Summertime fun is about to begin! I’m incredibly excited about that. Those blustering cold winds and heavy snowfall warnings accompanied by frigid temperatures are becoming a distant memory of our winter’s past. I know I’m ready for days filled with warm sunshine, comfortable temperatures and the joyous feeling that always fills the air throughout the summer months. As a mother and photographer, preserving the summer memories of my children with my camera is more than a passion, it’s an absolute must!
Summertime brings with it endless opportunities for photography, and there are a few specific elements that I enjoy incorporating into my images. These elements exude summertime fun when infused into my summer photographs. Here are some fantastic elements that, I think, belong in summertime images.
- Water
Summer and water make a delightful pair! When it’s hot outside, there’s nothing better to tame the heat than refreshing water-filled moments of childhood fun! However, the electrical parts of most cameras don’t usually play nice with water. Don’t worry though there’s a solution to this problem! A rain sleeve is an inexpensive, lightweight, easy to use, recyclable, and best of all will protect your gear so that you can photograph the endless smiles of your children between flying water drops and energetic moments of splish and splash. I highly recommend you (safely) embrace water fun in your images this summer because I can guarantee your frames will be full of moments you won’t want to forget!
- Food
Summertime meals are some of the most delicious food choices out there! Incorporating playful childhood food moments into summer photographs is high on my list of must capture summer images. Saucy barbequed chicken drenched fingers, dripping ice cream cones, sticky watermelon arms, and oozing marshmallow smores are all summer moments that scream out, “photograph me!” Messy, gooey and sticky faces and fingers are signs that summer is being devoured most deliciously.
I use my Nikon D810 body to capture most of my summer memories.
- Adventure
Spending time outdoors during the summer months is something I’m confident, is enjoyed by almost everyone. Being outside in nature is one of my family’s favourite pastimes. We spend a significant amount of time in the Canadian Rocky Mountains during the summer months. We hike mountains, bike forest trails and adventure almost every single day, breathing in the fresh mountain air and enjoying all that nature has to offer. The joy my children and I find in our summer adventures are memories I want to remember, and so I photograph those moments. I encourage you to pack your camera for your next summer adventure and to capture a moment that’ll make you smile for a lifetime.
My favourite lens to capture the vast beauty of my summer adventures is my Sigma Art 35mm f1.4. This lens is wide enough that I can capture some environment but versatile enough that I can focus in on a childhood moment.
- Weather
If you’ve lived in Alberta for any length of time, you’ll know we are prone to wild summer weather. At the drop of a hat, summer weather can change drastically. Powerful thunderstorms are known to display mood and drama as they roll through, and some even leave a rainbow in its wake. Rainy days become perfect moments for a puddle jumping adventure, and sunshine-filled days are fantastic for capturing childhood play. When the weather puts on a show, rain or shine, don’t be afraid to dance between the raindrops or run off into a sundrenched field.
My favourite lens to incorporate weather into my images is Nikkor 16-35mm f4. This lens is wide and can photograph an entire scene at several different focal lengths.
- Details
The details in childhood pull at my motherly heartstrings. I never want to forget the dirty knees, mud-caked fingers and sandy faces. I want to remember the frog that brought the biggest of smiles to my children’s faces, the creepy crawly bugs, a treasured weed or an abandoned bird’s nest. The lesson in these tiny moments of childhood is one that I did not fully understand until I became a mother. Life is a gift, and it’s within these simple moments that pure joy and beauty are found. Photographing the details in childhood can be incredibly powerful, so be sure to get up close and capture summer with all those fantastic details.
When photographing the details of childhood, I like to use my Nikkor 105mm f2.8.
This summer, when you are out enjoying beautiful family moments, don’t forget to incorporate the above five elements into some of your photographs. These elements meld perfectly into summer moments and infuse your images with memories of childhood fun!
Also be sure to download your FREE, smartphone formatted, photography guide: How to Photograph Sensational Summer Images. (https://www.ginayeo.com/sensational-summer-images) Start taking sensational summer images with the recipe and tips in this, available for a limited time, guide.
Featured in this blog:
Nikon D810
Sigma 35mm f1.4 DG HSM Art – Nikon F-Mount
Nikkor AF-S 16-35mm f4 G ED VR
Nikkor AF-S 105mm f2.8 Micro VR
