My top 3 tips for taking photos of children...

You will know that I am a huge fan of Zulily, the daily deals site with a difference. Over the last few months I have become slightly obsessed with checking the app on my phone each morning to see what delights are on offer that day! The stock is often limited so the early bird catches the bargains! Their Flash Sales that offer up to 90% off high end brands for just 72 hours have allowed me to buy things for my family that I could not otherwise dream of affording!  

Zulily is different from other deals sites because everything you order comes directly from them, so you wont be sent a voucher that you have to claim elsewhere and pay extra delivery charges, all your beautiful items are sent directly to the Zulily pixies who lovingly package them up and send out to you in around 10 - 14 days. Because of this they have a standard delivery charge of £3.95 for most UK orders and  once you've paid it, you can order as many things you want in the same day with no extra delivery charges!  

If you haven’t already joined zulily, click through here and give it a try!

As well as bringing us some fabulous bargains the lovely folks at Zulily run a monthly cuties competition with a great prize...

This month you could win £100 Zulily voucher, storage boxes from Feather and Black (for all those Christmas prezzies) and a Juicy Couture clutch for you! To enter you just need to upload a photo of your cutie best smile on Instagram before 31st January, find out full details and T's and C's here...

January Cuties Competition

In addition to offering you this fabulous prize, Zulily have challenged bloggers like myself to share our best tips for taking photos of little ones....

So here's my top three tips for capturing your children's best smiles...

1. Take your camera everywhere! Whether it's a compact pocket camera, a phone, or dare I say even a good old single use disposable (yes they do still make them!) having a way of taking photos where ever you are means that you'll never miss that sparkle in your little ones eye. The above photo was taken while my daughter was in her scruffs playing in the back yard and I was putting out the washing, she just started giggling on the top of her slide, I grabbed my phone, took a shot and I love the result!

2. Hide the camera! If either of my children see a camera pointed at them, they will pose, pull faces, pull tongues, dance or  hide, basically do anything other than smile! So I end up taking most of my photo's with my iphone, hiding it until the last minute and then catching them when they are in 'uncontrollable giggle mode!' I love this photo of my daughter on her Daddy's shoulders at the park, she was just so happy and had no idea that i'd got the camera out!

3. Don't be afraid to be silly! The above are great if you want a spontaneous shot, but there are times that you can't afford to wait, it could be a family party, on holiday, posing with something they have created or even showing off a new outfit. If you want your little one to smile there and then you have to earn it! Jump up and down, pull a face or sing a song, as long as you are prepared to make a fool of yourself you're sure to get some giggles! This photo of my five year old showing off the bread dough that he had been expertly kneading was taken while my face was covered in flour, he found it hilarious! 

 So there we go! My top three tips to get your little ones smiling for photos, not very technical, I admit but they work for me! So why not have a go? Feel free to share your tips in the comments too!
  

I have entered this post into the Zulily Bloggers competition for a chance to win £100 Zulily voucher, if you have a blog why not share your top tips? 
More details here... http://zulilyuk.tumblr.com/post/39667556532/blogger-photo-competition 

Good Luck!