QUICK TIP PHOTO CARDS:

PRINTABLE CHEAT SHEETS FOR MOMS

BY MEG CALTON, © SNAP HAPPY MOM

PRINTING
This download includes 2 instruction pages and 8 pages of double-sided cards (totaling 10
pages and 22 individual cards). The file should be printed double-sided, pages 3-10, at the
actual size. Do not use the “fit to page” option in the print settings.

For the highest quality print, we recommend taking the file to your local professional print
shop (such as Staples, Office Max, UPS Store, Fedex Print & Ship, etc.). You will want to print
on cardstock (80 to 110 lb. card) for the truest colors and to prevent the back side from
showing through the front side. You can also print it on your home printer, although the
colors will not be as saturated or bright.

ASSEMBLY
Full directions can be found at www.snaphappymom.com/quick-tip-card-assembly

CUT: You should trim each card to 2.5” wide by 4.25” tall. Use the light grey crop guidelines
to trim off a small sliver of color from each side of the card. (The card designs are slightly
bigger than the finished cut size to allow for printer fluctuation when printing double sided.)

The easiest way is to first cut 3/8” off from the sides and top, and then 1” from the bottom.
Next, trim the middle section out, leaving two wide strips of three cards each. Lastly, cut out
the last 1/8” out from between the cards. We recommend using a guillotine-type paper
cutter for the most accurate cuts, although a sliding paper cutter can work if you are precise.

LAMINATE: We highly recommend you laminate the cards for longevity and durability.

Option 1: These cards were formatted to use with a pouch-style home laminator and
pre-sized 2.75 x 4.5” pouches. This is ideal because you don’t have to trim twice! Links to
these special pouches can be found at www.snaphappymom.com/quick-tip-card-assembly.

Option 2 : You can also take the cards to a commercial laminator and feed several cards
through at a time, and then cut out your cards from a large sheet of lamination.

ASSEMBLE: Punch a hole in the corner with a regular hole punch, and thread them onto a
ring. This keeps your cards together and makes it very easy to flip through to find the card
you want. You can look back at this document to see the suggested order of cards.
COPYRIGHT & TERMS
The contents of this file are copyrighted by Meg Calton for Snap Happy Mom. You are
prohibited from using this file commercially; copying the design, content, or assembly
concept; selling the artwork or finished product; altering the artwork or content; or
redistributing in any way.

You have purchased it for personal, non-commercial use. You may print up to 5 copies of
this document to give to family members or friends, but you may NOT share the digital file
over email or otherwise.

You may not host or sell this file from your website. If you would like to tell others about
this product, please link directly to www.SnapHappyMom.com where the cards are
displayed prominently in the shop.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE TO PRINTER:

The file holder has permission to print up to 5 copies for home/personal use.

CONTACT
If you have any questions or concerns, please email meg@snaphappymom.com.

HEY MAMA!

Want more photography tips? Need help with your camera?

Visit my blog at www.SnapHappyMom.com for more tips,

tutorials, and inspiration. I am a mom and a photographer,
and I love helping other moms take better pictures of their
own children. I want you to feel confident with your camera!

I also have a FREE 7-day email series for with tips for
improving your photos. Sign up for it here:

www.SnapHappyMom.com/ultimate-bundle-love
 COMPOSITION
CAMERA TIPS 1. Straighten Your Lines
Any horizontal line should be straight.

2. The Rule of Thirds

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Divide the frame into thirds - put
important things on those lines.
WORKING WITH KIDS
3. Movement Should Draw You In
Don’t let subjects run off the edge - give
moving objects space to move into the
frame instead of drawing attention away.
QUICK TIP
PHOTO CARDS LIGHTING 4. Don’t Cut Off Limbs
Keep all hands and feet inside the frame.

5. Fill Up The Frame

What is the subject of this photo? Fill up
the frame with that. Zoom with your feet!
SHOOTING 6. Eliminate Clutter
Clutter is distracting. Physically move the
stuff, move the subject, or crop it out.

7. Find Good Angles

Portraits look best if the camera is at the
EXPOSURE subject’s eye level. You may have to
snaphappymom.com squat or lay down for children.

