Thank you Jane Goodrich
for providing me with a product to review, free of charge.
These are my own honest opinions.

My husband gave me a decent camera a few years back. He knows I love photography and I was never really happy with our point-and-shoot camera so I know have a DSLR. Over the years, I learned a few tricks and I can take decent pictures but despite reading photography tutorials and my camera’s manual, I feel I have very little grasp on how photography works. I therefore have very few photos that I feel are good enough to be framed and displayed (despite taking TONS of photos!)

Most of the photography information I could find online was either outdated, too basic, or at the level only professionals can understand. What I needed was simple, to-the-point explanations of how my camera works, not so I can give a scientific presentation on the physics of photography, but merely to be able to figure out which settings might allow me to go from an ‘it’s good enough for my cell phone’s background’ shot to a beautiful ‘let’s frame it’ shot.

I was recently introduced to Jane Goodrich’s newly released book called ‘Capturing Every Day Life: The no-nonsense, cheese-free, read-while-they-nap, easy-as-pie guide to taking top-notch, world-class photos of your kids‘. I thought to myself this is the book I’ve been looking for and I was super excited to get a chance to read it and review it for you guys!

Honestly, this book does exactly what it says it’ll do: it’s straight forward, to the point, super easy to read and comprehend! Jane Goodrich is an award-winning newborn and children’s photographer who works in New York, Chigaco, LA, and London, England. She’s been in front and behind the camera all her life and because she has a special bond with children, she decided to pursue newborn and children photography as a career.

Throughout her years as a professional photographer, she acquired a wealth of experience as well as tricks and tips to work with children and to take amazing photos. She shares all of it with us in her book in a very unpretentious, down-to-earth way. Even though her book is packed with valuable information for beginner/intermediate parent (or grandparent) photographers, I felt like a friend was talking to me about photography when I read the book.

The book has 64 pages and is filled with beautiful photos taken by Jane Goodrich herself. The book is divided into clear sections and you can easily skip or refer back to certain sections. For example, there is a section about how to choose a camera (and lenses), how to use light, how to compose a photo. There is even a section about tips for photographing kids by age.

My 2 favorite sections are ‘Working With Light’ where you learn about shutter speed, aperture, and ISO and how they work together, and ‘Advanced Techniques’ where you learn how to use semi-automatic and manual modes. Honestly, I knew most of the terms but I could never remember exactly what they meant and how they can affect the quality of a photo… needless to say I never really knew how to fix photos that weren’t good. Is it the aperture I should adjust or the shutter speed? It was all a big mystery to me!

Jane Goodrich uses fun analogies and imagery that help me remember what each concept means. For example, I knew that ISO had something to do with lighting conditions and that you needed a high ISO in low light settings but that was about it. Jane Goodrich’s explanation really simplified it: she said that ISO refers to how sensitive the sensor is and how long your camera needs to correctly expose a photo. She then explains that a camera sensor is like an ant hill. If you have 100 ants living in the ant hill, it’ll take them say 6 days to collect food. If you have 200 ants, it’ll only take them 3 days. If you have 400 ants, it’ll take 1.5 days. The more ants you have, the less time it’ll take to collect food. If you transfer that into ISO terminology, the higher the ISO setting, the less time it’ll take to expose and record your photo. Every time I am in low light conditions, I remember the ant hill and I know how to make the right adjustments.

I also like that she’s not trying to teach you a recipe for success that would totally kill creativity and spontaneity. She does admit that you have to play and practice and that you want to capture natural moments rather than set up a perfect shot which I think is a lot more realistic especially when you’re talking to non-professionals and the subjects are sometimes less-than-cooperative children.

Overall, I have to say that I am really happy I got my hands on Jane Goodrich’s book. Obviously, it’ll take me a while to absorb and learn to use all the tricks and tools in this book but I do feel that I have a better grasp of photography in general and also a better idea of what it takes to make a shot stand out. It’s quick and easy to refer back to sections that are more difficult for me to grasp. I’m excited to be able to put all this into practice and I know that my photography skills will improve because of it.

Buy It: Head over to Jane Goodrich’s photography website to find out more about her and her portfolio. You can purchase ‘Capturing Every Day Life: The no-nonsense, cheese-free, read-while-they-nap, easy-as-pie guide to taking top-notch, world-class photos of your kids’ on Amazon.com or Amazon.ca.

Connect: Don’t forget to like Jane Goodrich on Facebook, and follow her on Twitter and Pinterest for all the latest news and promotions. You can also follow her blog here.

Win It: Jane Goodrich is generously offering one of our lucky readers a copy of Capturing Every Day Life! The giveaway is open to US and Canada and will end August 26th. For your chance to win, enter the Giveaway Tools below. Good luck!

*We are testing a brand new version of GT that may have technical problems or “bugs”. If you experience any problems with the entry form please email support@giveawaytools.com with a detailed explanation of what you experienced.

Rachel