive community we’ve built at How to Photograph Your Baby/Facebook. Not long ago many of them were floundering around in the photographic swamp—we’ve all been there. Now, a few of them are actually making a living as photographers. We’d love for you to join our new community as it grows here at HTPYLife. 

We thank them all for sharing their photographs and their families. They are:

Aaron Redman, Aimee Morr, Amanda Schalk, Amber Marsh, Amy Henderson Hall, Amy Horn, Anna Karouzakis Broome, Annalisa Harrison, Ashleigh Longmore, Ashley Archambo Anderson, Barbara Taeger, Becky Hughes, Cindy McCard Turner, Dawn Hendsbee, Dawn Marie Mayard, Ellen Kruger, Emily Cottrell, Faye Kepner, Jeannine Campbell, Jennifer Polk, Jennifer Thirsk Raff, Julie Hancock, Kathryn Officer Ferraro, Lori Hagen, Marilyn Moore-MacDougall, Maureen Graw, Renee Liddick Hall, Shannon Brade, Sherrie Merchant Haber, Stacey Stecher, Stacy Simmering, Stephanie Anton, Susie Coldren, Tiana Coles Lee, Tiffany Dahle, Vanessa Vail, Vidar Brekke, and Vikki Ford.