How to Find the Perfect Light
Nature provides the best source of lighting. The best time of day to take photos outside is early morning or late afternoon when lighting isn’t directly overhead as that will cast unwelcome shadows on your baby’s beautiful face. While most point and shoot cameras do come with flashes you will find that flashes are not the best lighting source when it comes to taking the best baby pictures.

When taking a photo of baby you want light that isn’t harsh and if possible that isn’t artificial. The problem is that winter months provide little opportunity for baby to go outside and summer months require special care and consideration for discomfort resulting from both the sun and the heat. A good alternative is if you have access to a sunroom or any room in your house that has an abundance of windows that allow natural light to stream into the room. This allows proper lighting combined with a comfortable atmosphere for your little one to take an exceptionally cute baby picture that is exposed to the proper amount of light. When taking photographs outside you should also take care that you are neither facing your baby into the sun (as this will agitate your baby) nor your face to the sun as this will create a glare. You may also want to take note of reflective metals or bodies of water that may be in the line of sight of your camera lens as well and avoid those whenever possible.

If these options are not available to you try to make sure that the room you are snapping photographs in is well lit and that you aren’t casting unnecessary shadows when taking your baby photo. Shadows create dark spots on the photo and too little light makes the entire photograph too dark to make out the beautiful features of your baby. If all else fails you can rely on the flash from your camera. These are actually adequate for most non-professional photographs. However, if you want an extra special picture for a baby photo contest or to grace the cover of your baby photo album, you might want to explore the possibilities of natural lighting in order to capture the brightest of your baby’s smiles.

Are your mornings rushed, chaotic and disorganized? Then it’s time to get control and make morning a good start to a wonderful day! When your morning activities run smoothly, and you’re out the door on time it can make your whole day feel better. To create a peaceful morning routine, follow these steps:

Start your morning — at night!
A real key to smoothing out your morning is to prepare as much as you can the night before. This means choosing the day’s clothing, packing lunches, gathering homework, signing permission slips and setting the table for breakfast.

Post a calendar
Buy the biggest wall calendar you can find and hang it in a central location. Write down events and appointments for everyone. Use different color marking pens to code items for easy reading. (As an example: ball practice in red, carpool in green, doctors/dentists in purple) Keep the calendar up to date and you’ll be more organized!

Create a drop box
Have a labeled box for each family member by the door. Use this to store shoes, keys, backpacks, coats and anything else that goes out the door with you in the morning. Plastic tubs or decorated crates make great drop boxes!

Use a morning list
Sit down and analyze a typical morning. Make a list of everything that needs to be done. Create a poster-sized list of the standard morning activities listed in order to be done:

If you have a child who gets easily distracted and ignores the morning chart – don’t give up! Just make a small mini- size chart, laminate it, put it on a chain and let your child wear it as his “morning necklace”! Your part is to make a few gentle reminders, “How are you doing on your chart this morning?”

Check out sleep time
If your child has trouble getting up in the morning and sticking to his schedule take a look at what time he or she goes to bed. Without adequate sleep a child won’t be able to follow a morning routine successfully.

Fix problems with a family meeting
If problems persist take the time to sit down with your children and talk about it. Let everyone have a turn talking, and then work to arrive at solutions that will benefit everyone.

Get up fifteen minutes earlier
You’d be amazed at the difference fifteen minutes can make to your morning, it can mean a peaceful pace instead of a rushed frenzy. Try it!

Praise successes
Remember, your words of praise will encourage your children to continue to meet their goals!

Copyright Elizabeth Pantley. (McGraw-Hill, 2003)

About the author:
Elizabeth Pantley is the author of several books, including Gentle Baby Care : No-cry, No-fuss, No-worry — Essential Tips for Raising Your Baby, The No-Cry Sleep Solution: Gentle Ways to Help Your Baby Sleep Through the Night, Kid Cooperation (with an introduction by William Sears, MD), Perfect Parenting, as well as her latest The No-Cry Sleep Solution for Toddlers and Preschoolers and is also president of Better Beginnings, Inc. She is a popular speaker on family issues, and her newsletter, Parent Tips, is seen in schools nationwide. She appears as a regular radio show guest, and has been quoted in Parents, Parenting, Redbook, Good Housekeeping, American Baby, Working Mother, and Woman’s Day magazines. Visit Elizabeth’s web site http://www.pantley.com/elizabeth.