New York city is one of those places that always seemed magical to me. I would see it in movies or on T.V. and my heart would tell me that I needed to go see it in person. It was so big and shiny and vibrant and full of allure.

When BlogHer 2010 was announced to be in NYC I could hardly believe it. My favorite conference in my favorite (dream) city. My husband, knowing how huge this was, told me to spend a week there. I flew in the Monday before the conference and my cousin came down from Boston to join me. Between my time spent with her and my BlogHer friends, I got to see much of the city.

My hotel was right smack between Central Park and Times Square. I spent a lot of time wandering through Times Square; it is even more alive than any photos can attest to.

It even has the same vibe during the day. Well, maybe not the same but similar. Billboards and street musicians and people from every walk of life.

My cousin and I made it to the Top of The Rock (Rockefeller Center) and the views of the city were breathtaking.

The Empire State Building was not too shabby, either.

We managed to make it to Grand Central Station one afternoon and it is every bit as dynamic as you think it would be.

It even has pretty lights.

During the five full days I was in New York City I went to Central Park every day, sometimes twice. While the city itself was amazing and ridiculous (and stinky) and fascinating…stepping into Central Park was the equivalent of taking a deep breath. It is green and pretty and quiet and thirty shades of lovely.

There is so much that I did not see: Soho, The Statue of Liberty, ground Zero and so much more. All the more reason the return, I think.

I am the mother of three (vibrant, hilarious, beautiful) children, so I know all too well how hard it is to get a good photo of one child, never mind if there are even more to contend with. Aside from telling you to approach the whole ordeal with a good sense of humor and lowered expectations of getting a “perfect” photo, I have a few other tips to share to enable you to take photos that are a notch (or two) higher than a basic snapshot.

1. Use Whiskey

No, not the beverage; the word. Unless, of course, a shot of whiskey is your thing. If you try to make your kids smile by telling them to say “cheese” their smiles will look, well, cheesy.  If you have them say “whiskey” (or “monkey” if you have an adverse reaction to whiskey), their smiles look more natural.

2. Shoot Them (Off-centered)

The technical term is “Rule Of Thirds”, but the gist of it is this: You do not want them right smack in the middle of the frame.  Move them to the right or left of center and you will have a shot that is instantly better.

3. Fill The Frame

If you are hoping to capture a good portrait of your child, their feet do not need to be included.  Fill a large portion of the frame with their face.  To get an even more dynamic shot, crop out the top part of their head.

4. Catch Them When They Aren’t Looking

We all seem to be programmed that the best shots are the ones where our child is looking at the camera, smiling the perfect smile, and showing the world how adorable they are.  Sometimes, however, a great photo of them occurs when they are not even aware that you are snapping their photo.

5. Break All Of The Rules

Now that I have told you the above four tips, I am going to tell you to ignore them every once in awhile.  Try different angles, different perspectives, different crops.  You may end up with a photo that is timeless.

Originally posted over at The Bad Moms Club.

A few of my favorite photos. I have more but these are a few at the top of my list.

Bubble. Can you see me?

Couple taking a self-portrait in Central Park, New York City.

Feet. (This one is blown up and hanging on our living room wall. It’s also printed on my Flip video camera.)

Sunset – this is the view out of my front living room window.)

Nathan. My middle child, and the one who is so naturally photogenic that it’s borderline ridiculous.

My good friend Krista had her (pregnant) sister and brother-in-law come to visit and asked if I’d be interested in taking photos of Keana’s baby belly. Keana and Brandon (and Krista) arrived at the ornamental gardens with a folder of photos they liked and props they thought would be cool. Clients who know what they want make a shoot that much more fun!

Aren’t they the cutest?

We even had a costume change!

Wait. Two costume changes.

Three costume changes, to be exact.

Thanks to Keana for trusting me with taking the pregnancy photos for your very first baby, and for being such a delight to spend the afternoon with.

Amanda is one of my best friends in the entire world, and her firstborn daughter and my very first (and only) daughter are but a few months apart.

When Amanda was pregnant with baby girl number two, I suggested that we do a session and take some belly shots. She was mere days away from giving birth and wondered if it was really necessary to do belly shots for baby number two. Of course it was necessary. And so I headed over to her house with my camera in hand.

Amanda is naturally photogenic (and also really pretty), which makes it hard to take a bad photo of her.

See what I mean?

The belleh:

Thanks to Amanda for letting me use her and her beautiful belly for my very first pregnancy shoot.

I’ve mentioned my friend Amanda before, when I took photos of her belly as she was hosting baby girl number two. Girl done gone and got knocked up with baby girl number three and since she was so kind to be my guinea pig for my foray into belly shoots, I asked if she would let me try come over and shoot Miss Brinley (baby number three) and try my hand at a newborn shoot.

She let me do it, because she loves me. Have I mentioned that I have the best friends on the planet?

When I arrived, Brinley was cuddling on the couch with her big sister Avelyn. From what I hear (and witnessed), Avelyn demands a lot of Brinley time. It’s adorable to watch.

Little Miss Brinley decided to wake up, but I kind of loved catching her expressions.

She soon got sleepy, as newborns are wont to do.

We got some sweet photos of baby and Momma.

Isn’t Amanda the prettiest? Yes, she is.

SMOOSH.

Thanks to Amanda for (being so stunning and making such beautiful babies, and) letting me try my hand at newborn photography.