WHITE BALANCE AVOIDING GETTING GOOD BLUR

White Balance is how the camera
decides to make white look white
despite different light sources.
Auto WB will usually work fine, but setting
the white balance will give you truer color.
Adjust your WB setting to the icon that is
the main source of light. Don’t forget to
change it back when you’re done!
Sunlight
Shady
Cloudy
Tungsten (Indoor Light)
Fluorescent (Industrial Light)
Flash
Auto White Balance
BLURRY PHOTOS
Hold still while you shoot.
Don’t move until the photo is taken!
Have a firm shooting stance.
Hold the camera with two hands, elbows
close to your body. Brace yourself against
something if you shake.
Get more light in the picture.
Almost all cameras struggle in low light
situations. Don’t shoot in the dark!
Turn on burst mode and use it.
Continuous shooting (or burst mode) lets
you focus once and take several pics in
the same ‘click.’ Use it for actively moving
subjects and to catch fleeting smiles.
Increase your shutter speed to
“freeze” motion.
Your shutter speed may be too slow,
which makes movement blurry. Choose a
faster shutter speed (aka make the
number on the bottom of the fraction
bigger: 1/8 = blurry vs. 1/500 = sharp).
One element of a good portrait is when
the background is blurry, helping the
subject to “pop!”
If you’re in automatic mode:
Move the subject away from background.
The further away the subject is, the more
the background will be blurred.
If you’re controlling your aperture in
aperture priority or manual mode:
Use a wide open aperture (a low f-stop
like f1.8 or f2.0). This is more advanced,
but you will have the ability to control the
depth of field and get a lot more blur in
the background.
Always focus on the eyes!
Use the focus point in your viewfinder to
focus on the subject’s eyes. Finding the
toggle setting in your camera will help
you focus with the rule of thirds instead of
the camera using only the center point.
The lower your aperture, the more careful
you need to be with nailing the focus!
 WORKING WITH KIDS
Get them moving.
Dance, jump, spin, run, or race. Use
moving shots in combination with poses.
Embrace their unique personality.
Not all kids are grinners - real
expressions are always better than
forced smiles.
Help them pretend.
Figure out their “currency” and milk it.
Ex: princesses, superheroes, animals,
playing house, vehicles, sports, etc.
Give them a special job.
Most kids do better with a bit of
responsibility. Give them something to
hold or somewhere to put their hands.
Play a game.
Try peekaboo, ring-around-the-rosie, red
light green light, or silly competitions.
Give them two good options.
Let the kid choose between 2 things -
empower them instead of forcing them.
INDOOR LIGHTING
Face subject towards the light source.
Light needs to fall on the subject’s face
for a traditional portrait. Try putting the
photographer’s back against a window
and then having the subject face the
window so the light shines on them.
Backlighting will cause silhouettes.
Turn on all the lights.
Don’t take pictures in the dark - turn on
the lights! Open the windows, stand in
the doorframe, or use the brightest room.
Consider using fill flash.
Consider using flash in additional to
ambient lighting to fill in the shadows.
Use correct white balance for true color.
Ditch auto white balance and set white
balance for the correct light source. Most
homes use tungsten lighting, and most
industrial/commercial buildings use
fluorescent lighting: use those settings!
For window light, try the shade setting.
STOP SAYING CHEESE
Encourage a natural smile!
Asking for smiles doesn’t work; you have
to encourage it out of them.
Be silly - play with the kids. If you are fun
they will have fun, and it will show.
Make noises & sound effects - whistle,
buzz, click, trill, etc. Car noises and
animals sounds work well too.
Ask for specific expressions & actions
Can you jump like a frog, smile like a
princess, give me a super hero pose, etc.
Help siblings to interact - have one
make the other laugh. Ask them to
whisper a secret, give eskimo kisses, hug
each other, hold hands, etc.
Laugh - do something that makes them
laugh, or ask them to exaggerate a fake
laugh by saying “ha ha ha!”
Boy humor - When in doubt, a touch of
boy humor usually can get a smile. :)
FLASH TIPS
On-camera flash is not flattering:
Consider how to avoid flash first.
Turn on all the lights. Open the doors &
windows and use that light. Go outside
and look for open shade.
You can also use your camera settings: try
