Every year when school starts I am reminded that I live my life in seasons. Though Fall may be my favorite season, I am suddenly jolted into the reality that my sports seasons (that dictate my entire schedule) are here in full force.
During the Fall, Winter, and Spring season, I may be the mother of children and a husband participating in six different sports at one time. This is often exhausting, demanding, and can become very frustrating for me and so I have come up with a way to focus on the positive and forget that there can be anything negative about it.
I don’t believe that I am alone in the effort to raise children that enjoy sports and so I would like to share my method with any of you sports mom’s out there that need a break.
Here are some ideas for you to enjoy the seasons in your life just as much as I do.
Six Sports Photo Tips:
Tip 1: Always carry your camera with you as well as your sense of humor. I was delighted the other day as I watched my nine year old daughter participate in a track practice. When I first arrived at the practice I couldn’t find her, I became worried and with camera in hand I started walking to the track where the other kids were practicing. I had a good laugh when I arrived at the very back of the track and found my daughter with a friend catching grasshoppers. This was a picture perfect moment.
Tip 2: Focus on taking pictures of moments that mean the most to an individual child. My thirteen year old sister-in-law’s basketball team had a particularly rough game one day. All of the girls were crying in the locker room as the coach was not happy with their performance on the court. The coaches wife walked into the locker room and saw all the crying girls and changed the entire atmosphere immediately by saying “Girls, it’s o.k., at least your hair was cute!” Now that I have my own thirteen year old girl, I often think of this story when taking pictures of her in a sports setting. I try to remember that to her it’s important to have a picture of her hair tied up in yellow and green ribbons and to get a picture of the balloons the parents have decorated the chairs with. Keep in mind that each child is an individual and focus on taking pictures that would be important in their memories.
Tip 3: Take step-by-step photos of the “sports process.” Sometimes we only bring cameras to the game or competition, but capturing some of the shots of the practices, the first time they put on the uniform, and even the kids enjoying the after game snacks is a great way to capture the whole event and then when it is digitally scrapped you can make a complete album of the whole sports process – a great way to keep the memories alive!
Tip 4: Ask a friend to take pictures for you and return the favor. This year my son received the most special gift. He was a Freshman in High School and was on the Varsity Wrestling Team. One of the kids on the team had a grandfather who is a professional photographer and he also had a sideline pass at the State Tournament that got him fairly close to the mats. As my son went out to wrestle in the Quarter final match against the favored Senior in his weight category, this grandfather said he just had a feeling that something special was about to unfold. He took pictures of the match from start to finish. At the banquet he presented my son with a framed and scrapped plaque that showed the match in detail. He had a picture of his hand being raised in victory, a picture of him hugging his dad (and coach), hugging his grandpa, and hugging his great grandpa on the sidelines. This is a priceless gift and one that I could not have produced for myself as you can imagine if you are a sports mom, I was shaking to badly to take a decent picture. We don’t always have a professional around to captures those moments, so ask a friend to take pictures for you and return the favor to them. Remember be ready to take step by step photos so that you don’t miss that sports moment of a lifetime.
Tip 5: Take your PC with you! I always love to take my laptop with me so that I can use that 10 minute space of time while I am waiting for a practice to finish up or while I am waiting for a game to start. I have learned that these little spaces of time really add up and make it possible for me to enjoy my scrapbooking hobby while I am on the run. If you want more on this topic then see this article: Learning Digital Scrapbooking on the Go!
Tip 6: Get Sports Digital Scrapbooking Supplies to put your photos on, and combine digital scrapbooking with your families sport hobbies!
You sports photos need to go somewhere besides sitting in your digital camera! Take them and digitally scrap them so you can share your sports events with others!
I like these sports brushes and “stamp” them on several of my sports digital scrapbooking pages.
Take a look at this brush kit: The Sports Custom Brush Set is a fun set of digital brushes that would make any sports-fan proud! Personalize a sporty Digital Scrapbooking Page for that favorite athlete in your life, or create a Digital Scrapbooking Project full of team-spirit!
Well, if you are enjoying a sports season in your life right now, I hope that these little tips will help you relax and enjoy your hobby of taking pictures and scrap booking them a bit more this year. Sometimes, as moms if we combine our hobby with the rest of our families hobbies our lives become more enjoyable, relaxed and we feel like we have done something for ourselves even in the process of serving others.
Enjoy the Journey!
Denise
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