Your camera (or rather, cellphone) is packed with pictures of your kids. From the first steps that your little one took to every holiday, birthday and school play, you’ve had the camera out and ready for action. With all of those photos, it’s no wonder choosing a few to include in your custom board book is a major challenge. Don’t stress, we’ve got you covered. Check out the top 10 kid photo ops to use when designing your Pint Size masterpiece!
Start the search with photos of your baby’s first day or your child’s birthday. Choose one photo per month for an entire year. If your baby isn’t 1-year yet, go with a photo from each week. Put together a timeline that shows how your child is growing and changing. Yes, you’ll get more and more photos as your kiddo ages – perfect for creating a new custom book each year!
It seems like you have endless pictures from Christmas. And then there’s Valentine’s Day. It’s not even a major holiday, but you managed to take a crazy number of pics – all featuring your child opening up their cards. Choose your favorite photos from one holiday or put together a book that features one or two shots from each celebration.
You’ve got your camera out and are ready to catch the best of the best pictures. Whether you’re at the park, at home playing, or at a special event, you start snapping away. At some point you’ll catch your kiddo doing something completely silly. Maybe your toddler is making a funny face or your preschooler is holding two fingers up to make bunny ears behind baby brother’s head. Look through your photos, picking out the silliest ones to put in your book. Sure, you might not think to ever use these outtakes, but they’ll make a pretty sweet little memory as you look back later on.
Fluffy and Fido are cute on their own. But, pair them with your child and it’s even more adorable. Put a book together that features your child and their furry best friend. Catch the two of them at play, cuddled up together or just hanging out at home!
Obviously, Halloween is kind of ‘the’ time for costumes. You’ve got picture after picture featuring your kiddo dressed up as a princess, witch, lion and a farmer. Adorable. But, those probably aren’t the only costume-heavy photo ops. When your little love plays dress up or puts on a play at home for you, bring out the camera and snap a few shots. These impromptu costume sessions can tell a story or just stand alone as an awesome array of adorable board book pictures.
The precious picture you took of your 4-year-old on their first day of preschool (you know, the one with them holding up a sign that reads, “It’s my first day of school!”) is just one in a series of firsts. This isn’t a re-do of the major milestones theme. Instead, feature fabulous firsts such as the start of the school year, the first day of t-ball or the beginning of ballet class.
Organize your family photos by season. Groups your favorites into four categories: spring, summer, fall and winter. Pick the top seasonal photos, and put together an around-the-year book that features planting spring flowers, swimming at the beach in the summer, playing in the fall leaves and sledding in the winter snow (or similar photo op options).
The first time your baby sat up without your help, that very first roll over and the first scooting crawl. These milestones (among others) are all totally picture-worthy. Turn the series of milestones that you’ve digitally captured into a book of “I did it!” moments. Not only does this give you a way to keep these milestone memories alive, but your child can look back and see how far they’ve come.
Along with the family photos, you have plenty of photos that feature your child’s best buds. Make lasting memories of your child’s first friends with a BFF book. You can keep one for yourself and give others out to the families of your kiddo’s friends as birthday or holiday presents.
Okay, so maybe your family doesn’t trot around the globe (or, maybe you do). Whether you went to Raleigh or Rome, chances are you took plenty of pictures. Pick the highlights of your trip or make a storyline that shows off everywhere your family has been. Another travel-sized option is to try a start to finish trip picture book. Save the shots of the vacation prep (such as packing), move into your travel time, use a few choice photos of the actual trip, and finish with a “we’re back at home” collage.
As you can see, there are endless options for creating board books out of the memories you’ve captured throughout your little one’s lives. Use one of these ideas or get creative and pull together a completely unique theme based on pictures you have to create a special book that will be cherished forever!