a higher ISO, wider/lower aperture, or
slower shutter speed (but not slower than
1/125 for pictures of kids).
Choose the right distance for flash.
The sweet spot is 5-12 feet for flash.
Whatever is closest to the camera will
pick up all the light, so don’t have
anything between camera and subject.
Use fill flash.
On-camera flash should not be your only
light source. Use flash in combination
with other light sources, especially if the
light is behind the subject (backlighting).
But always get the picture.
If flash is the only way to record that
memory, then absolutely use flash!
PEP TALK FOR MOMS
Stop making a big deal of photos.
The bigger deal you make, the less
natural your family will be. Don’t bribe
them before you’ve even started. Act
more relaxed than you feel!
Be prepared, and then limit fiddling.
Set up all your settings before you ask
your child to pose for a picture. Don’t
waste time fiddling with settings!
Work fast and be present.
Learn your camera well so you can be
flexible and fast. Don’t check the back of
your camera constantly.
Kids go through stages.
Kids love/hate pictures at different times:
you will have to constantly change up
your strategy to get cooperation.
Don’t attach self worth to photos.
They are just kids, and your relationship
with them matters more than a photo. If
you can’t get a good shot, try again later.
OUTDOOR LIGHTING
Find open shade.
The easiest outdoor lighting is in open
shade: like the shadow of a building, or
from trees. Take care that the shade is
even and not dappled from leaves.
Avoid noon: shoot at start/end of day.
The light and shadows at the middle of
the day are the harshest. Shooting at
dawn or sunset gives you softer light and
shadows, which are more flattering.
Full sun? Put subject’s back to the light.
Backlighting is one way to take pictures if
no shade is available. Make sure to focus
on your subject - and you may need to
use exposure compensation or fill flash.
Overcast days make for easy pics.
Cloudy overcast days make for simple,
easy lighting with almost no shadows.
Everyone has to be in the same light.
For group shots, don’t let some people
be in sun and some be in shade.
Everyone has to be in the same light.
 EXPOSURE TRIANGLE APERTURE
Exposure is how a photo is created: Aperture is the size of the camera
· how much light you let in (aperture) opening when a picture is taken.
· for how long (shutter speed)
· on a sensitive chip (ISO) Aperture controls how bright the picture
is by changing the size of the circular
There are many ways to create a opening that takes the picture. It’s
“balanced” exposure with these three measured as an f-stop, which is a fraction
elements. There is not one correct way: and moves counterintuitively (aka wider
you can create well-lit pictures with many apertures have smaller numbers).
different combinations.
A wider aperture lets in more light, and
has a low f-stop: f/1.8, f/2, f/3.5.
Aperture
A smaller aperture lets in less light, and
has a high f-stop: f/8, f/16, f/22.
Side Effect: Depth of Field
Aperture also controls depth of field, or
how much is in focus compared to the
focus point.
A wider aperture has shallow depth of
Shutter ISO field, and less will be in focus: f/1.8, f/3.5.
Speed
A smaller aperture has more depth of
field, and more will be in focus: f/16, f/22.
ISO OVERALL EXPOSURE
brighter
ISO is how sensitive the camera is to
light when a picture is taken.
The number you dial in for ISO controls more light
APERTURE
how bright the picture can be with that wide open amount of light
type of lighting.
f/2 f/4 f/8 f/16
The lower ISO numbers (100, 200, 400) less in focus depth of field
need lots of light to make a good picture. more bkgd blur
Use them in bright, sunny situations.
Higher ISO numbers (800, 1600, 3200)
make the camera more sensitive to the
SHUTTER SPEED
light you have. This helps you get a good slower speed of exposure
exposure in dark, dim, and low-light 1/60 1/125 1/250 1/500
situations.
visible motion motion blur
blurred
Side Effect : Visible Grain
ISO also controls the image quality and
the appearance of grain/noise.
ISO
A high ISO means you are more likely to more sensitive camera sensitivity
have visible grain, or tiny pixelated dots
3200 1600 800 400
in the photo. A lower ISO has less noise
and will look cleaner in dark areas. more grain grain/noise
SHUTTER SPEED
Shutter Speed is how fast the shutter
opens & closes when a picture is taken.
Shutter speed controls how bright the
