(WITH ANY CAMERA!)

Being a professional photographer, I have an advantage here. I know my way around a camera, I already know what lighting to look for and I know the rules of composition and posing. 

That's all great. But it really doesn't mean too much when you are photographing a wild 3 year old. 

You can own all of the best equipment and it doesn't matter if your kiddo doesn't want any part of it. So here are my best tips to help you take better travel photos of your kids. 

Yes. I know this takes a lot of work. But it is so worth it. One of the biggest things that ruins photos is wearing the wrong clothes. This is true for the professional engagement sessions I do and for photos when we are traveling. I hate feeling out of place somewhere and I try to adapt to fit in wherever we are going. I always joke with my mom that I have multiple personalities depending on where I am. I have my Fancy/City personality that dresses in camel colored pea coats, slacks and big sunglasses. I have my California/Surfer/Central American personality (my primary style) that dresses in an excessive amount of bright colors, crochet and surf hats. Then I have my Colorado personality that wears too much flannel, ripped jeans and lives in my hiking boots. This also translates to my son Jakey.

When we are packing for each trip, I try to fit the style of the location. Our suitcase to Hawaii was very different than our suitcase to Europe or our trip to NYC. This isn't just based on the climates or the time of year and weather... but the colors in the locations, the styles that compliment the place and the cultures we are visiting.

Here are some examples of how I would dress Jake for different locations: 
London - Rugby and Khakis with a raincoat or one of his London shirts. 
California/Hawaii - Boardshorts, Surf shirt, flip flops and a trucker hat. 
Colorado/Mountains - Colorado Tshirt/Flannel, Shorts and Hiking Boots. 

Now I do try to do some other fun things like Lederhosen in Austria or his lei in Hawaii. It just kind of depends what you have and if you are wanting to buy something for it. Most everything we already have and I just try to 'style' it for the locations. 

Here are the key tips for this section: 
 * Dress for the style and culture of the location
 * Consider the colors of the area you will be in. 
 * WEAR PLAIN COLORED SHOES - the cutest outfit will be ruined. 
 * Keep it classic. Stay away from brands, tv show characters and           things that will age the photos. Paw Patrol will go out of style. 
 * Avoid neon clothes and bright clothes that will cast colors on their     faces. 

This is another thing to plan ahead with. Even at weddings, I try to bring a bag of M&Ms for ring bearers and flower girls. This isn't something we always do, but it works great for toddlers who are jet lagged and uncooperative. If you are above bribery... good for you! ;)

Talk in a way they understand. Instead of saying stand there and smile. Tell them to fly like an airplane or point and moo at the cow or laugh like *Insert Disney Movie Villain here*. If you make silly noises at them or if you make it a game, it will go SO much better. "DON'T SMILE! DON'T LAUGH! DADDY'S GOING TO TICKLE YOU!" 

Lets be honest. They don't really care if you get the photo you want. At Jakey's age he is just starting to understand that photos are fun to look back at later. And that still doesn't mean he is going to care in that moment. Don't give them too much instruction. Just hang back and let them do kid things. Let them climb, let them run.
​Let them be little. 

Being at eye level totally matters. Yeah it doesn't always work out... but it really is the best angle to capture anyone. If you get down on their eye level, they also are more likely to give you a smile or cooperate with your wishes. My knees and hips will hate me when I'm older, but the photos will be worth it! 

Forget everything that you want to accomplish and follow them while they experience things for the first time ever. Sure, I encourage my son Jakey to explore in pretty spots in good outfits, but one of the best things you can do is to step back and watch the wonder in their eyes. Take photos of them eating new things. Take photos of them smelling new things. The best photos come when you do it for them, not for you. 

Seriously, go in with ideas and a loose plan... but if you expect too much, you will end up disappointed and your kiddo probably won't have any fun. 

Remember your expectations should be age appropriate too. Don't expect your baby to not be tired at naptime. Don't expect your toddler to not throw a tantrum over something completely irrelevant. Make sure you don't expect them to do things they aren't ready for developmentally either. There have been times where I have been disappointed when Jake wasn't ready for something yet. But it's all okay. Make sure your expectations are acheivable. 

Whatever age your children are at right now... they will change. They will always change. Capture what actually happens. Babies fall asleep and need diaper changes. Toddlers throw tantrums and need to ride in strollers when they get tired. Yeah, there are a lot of amazing travel photos of kids out there. But my favorite ones are the ones that are true memories. The ones who show who Jake is and how he was at that age. REAL LIFE. 

Many of my favorite photos have come off my phone, but I do try to shoot with real camera equipment when possible. 

Obviously a Canon Girl... so sorry if you like Nikon or others,
​I can't recommend a system that I am not familiar with :) 

We were so excited when Wayfair approached us to partner with them this Thanksgiving! Here are our Wayfair picks for Thanksgiving! If you haven’t shopped with Wayfair yet, you are missing out!

So we are a little bit behind. Right now, Jake is 3 years old and has been to 25 different countries. But it all had to start somewhere and lately in a lot of my travel groups, I have seen new moms or mommies to be asking about traveling for the first time with their new baby. 

One of the best ways to inspire your child is to read with them. Even when you cannot afford to travel to a destination or haven't had the opportunity to visit a place yet, you can teach them so many things with books. Thankfully Amazon provides a HUGE marketplace of Travel Books for Kids, but often times it is kind of hard to sort out the good ones. Obviously we don't own all of these (we would be broke), so if we don't own them - they have been recommended by friends or are reviewed well on Amazon. Enjoy and let me know if there are any I should add to my Amazon List!

​Also Make sure you share with us if you end up getting any of them!

As far as travel bloggers go, we are kind of unique. Most of the travel bloggers you see all over social media travel full time, live in some cute little bus or have sold all of their belongings to backpack around the world. As cool as that is, we can't do that. It isn't realistic for us. It isn't a lifestyle we could sustain. And honestly, many of us look at people like that and go "How on EARTH can they Afford to Live That Way?" I know I sure do. So bear with me here while I explain why and how we choose to travel the way we do. 

   I would have to say, this is probably our most asked question. I probably get a message or email about this at least weekly if not more frequently and when I first started traveling with Jakey when he was a baby, I couldn't find ANY resources online about this topic. 
   
​So this blog post is not an official TSA recommendation.
This post is simply what I have observed about the
screening process with babies and toddlers and how I've learned
​to make the process easier on myself, my son, my family and the TSA agents working hard
to keep us safe.

Also, if you are here to knock TSA, move along... go somewhere else. They are doing their jobs to keep us safe and I am very grateful for that. I do want to mention that I do not have any actual photos of the TSA experience, that is not allowed for safety reasons. 

*** TSA RULES CAN VARY BASED ON AIRPORT + AGENT. RESTRICTIONS CAN CHANGE FREQUENTLY FOR NATIONAL SECURITY REASONS, SO PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU CHECK THE RESTRICTIONS HERE BEFORE YOU TRAVEL***

 Hey guys! 

We are so thankful you are here to read  our travel blog. I have several posts I have  been preparing for the start of our blog  and I think you will find them helpful!
​Feel free to share with friends, family and  even pin them on Pinterest! Do remember  that this is a brand new blog and we are  still working out the kinks.

Anyway, excited you are here!
Click around and read more about 
us until our blogs are live! 

Thanks! 
​The Rieslings