How to take photographs as a couple

If you’ve been to my house, you’ve seen loads of photographs of me and my husband in all different places. And people always ask me, “Who took that picture of you? It’s beautiful.” Depending on which picture it is, I can reply with “a rock,” “a counter top,” or “the ground.” We’ve become experts at taking pictures of ourselves without anyone around to help. When we travel with people, of course they’re able to take some pictures of us and then we can credit them.

I know it seems tacky to take pictures of yourself at places, but I love to be able to look back and see what I saw when I was standing right there. Also, think about it. I’m not a terrible photographer, but I am well aware that others are better. You can find thousands of beautiful photographs taken by others of the same things you’re taking pictures of. You can Google image search anything. You can get a photograph of just about anything. But what you can’t find on the internet, is a photograph of YOU in that setting or by that building or in that place. So get out your cameras and work that camera.

The problem isn’t getting a photograph of you by yourself in front of things, because obviously your other half can take it. It’s getting those pictures of the two of you in front of it. Sure, you can ask a stranger. But any picture I’ve asked a stranger to take has been blurry, our eyes are closed or we just aren’t really smiling and I never like them. And since you’re at the mercy of someone else, you can’t ask them to stand there for 3 hours for a photo opp. Our camera requires you to hold it still for an extra second and if you move, it’s blurry. So it’s better if we just do it ourselves so we can ensure that we get a good one. And don’t get me wrong, we don’t stand there for hours on end taking pictures of ourselves, we just have learned how to take a good picture and then move on.

There are only two ways to take your own picture. Either by one of you holding the camera up and you posing, or by setting the camera on the ground or somewhere safe and setting the camera on a timer. We do both… depending on what’s available around us. You can get good photographs from either of these methods with some of my tips below. These few tips will ensure you get a good photograph of the two of you that you will actually want to put up on the wall.

1. Take the picture with a real smile or real laugh. You know those pictures of you with a stale smile are never ones you want to keep or blow up. The ones you will want to keep are the ones where you’re really laughing and smiling. We make each other laugh constantly, and we do that before we take a picture. So it’s real.

2. Marry someone with long arms. Only kidding, but you do need the taller person with the longer arms to take the picture, if you don’t have the option to set the camera on the ground or something firm. (Sometimes there are too many people around to set it down as well.) If you’re going to do it this way, make sure to put your chin down. When you’re looking up at a camera, you tend to lean your head back which gives you a nice awkward worm-coming-out-of-a-hole look. Look up with your eyes, and put that chin down where it belongs.

3. Try out different stances. You don’t always have to stand there with your arms around each other or standing directly facing the camera. Try out different things. Try jumping together, or standing with your profiles, or just being silly. Sometimes you get some awful pictures, but once in awhile you’ll get a fun one that you’ll love. (If you feel silly doing this, just remember it won’t be silly later when you have awesome photographs to litter your house with.)

4. Keep an eye out for a good spot. Sometimes a good background can come in the most unlikely places. My favorite picture of us was taken at a bed and breakfast early in the morning. We were the only two staying there and the food was left out for us. We had breakfast and the morning light was so beautiful and the doors were open and filling the kitchen with light. It looked so picturesque, and to me it’s serene and beautiful.

5. Wear the part, if it’s appropriate. When we went to Ecuador, we each bought an item of clothing from a textile market and wore them proudly. Everyone else was wearing them, we figured, why not? And when we took this picture, we actually felt that we fit in to the surroundings. So it wasn’t just a picture of us in our Columbia jackets, but us in authentic handmade Ecuadorian textiles while in Ecuador. And yes, it makes for a great photo.

6. It’s not about “getting the picture,” so much as capturing the moment. You’re trying to capture a moment so that you have that to remember. You’re trying to have a great keepsake to remind you of what you saw, and specifically what you saw together. Don’t worry about it being perfect or that you look skinny and every hair is in place. Just try your best to get a good, real picture of the moment and you’ll be happy with the results and not frustrated that it doesn’t look like the cover of People magazine. It’s a souvenir of a great time together. Sometimes we’ve put the camera on a timer, went about our business and even forgot that the timer was on. That’s how it should be.

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