picture is: a faster shutter speed lets in
less light, so the photo will be darker
than one with a slower shutter speed.
Shutter speed is measured in fractions of
a second, so you’re looking for a bigger
number on the bottom of the fraction as
you get faster.
Faster shutter speed (1/500) = lets in
less light, which is a darker exposure.
Slower shutter speed (1/60) = lets in
more light, which is a brighter exposure.
Side Effect: Motion Blur
Shutter speed also controls motion blur.
A faster shutter speed can freeze motion.
A slower shutter speed shows motion
blur, which can be used artistically.
darker
less light
stopped down
f/22
more in focus
less bkgd blur
faster
1/1000
frozen motion
crisp, sharp
less sensitive
200
less grain
 SEMI-AUTOMATIC
MODES
P - Program Mode
Just like automatic, but you can choose
ISO and use exposure compensation.
Camera handles everything else.
Aperture Priority Mode**
∙ Nikon: A = Aperture
∙ Canon: Av = Aperture value
You choose ISO and f-stop, and the
camera balances it with a shutter speed
to produce a balanced exposure. You
can use exposure compensation for
brighter photos.
** This is a great mode to learn how to
use your camera settings. It’s the first
“baby step” I recommend!
Shutter Priority Mode
∙ Nikon: S = Shutter
∙ Canon: Tv = Time value
You choose ISO and shutter speed, and
the camera balances it with an aperture
to produce a balanced exposure.
Exposure compensation lets you make it
darker or brighter if you need it.
EXPOSURE
COMPENSATION
Exposure compensation is a simple way
to get brighter or darker photos.
The camera estimates exposure, but you
can use exposure compensation to make
it brighter or darker. This is an easy way to
overide the camera’s settings in the
semi-automic modes, or simply to
accomodate your personal preferences.
Use the +/- button with a dial to adjust:
Turn towards + side to make it brighter.
Turn towards - side to make it darker.
Light moves in thirds of a stop: plus or
minus 1/3, 2/3 or a full stop, designated in
decimals: ± .3, .7, 1.
How much depends on the situation. Start
with ± .7 and adjust accordingly.
Don’t forget to change it back to 0 when
you’re done with it!
Works in P, A/Av, S/Tv modes (not auto).
SHOOTING IN MANUAL
1. Choose ISO
First set your ISO according to the situation.
Use a low ISO for shooting in full sun - then the
darker the situation, the higher the ISO.
2. Choose Aperture / F-Stop
Adjust f-stop according to depth of field and
how bright you want it to be. For portraits, start
fairly wide open. Set higher for more people in
the shot or more details/location in focus.
3. Choose Shutter Speed
Choose a shutter speed that is fast enough to
avoid blur. Since this is the last step, this is
usually based on the light meter and what
balances out the exposure.
4. Check your light meter and adjust.
The light meter shows how close the camera
thinks you will be to a balanced exposure with
these settings. You will rarely be “perfectly”
exposed - trust your eye and personal
preference. 2-3 clicks off center is normal.
5. Take picture, adjust as needed.
Check your picture on back of camera, and
adjust whatever setting is not working. When
you’re learning, it helps to only change one
thing at a time to see cause/effect.

TROUBLESHOOTING
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Too bright? You need less light.
∙ Stop down aperture - choose a higher f-stop.
∙ Lower your ISO to make it less sensitive.
∙ Speed up your shutter to let in less light.
WEBSITE
Too dark? You need more light. Find tips, tutorials, and inspiration at
∙ Open up aperture - choose a lower f-stop.
∙ Raise your ISO to make it more sensitive.
www.snaphappymom.com
∙ Slow down the shutter to let in more light.

Too blurry? SOCIAL MEDIA

∙ Stop down aperture to get more in focus. instagram: @snaphappymeg
Choose a higher f-stop.
pinterest.com/snaphappymeg
∙ Speed up your shutter speed to freeze
motion better and get crisp action shots.
facebook.com/snaphappymeg

Is the background distracting?

∙ Open up aperture to blur out background
CONTACT ME
and have less in focus. Choose a lower f-stop. I love hearing from other moms.
∙ This is especially useful if background objects Send me your questions and wins!
appear to be “growing” out of your subject’s meg@snaphappymom.com
head. Less depth of field can save you from
distracting or unsightly elements.
© Copyright Snap Happy Mom, 2017
All Rights Reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Too grainy?
∙ Choose a lower ISO.