• Use whatever light exists in the scene. Indoors, use flash as needed; outdoors, use fill flash in the shade or in bright sun to prevent harsh shadows.
• Seek a simple but relevant background. But don’t waste time looking for the perfect background if it means you’ll miss the picture opportunity.
• Get close enough to show clearly what’s happening but not so close that you interfere with the fun.
• When the action is hot, take lots of pictures to increase your chances of getting a good one.
• Go with the flow in choosing a camera angle—tilted camera, low angle, from the hip. Capturing the moment outweighs all the other tips.

• being measured for height
• standing next to the same young tree to show how both grow over the years
• heading off on the first day of the school year

Pictures of the family

• standing in front of the house together
• arriving at that year’s vacation destination

For consistency through the years, try to take the annual picture from the same location and at the same camera height. Here are a few guidelines:

• Get close enough to your subjects to show their faces well.
• Be patient. Help your subjects relax, and you’ll be rewarded with better, more natural-looking pictures.
• A few days before the event, test your camera to make sure it’s working. Load it with fresh batteries and have an extra set on hand. Be sure you have plenty of film (or an extra memory card for your digital camera). Have your camera loaded and ready when the festivities start.
• Make lots of extra prints so each person in the picture can have a copy. And don’t forget to give a print each year to the grandparents.